It's
that or starve
"Feed
store has these new GM seeds on sale. An introductory offer, like.
Know you & your Ma ain't got a lot of money. You might want to
check it out." The grizzled old man nodded, climbed into his
F150, and slammed the door.
The
younger man strolled down to the Co-op and pushed the door open.
"What
can I do you for, Jack?" Don looked up from the centerfold of
"American Tractor." Jack waved, then wandered up and down
the aisles like he was looking for something. He ended up at the
display of seeds and looked at the "50% off" sign.
"I
sure could use a few seeds, John," he said. "These any
good?"
"Them?
I hear they grow real well." Jack picked up a packet and came
over to the counter. "Here's the thing," he began, but Don
held up his hand.
"No
money, no seeds. Put 'em back Jack."
"Look,
it's only a dollar. You know I'm good for it. Besides, Bessie gives
real good milk. I can bring you a gallon tomorrow. That's worth a
dollar and then some."
*
The
sun was setting when he got home, so he just hoed a short row at the
edge of the garden, sprinkled the 20 or so seeds in, and scuffed the
dirt over them with his foot. Then he went in to supper.
His
mother was ladling vegetable soup into bowls and setting them on the
table. Jack put spoons and napkins out and sat down to eat.
"Have
a good day Jack?"
He
nodded his head, still shoveling in the soup. It was his first meal
of the day.
"Find
a job?" He shook his head.
She
sighed. "Jack, did you even look?"
"Something
better. I got some of those new genetically whatsit seeds. Traded
to Don over at the co-op for 'em. Already planted 'em. We'll have
some good beans in a month or so."
"Jack,
you need to get off your ass and get a job. A couple of handfuls of
beans just doesn't cut it. We won't get through the winter unless
something changes."
Jack
got up and came around the table. He hugged his mother and laid his
head on top of hers. "Things will change, Ma. You'll see. I'm
lucky, remember?"
"Like
with that frying pan scheme? No sooner did you get free of that then
you ended up in a fire. You couldn't sit down for six weeks."
"I'm
fine now, there's not even a scar. I'm going to bed, and tomorrow
I'll weed and water the garden."
*
Jack
wasn't sure at first what woke him. He had heard something out of
the ordinary. He rubbed his eyes and sat up. It was dark, so it
must be early, but then he realized the light was green. Something
was blocking the window. That's what had awakened him! The window
had actually shattered. He pulled his boots on and went to the front
door. He pulled it open, to be confronted with an impenetrable mass
of greenery. Slammed that door shut, grabbed his axe off the wall,
and opened the back door. This one was clear, so he ran outside and
around the corner of the house.
"Mary,
Joseph, and all the saints!" A tree had grown up beside the
house and it was already taller than he could see. Elongate objects
dangled from the tree here and there, but they were so small, or so
high, that he couldn't really see what they were. He ran around to
the front of the house, where one of the branches of the tree crossed
directly in front of the door. He heaved up his axe and started
chopping. After a few stout blows he heard a faint sound from above
and looked up. One of the objects was falling. It crashed to the
ground and spurted green juice everywhere. It was a bean pod 20 feet
long.
"Jack,
chop off a few pieces of that. We'll have bean soup for supper."
"Ma..."
then he stopped and shook his head.
*
The
beanstalk didn't get any wider after the first night, and most
subsequent growth occurred higher than the roof of the house. Jack
sold a few beans, and traded some to neighbors, but for the most part
his mother canned them. He traded canned beans five to 1 for empty
cans at the co-op.
By
late June he was already sick and tired of eating beans. This was
going to be a long winter!
publ. The Simian Transcript, 2010
