In Praise of the Ordinary and April 27th Work Session

Today I am praising the ordinary, including the April 27th (Friday) special Prospect Gardens work session.  Being mindful and praising the ordinary are the messages of this Richard Gilbert poem.

In Praise of the Ordinary 

I lift my voice this day in praise of the ordinary:
The endless routines of living:
Life's everyday rituals;
The boring things we do to exist;
The monotonous getting up in the morning;
Eating, working, going to bed at night;
Moving to and fro to make a living;
Enjoying a life.

I celebrate the simple things,
The things to which we give not a second thought:
The miracle of breathing;
The act of eating;
The cadences of daily speech;
The sounds of nature as a simple backdrop
To our complicated lives.

I celebrate leaves falling from the trees
And snow falling from the skies;
The brave persistence of the grass,
And the sleeping flowers of the fields.

Enough, I say, of big things and great things,
And extraordinary things, and ultimate things.
I celebrate the ordinary.
I lift my voice in praise.

I lift up my voice and with a grateful heart , praise what happened and who participated in the April 27th Prospect Gardens work session.  This was a special work day with the aim of creating more open spaces among the rip-rap rock that covers several sections of the Gardens. 

This section, along with several others, were mistakenly totally covered with rip-rap rock in hopes of preventing erosion shortly after the pedestrian-bike path opened in 2001.  Developing the Gardens, starting in 2010, involved removing rocks to create and plant beds.  We hoped that seeds from the bedded plants would spread and take hold in the dirt between the remaining rocks.  Instead, weeds have proliferated and removing them is increasingly a challenge.

 Carissa, City Engineering Department's Landscape Architect ,
offered and sponsored a crew from Operation Fresh Start (OFS) to assist in the project. OFS provides a path forward for disconnected youth in Dane County, ages 16-24, through education, mentoring, and employment training.

Carissa is a strong supporter of prairies and gardens along the Path.  Thank you Carissa for the opportunity to work with the youth and the OFS conservation crew leader. We look forward to continued collaboration with you and others from City Engineering as the ninth year of tending Prospect Gardens unfolds. The Department's role and your support is worthy of praise.  

Worthy of praise and a special thank you goes out to Nelson, the manager of Monroe Street's Colectivo, a coffee roaster and cafe with several Madison locations and based in Milwaukee.  Monroe's Colectivo is less than a half block from our apartment. 

Colectivo donated chocolate chip and raisin oatmeal cookies.  They were boxed and waiting for me when I picked up the goodies at 8 a.m. and before walking to the Gardens.  This morning I enjoyed an apricot scone covered with white chocolate for my breakfast. Oh so good.    

Colectivo is a special place and beyond being ordinary.  Ordinary human interactions that have the potential of being "extraordinary" take place within it's walls.


Last, but not least, worthy of praise are the two youth and Ryan, the Conservation Crew supervisor, from Operation Fresh Start.  Here's Ryan working at a speed that outpaced mine.

Ryan mentioned that because of the then upcoming Prom weekend, several of his crew called in absent.  Oh yes, there are priorities.  Hearing what Ryan said, reminded me of being on the Prom Court. Going out to an upscale Green Bay restaurant was a big deal for this  Pulaski farm boy. 

Here's Ryan and one of the youth dumping leaves in a location further down the path. The rotting leaves were from the the end of storm water drain that runs under a section of the Gardens. The drain carries water from Fox Avenue into the ditch along the path.

Here's Ryan and the same youth who had a quiet, almost shy demeanor coupled with a willingness to work hard. I enjoyed working with both, as well as another teen who is not pictured. He also worked hard and had a quick smile.  He was on the thin side. I shared with him that when I was his age I  was so thin that an adult, whose name I have forgotten, commented, "When Jake stands sideways, you can't see him." Now that's having a slight build.




Praising what is sometimes considered the ordinary often leads to gratitude while noticing that the ordinary is often the extraordinary qualities of life and of humanity. I send out one last joyous "hallelujah" in praise of those who worked on April 27th, and to the others who volunteer at Prospect Gardens.