Manicured Lawns, and Trailer Parks

On the way to my new neighborhood, I pass a gated community. It looks very nice from the outside and I can see cultured lawns, as I drive by – neatly mowed and edges looking trim and uniform. It tries to give the appearance of being “natural” so they don’t allow shaped hedges, annuals or gawdy flowers, like petunias (too bad, my favorite!) or pansies. I don’t even see evidence of any bulbs of any kind – the colors are all very “earthy” – although there are LOTS and LOTS of oleander bushes. But it’s very manicured – and I’m sure they all like it that way.

Then you have our neighborhood, which is just a step down from that . . .much more earthy – a little more wild, sort of rogue-ish looking, lots of deer friendly bushes because they live in our back yards (no, literally), and again, no loud colors of plants or flowers. I have to admit – I like it. It’s clean enough to walk in – I don’t feel like there might be spiders or snakes but it’s still pretty managed.

I drive down an old country road to get to my house – and I’m struck by the difference. It’s aged – trees cover over the road, providing shade on a bright, day. The weeds on the side of the road might have been mowed down by the Road Dept. earlier in the season but they have sprung back to life with renewed vengeance. An abandoned car peeks out from underneath a blackberry bush – and a board with words spray-painted on it “Weed-Eating! Call . . .” can be seen leaning up against an old Ford Truck. The houses are different - some are old trailers – they have character (if that's what you call an old couch sitting out front) – and flowers. Lots of colors, here – in fact, I am suspicious that some might even be plastic. But they have the freedom of taste – and they probably like it that way.

So different, yet still the same in some ways.

Why the comparison? Well, this week, I went to meetings with very cultured people – people who have degrees with lots of letters behind their names, I went to lunch with others who are not so refined but they have definitely made a place for themselves, and I went to dinner with people who went to sleep in a bed that wasn’t theirs.

So different, and yet so much the same.

Churches are like that – some people dress up on Sundays and like to sing songs that bring on a spirit of worship and awe. They have respectable jobs and they expect other people to show up to work to get a pay check, too. Nothing wrong with that. Others like to kick up their heels a little bit (not too much, though) and show that they don’t have to dress so fancy and yet they can still be worshipful when they need to be. They are a little more accepting of those who don’t have, especially because right now, they themselves are okay but they know it might change. That’s all right too.

Then there is The Salvation Army . . .what a mix of people you can find there . . .rather like the country road I drive down. We have people who want to help others, people who need a family, people who are mental patients (or should be), people who are recovering from drugs, people who are STILL using drugs, teens who need parents, parents who need parents, homeless people, crazy people, we’ve even got British people! (hahaha, Claire)

So different, and yet so much the same.

Just for the record – 42 this week! BAM!