Things we did on grass

Maybe it was just a way to access suburban ennui and feel productive all at the same time, but I relished mowing the lawn when I was kid. We always had big lawns and big riding mowers to mow them with, and I loved to hop on the machine, then go around and around the yard in ever-diminishing loops. I loved the smell of the gas in the shed; I loved being out in the hot summer sun; I loved the way freshly mown grass looked.

But all that is behind me. I have lived in city apartments my entire adult life, so there never has been much grass to mow, and that has always been someone else's job. More than that, mowing may soon be a thing of the past for everyone, at least here in Madison. The trend this summer with the city parks department is not to mow at all, and who knows? Maybe this will catch on in a big way. They are saving a lot of gas, which is a good thing.

But near my house there is a big stretch of lawn on Wilson Street, and I always look on enviously when, every couple of weeks, an old guy is out there on a riding mower. Lately I've fantasized about approaching someone I know who has a big lawn, and asking if I can mow it for them. Trouble is, I don't know anybody who has a big lawn.