Her name is "Donna B " and she was looking for my roommate Mike. I explained to Donna that he had moved and if there was a message I could give him, I would do so. I also asked her if there was anything I could do and if she needed help with anything. Donna  explained that she needed her back yard mowed and some weeds pulled because she had family waiting to use it and that her Husband or Son's couldn't do it. I told Donna that I would be more than happy to help and when would she like it done (..thinking tomorrow? next week?)?  When she told me: "Today will be just fine. I live in the cul-de-sac, first house on right. I'll see you in about 30 minutes?"



My first inward reaction was: (are you nuts lady? Im in my robe and just got to sleep an hour ago after having been up all night trying to come to terms with a toxic intimate relationship). But I just didn't have it in me to say no so I replied with a southern drawl "yes ma'am" and went to get dressed. I actually looked forward to being able to get out and away from the house as I needed to give my heart a break from the "relationship blues".



When I got to Donna's house I was not very pleased to see the state the back yard was in, as it was overgrown with weeds, the grass was a foot tall, and the rock bed she wanted weeded was non-existant, as I only saw weeds! At that moment I was looking for my spaceship, teleport fob, or glass slippers.... but thinking about it, I would have rather pulled weeds out of the ground than the hair from my head dealing with circumstances at home. So for the next several hours I worked without stopping on a most gorgeous day. When it was time to do the rock bed, I couldn't help but notice some very strange looking, yet beautiful stones that i couldn't help but polish off to catch their glimmer in the afternooon sun. All day Donna had left me alone, but when I started the rock bed she started watching me like a hawk, peering down her nose as if she were a nun waiting to see if the alter boy snags a swig of the confessional wine. For the next hour she didn't say a word to me but kept coming behind me and moving certain rocks around and kept muttering to someone or something, but it wasn't me she was talking to. I was convinced that Donna had some form of dementia partly because of the muttering, but mostly because the family she told me about that were supposed to be waiting to use the yard..... were invisible.



Finally, when I was done, Donna had a huge smile on her face and asked me if I could help her with one more thing and move "Harold" to the back yard  because he is quite heavy. Ahhh, the "family". So she wasn't a quack after all, I thought. Following her to the front porch I was expecting to see an old man in a wheelchair or walker, but she kept walking and stood by trunk of her 1960's Biscayne. NOW, I was convinced that something was very wrong about this whole thing, but for some reason, I still followed Donna to her car. She then looked at me, almost giddly, handed me the ignition key, and said: "Dear, back the car up to the back yard next to the fence and rock bed, I'll open the gate . Be careful not to run over Norman!". (cat??, I thought). So i backed the land yacht as instructed and Donna stood at the truck looking at me like "cmon stupid".



I was like: "Where is Harold?"

Donna looked at me with a grave bewilderment and said: "In the trunk, of course. I wouldn't want to make mess my interior".



At that point I didn't know whether to run or call the cops or both. Instead, I faked a cell phone call and began to diligently walk away. I heard Donna ask me if something was wrong and I turned back and shouted, "Yes, Donna, I believe there is. But I don't know what it is and frankly I don't want to know"!



Donna looked puzzled and hollered: "Well aren't you going to help me with Harold?" Then she looked at the sky and closed her eyes with a smile and said: "OHHHH Dear! PLEASE, let me explain! Honey everything is alright. Now c'mere and help me get him situated". (she was trying not to laugh, but couldn't hold it.



Donna began laughing, literally slapped her knee, and didn't stop until she opened the trunk; staring at what was inside. I could see her face go from sheer joy to a emotionless gaze as she looked into the trunk. At this point, curiosity set in and I HAD to see Harold.



I couldn't help but look, and what was in there changed my life forever. I asked her: "What is that?", as I stared at this awesome stone.

​

"That is my third husband Harold. He died from the cancer two months ago and this was his favorite stone, Lavender Quartzite. Now be careful and set him next to Norman... the Angelsite right there.." pointing at one of my favorites of the rock bed that day.

​

My mind was racing as goosebumps  ran up my spine,  because I just realized the significance of the stones in her garden. I was completely and utterly speechless. Donna went on to explain each stone I had previously polished: "Norman was Harold and Donna's first born son who died in Vietnam. His brother Henry, the Rhyolite on the opposite end over there, was killed in WWII who suffered the same fate and served in the same regimen as my second husband William, the bloodstone, next to Henry."



Donna walked me through several more stones without my inquiry, but I hung on to every word, listening intensely, as she shared with me the fact that she has outlived both her children, 2 husbands, 3 brothers and 1 sister. I was awestruck.

 

Finally the phone rang inside and she excused herself as I was left alone with her "family". I had to sit down and the grass was perfect.

I woke up to the sound of frogs croaking, sitting in a chair, in Donna's backyard, covered with a blanket. Donna was on her porch sweeping the grass clippings and still talking.... to her family. She noticed my movement and hurried over to pay me for my services, "It's all I have, and I know you have done much more than I could ever afford to pay you."



I tried to refuse any payment at all and she insisted that irt would be an insult to her if I didn't take it, so I put the 20$ in my pocket, thanked her, and asked her the last question I'd ever ask her: "Donna, I'm curious, and pardon me for asking, but what happened to your first husband?"



"Oh I shot him with my Daddy's shotgun before the war", she said seriously, "right between the eyes...pow!".

then, after   an uncomfortable pause, she chuckled. "That's not true, I couldn't help it dear, even at 98 I haven't had that many opportunities at humor... but He ran off, that son-of-a-bitch, and knew better to show his face around me anymore. Haven't seen nor heard from him since. Far as I know, he's probably hiding under some rock, the coward."



Remembering the time I thought of my own relationship knowing I'd never be able to explain where I had been and why, and it wouldn't be believed anyways. Donna thanked me for such a nice job and I told her I looked forward to seeing her again.



When I arrived home, it was utter chaos and I didn't say a word, nor was I in the slightest bit angered or fearful of all the hysterics that i was subjected to. I walked to my room, grabbed some clothes and left. I was at peace and there was nothing that could have taken the miracle of that day from me.



I found myself in the back yard of a little old lady I never knew. Life had purpose and value from that point on. Thus began the journey to starting Dirt Cheap Lawn Care.

 

I can't help but have tear-filled eyes as I am now typing this, and every time this true story is told (not from sadness, but from joy) I realize that no matter what happens to me, I always benefit from it in some way, if I choose to perceive every moment as a learning experience and that life is too short to respect each day as a precious gift, extremely fragile, and needeth to be handled with care.

 

"Every living thing comes from the dirt in some way. When was it first said that being dirty is a bad thing?" ANONYMOUS



by: J D Benton