Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

Do you remember this Pete Seeger anthem from the 60's?



Ah, sweet.

I was reminded of it just the other day when passing the lovely garden at 123 Jefferson Street-- the little park adjacent to the Boys and Girls Club of Hoboken.

Well, it was lovely.

On April 24th, 2010, the day Timmy O. and his wonderful group of volunteers took a chunk of their day to plant the barren soil there with colorful flowers and veggies.

As noted on April 23rd in nj.com: "The Earth Day-centric event, though tardy by two days, is an opportunity to develop a sustainable vegetable garden at the site."

Terrific idea, Timmy!

Here are some pics from that day:

Timmy O. gettin' jiggy wit da flowers.

All done-- gorgeous!

I told you it was lovely.

Do you have a garden? Or houseplants?

You will find that flowers are easy to cultivate with these 2 essential elements: sunlight (requirements vary by plant) and water (ditto). In the outdoors, human intervention may be required on the latter need due to insufficient rainfall. This is called 'maintenance'.

Have you ever killed off a plant because you didn't give it proper maintenance?

I have.

In fact, instead of a green thumb, mine's black... I call it the Thumb of Death. Now you understand why I would never take on the responsibility of growing a garden. Because it would end up looking like this: (pics taken yesterday, 7/11/10)


And this:


And this:


And this:

Oh, the humanity!

Wait... that last photo didn't belong. People, not plants, actually died in that event, so it's not even funny. If you laughed, shame on you.

But the other pics...did you see that botanic-Armegeddon ?

That's exactly what my garden would end up looking like. Because you know me... I would plant it, take a few pictures of myself doing the work to impress you with my efforts to beautify the neighborhood, I might even get them published in the local paper. Then I'd walk away and forget about it.

Hold on a minute... does that arena of death, that field of plant-genocide look familiar to you? Why, it's... it's... it's... Timmy's garden!

Jesus Christ, what HAPPENED to it? Well, surely it's not Timmy's responsibility to water it every day. Definitely not. But...

Here's what he said in this week's Hoboken Reporter, in a letter to The Editor:

Hmm... he says he "sits on the advisory board at the Boys and Girls Club".

Which begs the question: did he ever advise them to water the flowers he planted? Did he advise them to keep them alive? Did he even have a look at the garden since April 24th?

I guess Timmy and I have a lot in common. My garden would have been dead by April 25th. I'm not sure when Timmy's flowers were visited by the Angel of Death. I hope they passed peacefully.

Please note further, the other highlighted portions above in the excerpt from Timmy's letter. I chose to highlight the word 'dedicated'. Timmy promises, if elected, to be dedicated to his 4th Ward constituents.

As 'dedicated' as he was to his 4th Ward flower garden?

My heavens, let's hope not!

Can you imagine all the those thirsty and wilting 4th Ward residents?

Well, I would like to end this sad documentation of floral fatality on a positive note: it looks like the weeds over at The Boys and Girls Club are thriving!

See?



Look how they're flourishing! I guess weed maintenance is easier than flower maintenance.

Since Timmy sits on the Boys and Girls Club advisory board, he must be advising them to maintain the weeds, although he didn't seem to know about the pool's scheduled opening which was announced by the city at the end of May.

Now I'm confused. Timmy is on board for the weed maintenance, but offline for the flower maintenance... then is in the dark about the pool schedule though he "sits on the advisory board"... oh, this is way too confusing.

Well, no doubt his heart is in the right place. You gotta love a guy who likes flowers. I do. It's the way to my heart. Timmy, you've got my vote!

Too bad I live in the 6th Ward.

Finally, in memory of the departed:

Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the flowers gone?
Girls have picked them every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the young girls gone?
Taken husbands every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the young men gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the young men gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the young men gone?
Gone for soldiers every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the soldiers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Gone to graveyards every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

Where have all the graveyards gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Covered with flowers every one
When will we ever learn?
When will we ever learn?

©1961 (Renewed) Fall River Music Inc
All Rights Reserved.

R.I.P., Timmy's garden.

And thank you, volunteers for your hard work and effort.