No. 1 Seeds

I grew up in a basketball town, Linden, Tennessee home to six state championships, three won by "Little Linden" in the 50's when schools weren't grouped according to size and three more since in Class A. 

This week the Perry County boys play again in the state tournament while Vanderbilt's men and women my neighborhood teams and Belmont my alma mater will both play in the NCAA tournament.  I suspect I'll be found in an area bar come Thursday and Friday (thanks "Sam's" for making the shift to non-smoking) where I'll cheer on Vandy and Belmont and keep up with Perry county on-line.

Basketball's "March Madness" stirs another March madness surging about this time in me as I'm reminded of my other #1 seeds - tomatoes, green beans, squash (yellow and zucchini) and zinnias.  

Tomatoes are tops with me because of their versatility.  They're like the player that can shoot the jumper and the three, drive in for a lay up while rebounding and guarding defensively.  Tomatoes aren't just for sandwiches. I love making my own tomato salsa and sauce. There's something so satisfying about having jars of sauce and salsa on the shelf through the winter and spring born of a process in which I've participated beyond purchasing them from the grocery shelf. One of my favorite meals is homegrown tomatoes especially Cherokee Purples, goat cheese and basil with a bit of oil.  Green beans with chopped garlic and almonds are a summer staple and squash, ever since I was a kid I've loved yellow squash slightly cooked, not mushy. Mmmm. Oh and can't forget about zucchini bread.  I don't know who came up with making this sweet dense bread out of this long slender squash but I like it. One loaf from last summer still awaits in the freezer. 

After last summer, zinnias made it as one of my top four seeds. They may not feed my body but they feed my soul.  Last summers seeds produced zinnias for two months.  I kept clipping them for bouquets and they just kept delivering blossoms of orange, pink, yellow and red.

Sports, especially basketball this time of year, stirs great passion. Having grown up in Linden and still being a fan, I totally get the excitement and enthusiasm.  I just wish we as a human team could rally around Earth and Nature rather than argue about global warming, climate change and the pros and cons of the EPA.  I wish we could cheer on Mother Earth and deeply appreciate her with the same level of enthusiasm that will be stirred for basketball teams during March Madness.

I suspect part of why we're not enthusiastic Earth fans is it's easy to take Earth and Nature for granted. Whereas Vanderbilt hadn't won an SEC championship in 61 years until Sunday, the grass grows, trees leaf out, birds sing and seeds sprout year round.  It's easy to take for granted the miracle of life on Earth. 

After basketball season is a memory and hopefully a sweet one for Perry County, Vandy and Belmont, I hope we're greater fans of Mother Earth and appreciating her #1 Seeds more this year than ever.  

Imagine the Shift! 

-Dawn, The Good News Muse 12 March 2012

dawn@imaginetheshift.com