the simple joys of suburbia.

It's embarrassing to admit, but I had never mowed a lawn until yesterday. Yes, I was rather sheltered as a child, but now I'm making up for lost time. And I was guilted into it by my parents. I must say, these new battery-operated lawnmowers are quite a delight. They are quiet, smooth, less greasy, and non-intimidating. Within two lanes of grass I was huffing and puffing like an old pro. I waved cheerfully at the neighbors, chomped on my cigar, and glugged away at my can of Schlitz.

Mowing a lawn carefully and slowly is really a Zen-like task. I fell into the zone of perfectly shredding circles in the lawn (my own take on crop circles, if you will) and found myself thinking about all sorts of deep thoughts. I thought about starting my own environmentally friendly landscaping business. I thought about taking some classes in xeroscaping. I thought about how I really should be wearing sunscreen at this time of day.

I was sad when the battery died and the lawn was not yet trimmed to perfection. One of the fallbacks to owning this Prius of lawnmowers. I went to charge it and then settled down into the iciness that is central air-conditioning. Another can of Schlitz soon followed.