Dunbar Memorial Garden

Neither rain, snow, sleet, road closures, nor hearing impairments can keep us from our Saturday gatherings at the Dunbar Garden. Actually, we didn’t have any sleet or snow but I did wake at 7:30am to a downpour of rain: potential impediment number one.

After some lengthy discussions with Jesse’s dad we decided to just pack our essentials and not the usual excessive amounts of food and garden tools and just wing it in the hopes the weather would turn. Scouting Intellicast.com I read that from 10am to noon there would be a 10% chance of rain and the skies would be mostly sunny.

As usual, I headed out early to Dunbar and there encountered potential impediment number two: the main road leading to the garden around the athletics fields was “CLOSED.” I sat and stewed, debating moving the barrier and taking my chances but as luck would have it someone who had been walking the track told me there were patches of new asphalt along the road. I parked my car just knowing there would be folks coming in from the “access road” off Man O’ War who might be deterred from joining us because of the sign. Jerome said “No one comes that way, meet us at the front of the school” and of course I said “No.”

Within five minutes, up drives Natalia, then Jaz, then Sarah and finally Tyler – ALL using the access road. HA!

We pooled together, called Jerome and decided to drive back out Man O’ War and meet at the end of the road past the baseball field. We trekked up the hill to the garden with enough hands to pack all the supplies.

Our “core group” intact, we were wonderfully surprised to see Jackie and two n00bies Arlene and Maria who had walked to the garden, ignoring all potential impediments. These three young ladies were joined by Jaz and Katelyn (whose dad also loaded my truck with computer donations for Mindtriggerz) and with paint brushes in hand were soon transforming the picnic table into a work of art and love.

Then here comes Grace who we now call “Gracie” because she calls James “Jamie” and those two hauled some major buckets of sand (and played in the creek) as the rest of us pulled weeds from between pavers and re-sanded.

Impediment number three: I have some major hearing loss that has been the butt of many harmless and loving jokes at the garden but it has never stopped me from working, enjoying and appreciating these beautiful and precious young people who give up Saturday mornings to maintain and increase the incredibleness of the Dunbar Memorial Garden. Tyler came up to hug me and at that point said “I want to apologize for calling you ‘deafie” last week” to which I responded “Tyler, not only did I not even hear you say that but it would take a lot more than that for me to be upset with you,” and then I told him how it reminded me of Hannah. Jerome would often send her to fetch me to get my opinion or approval or whatever and in my minds eye I can see her gorgeous freckled face and hear her voice increasing in volume as she said “Hey Bekki, HEY Bekki, HEY DEAF LADY” and so I thanked Tyler for giving Hannah back to me for a few minutes.

We were excessively happy to see Richard Weber of Springhouse Gardens arrive with his expertise and horticultural bag of magic tools and he set to work pruning, advising, marveling and even snapping some pictures of the garden. As we began to disband around 1ish, we were all pleased with what we had accomplished and what we will continue to do in the name of love. And we all really loved the view from the bottom of the hill of the garden up high

And yes, Tyler has a heart – a really big one (and not just a keychain facsimile thereof!!!).

Love you all madly and without end.

<3

Jesse’s mom