Laying Pipe

and i want to be a landscaper.

not even the creative designing part, but the actual dirty, sweaty, physical labor of turning overgrown lawns into private paradises. i want to be outside, smelling freshly cut grass, in the weather with the bees and butterflies, where i can watch each flower bloom and leaf change.

unfortunately ... 1. the competition for manual labor is stiff out here in the southwest. i can't imagine that standing on the corner with the illegals would work out in my favor. nor can i imagine some creative landscape designer is going to pick the prissy white girl with the law degree as a prized employee. 2. i have the pressure of three years' worth of graduate school debt coming due in a couple of months, not to mention the years and years worth of free services, legal & otherwise, i owe to my parents for keeping me healthy, sane, and in a moving vehicle throughout law school.

maybe it's because i'm a country girl that i appreciate an honest day's work more than the average person. the greatest reward for your time is having something to show for it at the end of the day ... like a sore back, a knee-high pile of weeds, and pretty flowers that can breathe easily again. spending hours searching for and scanning statutes and cases, although necessary to formulate and analyze legal arguments, does not leave you with that same sense of accomplishment. and all you have to show ... a handful of papers, fingers fluorescing with highlighter stains, and a stabbing pain right behind the eyes.

it has been said that writing is manual labor of the mind: a job -- like laying pipe. spoken like a writer if you ask me. still, it's time to take a hint from john gregory dunne and give my education a chance: thinking is work. it's just been so long since i stopped doing it ... that i've forgotten how difficult it can be -- how many long, flat runs i've spent perfecting it. that a lot of people are incapable of it beyond the most basic level. and what a valuable commodity it is.

and if it doesn't work out, i'll give you a deal if you let me mow your lawn.