VEGETABLE LOVE

VEGETABLE LOVE, by Tammy Ryan.  April, a troubled woman who is mourning the death of her father.

You know what scares me?  Not human catastrophes like relationships and nuclear war – we can avoid those if we’re smart – we probably aren’t, but if we were – we have some measure of control over those decisions – some human’s finger is on the button, and it’s up to him or her – it’s up to us in a larger sense – to decide if we are that stupid or not.  And that’s pretty frightening too, actually, now that I’m talking about it – but not in the everyday sense.  I’m able to live on some level of denial about that.  But what punctures through the everyday veil of denial – what really really scares me in waking moments and in sleep – like now – is Mother Nature.  There’s no way to protect yourself from a really big earthquake – or an out of control tornado, or a hurricane – or a – a typhoon.  I mean, there’s no reckoning with that kind of power.  Struck by lightning?  It can happen at any time.  And if we venture out further – like imagine Outer Space:  billions of meteors cruising like ballistic missiles, missing us by inches?  How do we know?  You know what wiped out the dinosaurs?  A rock.  A big one.  It’s insane.  We can be wiped out by the mindless whim of Mommy Nature skipping stones across the galaxy.  She smiles at us from out of Hallmark Cards, but Mommy gives away how terrifying she can be with every move she makes.  I mean, do you realize what kind of force has been unleashed in you?  To set life in motion?  ZAP!  Like lightning striking.  Do you know there’s only fifteen minutes in a month when a woman can get pregnant?  It all comes down to a difference between one moment, really, and another, for every person that’s alive.  It’s a miracle.  That kind of power is impressive – and absolutely horrifying.