Flowers and Cars

Today on the blog Slim Randles has a cute story about Doc and his grandson and cars, but first just a moment with this lovely flower I saw outside my doctor’s office the other day. It’s some type of lily, but I’m not sure what the exact name is. I’d been told that a similar plant that has grown in my yard is a Calla Lily, but I think what people were saying is Canna Lilly. I may have simply misheard it all these years, and I’m guessing this one may be in that species as the leaves are similar.

Now off to do a Google search to find out. I love the fact that we can find answers to questions so easily and quickly, although I tend to go down rabbit holes when doing searches, especially about flowers. Be right back, er, maybe in an hour. 🙂

Okay. I found out this flower is a Canna Lily and it’s name is Canna Lucifer. Why would anyone would name a flower as pretty as this after the devil?

The lily in my yard is red, and I just found it’s name: Atlantic Beauty Red. The bulbs for the Reds cost $27, cut from $54. Yowzers! I’m glad I brought bulbs from Nebraska to East Texas and now to my home here. They are very hearty and made all the moves with ease. I couldn’t get a good picture of the flowers today, as this was the only stalk that had blooms.

Now, here’s Slim and his friends. Enjoy…

Mrs. Doc brought them some ice cream, but Doc and Charles weren’t that interested. Charles is Doc’s six-year-old grandson, and both Doc and Mrs. Doc, after having been around so many years, have found it fascinating to view the world through the fresh eyes and wonderment of a youngster.

But turning down ice cream?

Doc had to chuckle, because he didn’t even know that was possible. But the remote-controlled toy wouldn’t be denied. As Doc watched, Charles turned switches and pushed buttons and the mysterious machine changed form. It became a monster instead of a race car and walked over to scare the sleeping cat.

When the laughter finally died down, they both agreed it was worth it. Then the monster became a race car once again and shot across the floor and had a head-on collision with the leg of the couch. Charles expertly backed it away.

“You want to drive it a while, Grandpa?”

“No thanks,” Doc said. “I couldn’t drive it as good as you can.”

And Doc knew that was true, even though Doc had been driving a car since the invention of stop signs, and Charles couldn’t do that yet. But Charles, a coming first grader, held power in his hands.

Someday the boy would be driving a car, and Doc hoped the remote car’s lessons for safety and fun would carry on through the years to come. A guy needs to be in charge every now and then.

Brought to you by Home Country with Slim Randles, the radio show now on 70 country classics stations nationwide.

Check out all of Slim’s award-winning books at his Goodreads Page and in better bookstores and bunkhouses throughout the free world. All of the posts here are from his syndicated column, Home Country that is read in hundreds of newspapers across the country. I am always happy to have him share his wit and wisdom here.

Slim is a veteran newspaperman, hunting guide, cowboy, and dog musher. He was a feature writer and columnist for The Anchorage Daily News for 10 years and guided hunters in the Alaska Range and the Talkeetna Mountains. A resident of New Mexico now for more than 30 years, Randles is the prize-winning author of a dozen books, and is host of two podcasts and a television program.

4 thoughts on “Flowers and Cars”

  1. What a cute story. I grew red canna lillies all around the perimeter of the garden several years ago. Although they were so beautiful, they required digging the bulbs each fall because of our bitter cold winters. Needless to say, l wasn’t that ambitious and eventually found homes for them.

    1. When I had the lilies in Nebraska, I buried the front flowerbeds in leaves – lots of leaves from the trees in the yard. The bulbs made it through the winter. Granted the winter was slightly less severe than what you have, but I was always surprised the bulbs didn’t freeze. Those are the bulbs I brought to TX and planted, not knowing how they’d fare in the heat. The plants have done well, except for when grasshoppers are plentiful.

    1. They like some shade here, although a neighbor has some that grow around a telephone pole on his side yard and it is in full afternoon sun.
      I’m thrilled that the plant that started in NE, came to TX at my place in the country and is now happy here. I put the bulbs in some dirt near my fence early the first spring in my new house and wasn’t sure they’d make it. I didn’t dig deep – the land here is clay – but did the best I could. Now the plant is thriving after three years.

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