What Became Of The Days Of Buttercups On The Table?
When my body cries out “I’ve had it” and I feel frazzled from college studies and my other daily commitments, I escape into the woods behind my home and enjoy the serenity of a walk.
Recently, as I peered over the edge of the hillside, I found - standing proudly in the dark wet earth - one brightly colored yellow buttercup. I smiled and recalled memories of when the “First Buttercup of Spring” contest was held in Spokane. This contest entailed publishing in the newspaper the name and picture of the individual finding the first buttercup, as well as a short caption announcing its whereabouts.
This particular morning, the woods seemed bright and lovely as I recalled how often I had watched these fields fill up with buttercups. As I reminisced, I had visions of my four children - younger then - full of excitement at discovering these little masterpieces. “Mommy, hurry, hurry!” they’d squeal. “Come and see. We found buttercups!” They’d bend over and gently pick the shiny yellow wildflowers, knowing that they surely would be guaranteed a spot on my kitchen table. And since buttercups are strong and consistent and can be found in many places, we didn’t worry about breaking the golden rule of flower finding:
“Pick, if you must, one flower face
“If nine more blooms are left in its place.
“Two feet square must hold that many!
“Otherwise, just look, but don’t pick any.”
I also reflected back to when home was home and not a pit stop for data gathering - when we didn’t have faxes, cell phones or e-mail. I laughed as I imagined my grandfather worrying about whether to ignore the click of Call Waiting. I remembered when Sunday was designated a toil-free day and not a day of sacred shopping. I bent over, picked the lone buttercup and recalled the William Wordsworth poem that reads:
“The world is too much with us; late and soon,
“Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;
“Little we see in Nature that is ours.”
Whatever happened to the “First Buttercup of Spring” contest? Why not escape from our manic work pace and resurrect the contest?
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