Snapshot: Petals

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The petal business started years ago, when I was shaking off the petals of an over-blown peony and some little kid ran under them and got petals all over and reacted like Christmas morning, surprise and crazy joy. Kids seem to love showers of petals.

The current batch of neighborhood kids also likes just the petals themselves and uses them in arrangements. So now I shake off the petals on the lawn and the kids collect them for their own purposes.

But this time, instead of arranging the petals, they threw them all over my porch. Why did this do this? What went through their little heads? I don’t know. They’ve been in a deconstructivist mood lately, making arrangements then disassembling them — “disassembling” as in RUD, rapid unplanned disassembly, which is what rocket scientists say when a rocket lifts off then blows itself all to hell.

For instance, this is what remains of an arrangement with rocks, petals, and berries. These days, the kids are not arranging or they’re arranging only to disarrange. Is that bad? Maybe as Jessa says, it’s the emergence of a new school; maybe it’s RPD, rapid planned disassembly, the disconcerting preliminary to a new order? God I hope so, we need all the intentional orderliness we can get.

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Photos: the last two unimpressive ones by me; the first impressive one by my brother, Carl Finkbeiner.

3 thoughts on “Snapshot: Petals

  1. I am always…perhaps likely eternally…fascinated by how kids perceive all things. The ways they organize tangible things, particular, seems based upon a mix of internal, external, and “some other” set of knowledge and stimulation. I recall my eldest two kids…when they were 8 and 5. I had informed them they could have their pick of whatever I extracted from my pocket after they finished cleaning up their toys. My 8-year old son was drawn to one of two quarters…he picked the dull 1963 quarter instead of the shiny 1983 quarter. When I asked why, he replied, “the 1963 is made of silver, the 1983 is made of nickel”. I do not recall having previously informed him that the composition of quarters changed after 1964. My 5-year old daughter selected a wad of pocket lint. When I asked why, she replied, “I can get a toothpick and use this as a mop for my dollhouse”. Now in their 30’s, their perceptions and choices still fascinate me. Best wishes with the various expressions your neighborhood kids display around your place! (By the way, your two photos still made an impression)

    1. Glad to find a fellow enthusiast of whatever-it-going-on-in-kids’-heads. I mean, they’re right here, walking among us, and we have hardly a clue.

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