Black dirt. Top soil. Mud. Clay. Loam. Earth.
There are lots of kinds and lots of names for the ground we walk on, but for most of us, it is simply dirt. At least that’s what my father called it. He and my Uncle Red were in what he would refer to as the “dirt business.” They owned a gravel and excavation company in Kossuth County, one that my brother Brian and cousin Denny now own and operate. Digging basements. Building pads. Hauling gravel. That kind of stuff.
The dirt business never rubbed off on me. Operating heavy equipment was stressful, as the margin of error was slim, and the potential for damage was huge. Having said that, I was quite effective with a shovel. My friends fondly called me Scoop. Still, I never quite understood the different degrees of dirt.
I was born and raised in a rural Iowa community, but I lived in town. (Note to my journalist friends: I know, hogs are raised; people are reared. I am still going with raised.) Even so, the rural connections were strong as many of my classmates lived on farms, and most all of my friends worked in agriculture at some point — detasseling corn, walking beans, baling straw or picking rocks from fields.
One of my buddies talked me into joining FFA — the Future Farmers of America. The only thing I really knew about the organization was that John Cougar Mellencamp wore one of their blue corduroy jackets with the sleeves cut off in concert. Seemed cool to me. But being in FFA meant being in the classroom studying FFA stuff, like soil judging. I was clueless, as it was all just dirt to me. Our class participated in a soil judging contest. I took last place. Mr. Greiman, the FFA instructor, politely suggested that maybe FFA wasn’t for me. He was right.
I continue to struggle with dirt when I place top soil and grass seed in the bare spots in my lawn each year. The weeds grow just fine. The grass, not so much. I probably don’t water it enough, but I am blaming it on the dirt.
Maybe I am just bitter that I never had one of those FFA blue corduroy jackets. Who knows? Meanwhile, the only dirt I am digging up now can be read in the stories of our publications. You can still call me Scoop.
Have a marvelous Monday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
