Canna Bulbs

     This morning I spent some time digging canna bulbs out of my little raised garden bed.  As you may know, this summer was not good for cannas.  It turned way too hot, way too fast.  Only two bulbs produced blooms all summer and the rest of them sent up these sick looking stems with leaves which wilted and dried out in the summer heat, even though I watered them as much as I did the tomatoes growing a few feet away.  This was the first year for these bulbs as I bought them "new" at Valley Feed and Seed.  One hot morning last summer my brother stopped over, and looking at the sorry state of the cannas said, "Well, this is the first year.  They won't do very well."  He was making a good effort to console me. 
     So today, I decided to dig them up and winter them at his place because the bulbs are not winter hardy for this area.  He's going to store them for me in exchange for a few of them to plant in his own yard.  Next year, I have a different place in mind to plant them, so I'm going to give it another go and see what they do.
     What's the point of this rather boring post?  Well, it is this:  As I was digging them up, I noticed new growth.  There were new shoots coming from new bulb growth - they looked like they thought it was spring and they were ready to greet the new season.  I was surprised at how the bulbs had grown underground, how many deep roots there were, and how they had multiplied the number of points that stems will come up next spring.  All this was happening right under my nose and I didn't know it until I got out there and unearthed them.
     In many areas, I think, we are surface examiners.  We take things at face value without knowing what's underneath, and our greatest tendency is to do that with people.  If someone looks a little different and talks a little different, we form our judgements.  If someone has mental health issues God forbid, we are quick to determine if they are a worthy employee, or, worse, a worthy friend.  If someone is homeless, we wonder what's wrong with them and why they can't have a roof over their heads like "everyone else".  With every person you know, there's a soul, a spirit, and many times, a creativity born of original thinking that we do not realize is there because we don't bother - and we don't bother because our prejudices have already spoken.
     Don't be like me, someone who was surprised about the canna growth that took place underground where I didn't bother to look until now.  Be a gardener in the dirt, yes, but be a gardener of people too.