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Oscar Casares

Grass Roots

After my father died I made a decision that would have greatly disturbed him: I hired somebody to do my yard work.

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4 comments

Sunday, June 7th, 2009, 1:26 pm
Valerie says:
One of my fondest memories of my dad is watching him mow the yard. He’s always been so careful about the edges along the sidewalk and driveway; he’d even use small shears to trim along the front steps. Your article reminds me of when I was a kid. I also used to watch my dad take care of the yard. My parents still live in their small Southwest Texas town, but my husband and I live in Houston. When we moved here and I saw all of the lawn trucks parked along neighborhood streets, I just couldn’t understand it. Your article touches on so many changes and memories. Wonderful! Enjoyed it---

Wednesday, February 4th, 2009, 11:09 pm
Mike says:
Hey, I grew up in Brownsville, and I used to mow lawns for a living in Houston, so a friend told me to read this. I stopped mowing lawns 4 years ago because I had to work for men like this, someone who tells you several times in this story how important a writer he is because he is so busy writing something that he doesn’t have time to mow a lawn. Mostly men like him were always looking for someone to do it cheaper. At least he was thinking of his father while he wasn’t doing it himself. Cool guy.

Monday, February 2nd, 2009, 8:18 pm
Sarah says:
You wouldn’t know it if you saw me, but mowing the yard is one of my favorite things to do on earth. I will always remember the times I spent as a child, having my dad supervise me as I cut our yard..and he guided my every turn with the push mower.

Friday, November 28th, 2008, 1:32 pm
Robert Cuevas says:
I just read your piece and it touched a cord. I thought I reading about my father and growing up in Corpus. I lost him earlier this year (he was 83) and doing the yard is one of the things he taught me that I do well.I called my brother in Boston to tell him to find the article and read it. I know it will move him as it did me. Great article!

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