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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Vines (11/21/05)
Up the ladder we go...

Carefully. So-o-o-o carefully.

"How did I let myself get roped into this?" she said to no one in particular, immediately followed by, "Roped! Ha, ha!"

Layers upon layers of stubborn ivy blanketed the old structure, and she had been absent when the clean-up tasks were assigned, lucky her. Thus, here she was: afraid of heights but up on a ladder; clumsy, but, as previously stated, up on a ladder; with pollen allergies but assigned to an outdoor, let's-deal-with-greenery job.

Early in the morning on a Saturday, to cap it all off!

Her attitude was less than 'beautifully Christian' as she stepped up, wrung by wrung, precariously balancing the tools she'd need as she climbed.

Shortly, she figured she should just start at the ground level and pull, so down she went.

Pull turned into heave, and heave turned into war.

As was her custom, she spoke threateningly to her obstacle, her rival, her enemy in the completion of the chore: "I'm tougher than you, I'm stronger than you, and I'm going to win this one."

The ivy remained unimpressed and thriving.

Two sweaty, scratchy, itchy, and sneezy hours went by, and a small area the size of a door was cleared.

The remaining surface of the wall was as green as ever.

The battle raged on, and the clearing grew to a section comparable to a bath/shower stall.

She took a lunch break, shed some tears, and bought a Weed Whacker.

She approached her foe once again in the early afternoon with a gleam of triumph in her eyes and an evil cackle rising. "I've got you now--you just wait!"

The no-plant zone grew wider and higher, but she made the unfortunate discovery that a ladder and a Weed Whacker should NEVER be combined when doing yard work.

After the trip to the drug store and the application of the bandages, she worked until the light dimmed, and vowed to return the following Saturday to finish off the evil greenness, then stand victorious before an ivy-free wall.

The following Saturday morning didn't start well. There, in the hard-fought brick-red areas, she saw new growth of the insidious vines--verdant streaks reaching, climbing, twisting, grabbing hold. Her scream brought other workers running, but she smiled sheepishly and explained that she was only 'venting'--no emergency here.

She sat and thought first this time--another tried-and-true method of tackling adversity. Her mumbled line of reasoning went like this: "I'm doing this the dumb way, obviously. How else could I have accomplished this?

"Do they have plant-zapping lasers?

"Should I have poured acid on it from above, let it sit overnight, then use a squeegee to get it off?

"How do you kill a plant, anyway?"

And she smiled.

Once again armed with the Weed Whacker, she made a couple of quick flicks of the wrist, and her work was done for the day.

The following week, she returned and easily pulled the dead and drying carpet of ivy from the building, filling bag after bag with crunchy yellow-brown plant matter.

After the clean-up, she smacked her hands together in the 'all-done-with-this' gesture and surveyed her handiwork. "Yep, just separate the branches from the vine and they'll die."

As she walked off into the sunset, she waved, victorious, to the imagined crowd of spectators. "HA! I WIN!"

"Wa-CHOOO!"

********


I am the true vine... Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. John 15:1a and 4-6, NIV
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Member Comments
Member
Date
Sandra Petersen
11/28/05
I wanted to be the first to pat you on the back for a wonderful and humorous entry this week. There were so many well-worded sentences that I couldn't begin to list them. All of Paragraph 4 and P. 8-10 were some that I noted. I especially liked "The ivy remained unimpressed and thriving."
Sandra Petersen
11/28/05
Didn't mean to hit the enter button before I finished. The one sentence paragraphs were very effective when describing her escalating personal 'war' with the ivy. Had just three, I hope constructive, comments. 'Wrung' should be changed to its homophone 'rung'. Watch overuse of adverbs, those pesky -ly words. Someone, maybe on the message boards, wrote that an author could try erasing all the adverbs, then read the selection without them, and see if the adverbs are necessary, then write back in the ones that are needed for clarity. In my research for this topic, I learned that the best way to cause further damage to a wall with clinging (not tendril type) vines is to pull at them. Most methods cause damage to the mortar. That aside, this contained a timely lesson for all of us at the end. Well done!
B Brenton
11/28/05
At first it would appear that you have written inside the box, but then you get to the end and it's evidently clear that the ball is WAY out of the park... oh, I mean... the box.
It has a message, it's a good read and it doesn't weigh you down with emotion. Kudos.
Wendy Hamilton
11/29/05
One of the most inventive takes on the topic in this challenge. I love the language and especially liked how you tied it all in at the bottom. A common activity that now will trigger a spiritual thought - excellent job on establishing take home and take to your life value!
Anita Neuman
11/29/05
Well-crafted story, brilliant character-development, humour, and a message. You've got it all!!!
terri tiffany
11/30/05
I thought this was humorous, cute and great action. I love the ending. You did a great job!
Marilyn Schnepp 
12/02/05
An entertaining read on an unusually dull subject called "work"; however, you made it sound almost fun with the humor thrown in for good measure. I've always heard "kill the roots and the greenery will die"...but now I see you were trying to blend in the particular the Bible Verse. Nice job (excuse the pun)! Kudos

I
Val Clark
12/04/05
At last, Brenda, I've found it. What a fun read. The gardener/sneezer inside me totally identifies. The solution and our downfall so simply applied. Well done. Yeggy
Julianne Jones
12/04/05
Very enjoyable and a great message. Well done.
Sally Hanan
12/05/05
You did a good job with this, and I liked the staccato sentences throughout.