I was going to research ‘Does lead in the soil translate to lead in your food?’ but I decided, what-the-heck? Why stop there?
Why not go all the way?
(You see my achilles heel. I do not say bones. I do not mention blood.)
I am living next to a landscape of lead.
You see my prejudice. I do not mention…
Hmmm.
I cannot easily think what else to mention besides the lead.
Weeds?
In this landscape, the same as ‘lead’?
I have assumptions, not knowledge.
Onto the web, to “who is telling the truth?” to “Who Do I Believe?”
Onto the phone, to the Feds, to the County. I get a bemused scientist, and an ever-so reassuring educator.
Very calm, reasonable people. I get dosed with tranquility and education. Now I too can competently and calmly deal with the issue.
Two sets of shoes, and a damp mop will make everything okay.
That and Keep my Hands Out of my Mouth.
As to the yard? Dig it up. Throw it away.
Or. Cover it completely with a new yard. There are experts for this sort of thing.
My conversation cooperates with their lilting tones, but I get off the phone and translate: “We are screwed.”
I hear a subtext singing: “Mitigate where you can and Wait out the rest. Don’t breathe too deeply. Or whatever. Keep your children from rolling around in the dirt. Good luck with crawling babies.”
I think, “Yeah, what’s the government supposed to do? Be real? Thorough? Then what?” I get it. I shrug.
You can see my prejudice.
Still, I am curious. How do we best live in this world? Is owning more than one pair of shoes really a good strategy?
I am going to hunt up the answers, do my best to weed out Doomsayers and SoothingSayers, let you know what I find out.
I’m also keeping my hands out of my mouth.
2 comments
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August 2, 2010 at 5:24 am
Bill
And then there is the expression “get the lead out.” Yes, contractors make good money moving dirt. I’ve scraped enough paint off old walls to contribute my share and can only hope that the kids don’t eat the dirt. Since they all sit infront of computer screens far away from the earth outside, clearly they are safer than I was 50 years ago, jamming my “air rifle” into the soft dirt to shoot at imaginary Cowboys and Indians, giving new meaning to the other popular expression: “Eat lead!”
August 2, 2010 at 8:38 am
Kathleen
And . . . get a lead-free garden hose or–for God’s sake, don’t drink out of the one you own. (Of course, there’s no way to recycle the one you own, other than giving it to someone who doesn’t care about lead.) Plant any edibles in raised beds or earthboxes, and don’t water them with your old, lead-laden garden hose.