Diary (26th July 2024)
While dancing, but not so much that people notice, I stand by the conveyor belt and pick weeds off the bulbs as they flow by. To the loud FM radio music coming from behind me.
Reach out with your right hand, then your left. Right hand again, left hand again. Twist your neck, rotate your wrists, and sway your body from side to side as you work. I enjoy playing the choreographer-game alone, thinking about the order in which I move my body. Of course, I’m not skipping picking weeds or separating the bulbs, I’m just making the work dance. Thinking about naming this choreographic work, I remembered that there is a tulip sort called ‘Table dance’. Perhaps ‘Belt Conveyor Dance’ would be a good name. I imagine myself dancing this piece with the Polish female workers around me. No, I am sure I am already dancing with them.
While I was thinking about this, I was called to help with another conveyor belt operation. There, I was working on finishing crocuses. I removed crocus bulbs that didn’t have a nice brown skin on them, and removed the button-like things on the bulbs (what are these? I’ll have to look it up later). Quite a few are removed because they ‘don’t look good’. They must be beautiful when they are bought. The ugly looking bulbs are re-planted in the soil and given a chance to be born beautiful next year. If they don’t come out looking good next year, they will probably be returned to the soil.
With their white, yellow or purple flowers and slender leaves, crocuses are the sign of spring. You were the chosen bulbs that made it through the ‘Belt Conveyor Dance’.
