Rebel Music

We’ve got a special guest today! Please enjoy this D.O.P.E story by Timothy also known as Big City Gardener.

Storytime

When I first came across D.O.P.E. stories, I thought, damn, what a great idea. Fast forward to today now I’m going to be featured on the stories that’s pretty D.O.P.E. To be honest, I didn’t know what I was supposed to write. I had to message D.O.P.E. and ask him, “Man, what am I supposed to tell people about?” He responded and told me to put on one of my favorite albums, 400 Degreez, and use that motivation from the album to write. So I listened. The only problem was I still didn’t know what to write about.

Even though I love Juveniles 400 Degreez, it wasn’t the right album to help me get my thoughts and feelings onto the page. I needed my favorite artist, Bob Marley. I hit my iTunes library, pulled up Mr. Marley, and let it play. When Rebel Music came on, followed by So Much Trouble, the words started flowing.

I don’t tell a lot of stories because I don’t share very much about myself. I’m sure many of you know that I love gardening. Hell, that’s how D.O.P.E. and I connected. But I don’t think you know the reason why. So here goes. This story may bounce all around, but it will connect, hopefully.

I often tell the story that I remember being young and gardening, and that is very true. I have many fond memories. But I don’t know that these gardening experiences as a child kept me interested in gardening. I think my interest in gardening came when I realized it was a lot like me or vice versa.

When I was younger, I hated rules. I thought rules were for lames. I was a rule-breaker, a rebel. Now that’s not to say that I was a bad kid. I was just a kid who liked to experiment and push my boundaries. I mean, I have been in my fair share of Trouble. Hell, one of my mom's nicknames for me is Trouble. I love that nickname. It’s my next tattoo. I hear one of my parents, which I will not name, had a pretty rebellious nature. Go figure.

I am the son of two Jamaican immigrants. American born. See, they had ways of doing things that seemed foreign to the American kids and myself. That’s because their practices were foreign. My lack of understanding that my parents came from a different culture caused me to rebel. I just wanted to be “normal.”

I still have this rebellious spirit and nature within. I have never been one to follow the masses. I have always done me. What I wanted when I wanted.

When I was younger, l was popular. But, I never cared about the likes. I am not one that likes any extra attention. Actually, I have been described as aloof. Even still, to this day, I am not a fan of the spotlight. I think that’s one reason I avoided social media. More on that later.

I grew up loving and playing basketball. But I never loved playing games in big packed gyms. I never enjoyed playing in front of anyone. I preferred an empty gym or just playing 5s with no extra eyes on me. That explains why I was never that good. You may say I don’t like pressure, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I love and thrive under pressure, but I also love my space. I find peace in solitude. I like myself and enjoy getting lost in my mind.

I remember when I started my first garden as an adult. Not helping my mom or dad, but this one was mine. I dug up the ground in the corner of my yard. The area couldn’t have been bigger than 4x4, but it was a great start. This little garden is the real reason I prefer in-ground beds. That’s how I got started.

At the time, I had a friend by the name of pretty Ricky. Yes, I called another grown man pretty. When I started my garden, I went got tomatoes and peppers and planted them. Ricky would ask me every day do I have peppers yet?

One day, when I wasn’t in the mood for his shit, He asked me about gardening and why I do it. I still remember what he said “HAM, you can go buy tomatoes. Why are you doing this dumb shit? Bro, normal people, don’t do this.” He just wouldn’t stop. This exchange was during the days of Nextel phones. So if you are old enough, recall the sounds of the Nextel phones. He was chirping me every few minutes to say some more ridiculous shit.

Fed up and annoyed, I responded with something like, “if your wack ass is normal, I don’t want to do anything you do. I do this, so I’m not like you and the rest of these clowns I’m doing me. He laughed and said, whatever. He stopped chirping my phone, though.

People talk about a moment when a light bulb goes off, or things just make sense. This exchange with pretty Ricky was one of those moments. You hear about finding your why? Well, at this moment, I knew and still know my why.

Gardening is my form of rebellion, my ability to do me. It is a place for me to be alone with my thoughts and ideas. It is the perfect combination of two of my strongest traits rebelliousness and being a loner.

Like I said before, I’m not one to follow the masses or the trends. Before it was “cool” to have Locs, I had them. Before it was cool to have a Rick Ross beard, I was rocking one. Gardening is my extension of that.

The world follows a doctrine that says forget about growing your food. Forget about nature. Follow this model, and you will succeed. Go to school, get a job and eat this food from a grocery store. The rebel in me says, “not me.” I will not be controlled and will not follow your rules. Gardening is my way of rebelling. Stores offer teas and spices, but I would rather do me and grow my own.

In case you didn’t know, I’m not too fond of social media. Well, I wasn’t before Big City Gardener. Big City Gardener started as a way for me just to show that I loved gardening. Hell, I didn’t even want to do it. I felt like it was an invasion of my privacy. If it weren’t for my brother Chance Forman, I wouldn’t even be here. He pushed me to do this. Even though I told him how stupid it was, he wouldn’t let me quit.

The more time I have spent on Instagram and social the more I like it. Not for the likes but for the people whose paths I get to cross. Social media is continually introducing me to other rebellious, like-minded individuals.

Google defines a rebel as a person who resists any authority, control, or tradition. In my eyes, everyone who gardens is a rebel. I don’t know if people are even aware. By growing your food, you are resisting authority and control. So to me, that means gardening makes you a rebel.

So to quote Bob Marley, “Why can’t we roam this open country? Why can’t we be what we want to be? We want to be free” Gardening is my attempt at being free. I spread the love and knowledge for gardening, hoping more people begin seeking freedom. Like Bob says, “There’s so much trouble in the world,” and I think gardening can solve a lot of the world’s troubles.

Just Grow It

Big City Gardener

Tell the truth, does my motto, Just Grow It, hit a little differently?

(This attempt to tell a story took many shots, but the words finally began to flow as Bob Marley’s Rebel Music plays in the background.)