Mike Dixon
c/o Hazard Community College
Psychology Department
One Community College Drive
Hazard, Kentucky 41701
Dear Mr. Dixon:
My original intent in writing to you today was to tell you that I admire your decision to cease cutting your lawn. I find, however, that I need to request clarification from you regarding information that has been put forth in a news article about you.
The Associated Press insists that you are the mayor of Blackey, Kentucky. On the Letcher County web site, however, one Mark Stone is listed as mayor. I also could not find definitive information confirming that you are an instructor at HCC. I will suspend all disbelief, however, and assume for now that you are indeed who the press reports you to be.
I can appreciate the message you are sending by letting your lawn “go wild.” Time is too fleeting to waste it trying to groom green grass so that it looks just like the grass in front of the house next door. It appears that the unkempt state of your yard has attracted the local wild creatures as well.
I would like to suggest that you use this opportunity to raise the Kentucky citizenry’s awareness of another ecological approach to landscaping. You could commit a portion of your yard to native plants, demonstrating that folks not only can free themselves of the burden of commitment to their lawns, but help restore the natural integrity of Kentucky’s fauna. This would require more of a time commitment on your part than you may have wanted to devote to your yard, but I believe it would be a service to your community. If you contact the Native Plant Society, I am sure they can get you started.
Truly,
Liz Mann
