This is an excellent topic, and one that we need to keep in mind if we want to see a robust future of gardening, much less rose gardening. I agree that we seem to be growing into a much more "indoor" culture, which to me transcends the concerns about too much device time in the younger generation (as I sit here typing this into a device...). It seems like outdoor time is compartmentalized into particular uses, mostly sports or commuting, and spending time in the yard for fun isn't usually a consideration. Goal oriented sorts may indeed get hooked with vegetable gardens, and that's a great hook for economic benefits as well. I think the key reminder for us here is the word "plants" rather than necessarily "roses" as an entry into the love of gardening, and to take to heart Josh's other post about enabling people he runs into casually. Every time I see someone new move into the neighborhood at large, I make a point of bringing them fresh produce and inviting them to stop by my yard and browse for free divisions of the many perennials I have to share. I figure it's a multiple benefit - getting something free means that there's no loss to trying, seeing something work in someone else's yard makes it more likely in yours, it makes people think that they COULD do something more than boring with their own yards, and I'm offering my help as a fellow gardener for advice. We ran into a new neighbor this weekend as my daughter and I were selling girl scout cookies up the street, and even though I didn't have any produce to offer at the time (duh - back to zero this week again), the new neighbor did look grateful at the prospect of being able to do "something" with her yard. The other thing we can do is literally as well as figuratively plant seeds with our own contacts in the next generation. My own kids are firmly convinced of the benefits of gardening in at least the tangible sense of food and smell and visual impact, though they're variable in wanting to help very directly. Regardless though, I keep throwing out information on basic garden problem solving when the opportunity comes up, and I know from my own experience how well some of that can stick in later years. I mostly learned gardening from the vegetable plots with my father, and didn't have my own yard till nearly 20 years later, but I could still hear his voice coaching me in techniques that have held through the test of time. I make sure to pass these along to the neighbor children, some of whom have parents who appreciate yards but are self-proclaimed "non-gardeners" (they even broke down and sold a beautiful greenhouse when they bought the place that I would have given my eyeteeth for). One of these days, those kids may grow up to want their own vegetables and flowers, and I haven't given up on passing along extra plants (including roses) to those neighbors yet either. I've basely corrupted every other neighbor on every side of me with roses and other plants, so I'm watching for my opportunities to share the love of plants when they're ready. Like every other aspect of gardening, encouraging others to love plants takes patience, but I'm never willing to give up on the challenge. Cynthia

Just wanted to update you all. Grandpa held on for a good month. My Dad was able to get him hospice care and Dad was there every single day with him. Finally my Uncle went to see him this past weekend. He passed on shortly after. I am glad my Uncle went, I believe that was why Grandpa held on so long. I think we are all at peace, finally. He is surely in a better place. Thank you all for your kind words.

Hello all, I lucked up on this site by trying to find answers to my situation. My spouse is cheating on me with his co-workers. He denies everything of course, but I've been able to gain access to his (our) bills that he hides from me. I discovered that he has been talking to several women, but one in particular that's going on know 1 year (she knows he is married). I found out that he has paid her phone bill by being noisy and discovered later that he has paid her phone bill a month earlier and the month after he and I discused it. I also found out that the two meet for breakfast, lunch and dinner frequently. My husband works midnight and I work days so he has the day to play. He works every night and volunteers for overtime, so basically we spend one night together maybe every two weeks. We have sex once a week, but he knows that I love sex and could have do it more then once a day. I also found out that he advertises online as a married man looking for a single women for a discret relationship. This sacred the hell out of me! When I try to talk about my feelings and hint to him about what I know he totally goes off and wants me to shut up. He refuses to go to a marriage counselor dispite me telling him that it hurts me that he wants female friends (the secret ones). He tells me that he loves me and is in love with me and that there is no one else in his life and that he is just friends with the females. Is there any advise?

Times for Farmers in the 1940s were tough for the ones who had not recovered from the Great Depression. My Dad was one of those. The only good time we had were the three to four years he spent in the oilfields as replacement worker for draftees. The war ended and Dad was anxious to go back to farming, an occupation he was ill suited for. Times were tough again for our family as out economic condition wilted while others around us were advancing. One year when I was about 10 yr old, my parents decided to gift a new calf to me as a reward for the labor I was preforming on the farm plus keeping my school work on par. The plan was for me to raise this calf to veal stage and then sell it to collect the sale price. All seemed well for a couple of months until one morning during planting season, I came upon my parents having a hushed conversation while glancing at me; I sensed a problem, and then, Mom sheepishly addressed me to explain they did not have enough money to complete corn planting this year. They needed a couple hundred dollars more and asked to have my calf back. They needed to sell it. I felt a loss and disappointment of loosing a promised gift, and yet strangely, I felt that I was doing a duty to contribute to my family for future gains. I manned up and replied, "Yeah, Mom and Dad, take the calf. I understand.", while secretly thinking: Somehow, I knew from day one this was not to be. That's the way it was on the farm in those days.