Blueberry Street

Short story written May of 2017

There once was a man named Carmelo. He lived on Blueberry Street. Everyone on blueberry street grew blueberry bushes. The people on blueberry street sold their blueberries every year at the town's festival.

Well, Carmelo was working on his bush one day when he noticed his neighbor Jack's and Jack's wife Ingrid's bush. "Wow, Jack your bush is so beautiful. Look at the curves on it. It's trimmed so nicely. Any man would be lucky to have that bush."

The next day Carmelo noticed Carol's bush two houses down. "Carol, your bush is loaded with blueberries. How do you get it to produce like that? I wish my bush would do what yours does."

The day after that Carmelo noticed Lakishia's bush. Lakishia always spoke deep thoughts while working on her bush. "Lakishia, you are such a profound thinker. It is probably why your blueberry bush is so beautiful." Lakishia graciously smilled. "Carmelo, maybe you should tend to your own bush more." Carmelo shook his head and replied back, "If only you knew the things I've done to get that bush to grow. To look like Jack and Ingrids, or produce like Carols.

Soon Carmelo began to notice so many beautiful bushes on his block. 'Man, I think I chose the wrong bush. There are so many bushes out here. Some people's bushes are shaped perfectly. Other people's are producing more blueberries. I did so many good things to shape my bush up and look at it.'

On the day of the the festival everyone collected their blueberries and were headed off to sale their goods. Carmelo sat on his porch watching everyone pass by.

"Carmelo, you're not coming out to the festival," asked Jack. "Nah, I wasn't able to produce much this year." "Well your bush is shaped so nicely," Jack replied back with one arm around his wife Ingrid.

Moments later Carmelo's wife walked out with a huge basket of blueberries in her hand.

"Wow," Carmelo exclaimed looking surprised to see so many blueberries in his wife's hand."When did you do that?"

Carmelo's wife replied, "I did it while you were so busy admiring everyone else's beautiful bushes. While you were complimenting them on their work and how wonderful their bushes were I was making ours beautiful."

Carmelo leaned around to see a luggage in his wife's hand."Where are you going," he asked?

"I'm leaving! I need a man who pays more attention to what the blueberry bush he already has and less to what other people are doing to their bushes."

Lakishia walked by with her basket of blueberries and said, "You know Carmelo, I'd like to ask you something."

"What," he asked.

"Do you think a man can give his all to his own blueberry bush if he's congratulating everyone else on their bush? Do you think a man can truly love everyone else's bush and expect to keep his own alive?"

Lakishia walked away.