It was a slightly cloudy, pre-fall day in the order department. A subtle breeze moved past the window at the back of my cubicle, rustling the leaves of the trees. I suddenly noticed that the odor derived from multiple nights of eating employee gifted garlic, roasted with olive oil and a pinch of salt, had made its mark, filling my breath and clothes with its pungent aroma. One of the many perks of working customer service behind the great distance of a phone line, is that I and my fellow office mates were the only ones who could smell it. With October just weeks away, and Halloween here before too long, I had no fear of vampires. And then the phone rang.
“Hello, this is Andrew, how may I help you” I rattled off as I had hundreds of times before.
“I would like to place an order” a woman’s soft voice filled the speaker of my headset. “I would like to order some garlic” she said.
I silently rolled my eyes, my stomach churning from the remnants of the sacrificial bulbs which still sat dissolving in my stomach. I filled out her order form asking the regular questions, and then finished up tallying her shipping and figuring out her shipment date. We entered her credit card information and I then began the concluding statement that usually ends the call, “May I help you with anything else?”
“Actually,” the woman’s charming voice lowered a bit, gaining an eerie note of subtext. “Have you ever heard of planting with the phases of the moon?” Her inquisition set me off guard.
“Yes, I have, in a college class about the pre-colonial Aztecs.”
She continued, “Well, does it work?”
“I am not sure.” I said, “But I don’t see why not, the moon supposedly influences the tides of the oceans, why wouldn’t it have an effect on the water and growth of plants or roots?”
“We shall see my sweet.” She cackled slightly, as her voice trailed off and the receiver went dead.
((This story is based on an actual call received in the order department. My name has not been changed, mostly because it is attached to this post anyway, and everything said in this post is reasonably accurate to the actual occurrence, except the last line where the customer called me “her sweet” and cackled.))
If you are interested in planting by the phases of the moon see the following sites:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/868/
http://www.gardeningbythemoon.com/phases.html
http://kaykeys.net/spirit/earthspirituality/moon/moonseed.html
