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A good friend, a widower with three children, had just lost his job
through a manpower reduction at the plant where he worked. When he brought
this sad news to our house, my husband’s reaction was, " Cheer up - it
might be a boll weevil ! " Not a cheerful individual by nature anyway,
our friend found little comfort in these words. But later, after an
explanation and a couple of cups of coffee, his back was a little less
rigid as he sat at our breakfast table. The lines around his mouth began to
relax. The phrase, "Maybe it’s a boll weevil," was adopted at our
house some time ago as a substitute for the mechanical words, " Things
aren’t always as bad as they seem. " It came about when we were
traveling through south Alabama
on a family vacation. We had stopped for lunch in the little town of Enterprise, and we
became interested in a tall bronze monument enclosed in a fenced - off area
in the middle of a busy street. Closer inspection revealed an inscription
on the statue that read, " In profound appreciation to the Boll Weevil
and what it has done as the herald of prosperity." We learned that
this was the only known statue in the world honoring a pest. It was not
erected as a joke, but as a genuine honor. Before the Mexican boll weevil
invaded Coffee County, Alabama, cotton was king and the local
farmers would not consider growing any other crop. After the boll weevil
wiped out their cotton crops year after year, the people began to turn to
other commodities. Corn, potatoes, peanuts, sugar cane, and hay - as well
as livestock - were found to thrive on Coffee County
farms. Soon more peanuts were harvested there than in any other county in
the nation. The small but mighty peanut turned the economy of the area
around. Cotton planters who had barely eked out a living, expecting their
crops to failas much as seven out of every ten years of planting, began to
enjoy the benefits of peanut growing. Later, on the way home from our
vacation trip, we had a flat tire in front of a service station. Our
kindergartner eased the tension and coined the phrase that has become part
of our household conversation. " Don’t worry Daddy," he quipped.
" It might turn out to be a boll weevil ! " Ever since, we have
used that phrase in our family to comfort each other when troubles hit. It
seems to be much more effective than wooden phrases like, " Perhaps
it’s better this way", or " Things have a way of working
out." Recounting the history of the boll weevil to our friend gave him
time to calm down and give reasonable thought to his next step. And like
the farmers in Coffee
County, he found a
way out. Always a handy man at fixing things, he turned his basement into a
small - appliance repair shop. He hasn’t yet reached the point where he is
able to make income equal to the one he earned at the plant, but there are
other rewards which he feels are more important. His oldest son has become
his interested assistant and companion in a way he never was before they
worked together. his daughter has taken pride in assuming the role of cook,
housekeeper, and den mother for her father and two younger brothers. The
road has not been easy, but we knew our friend had regained his equilibrium
when my husband took over a faulty lawnmower to be looked at on the morning
of a family reunion. He explained that within hours more than thirty
relatives would arrive at our house for an outdoor picnic and that our
grass needed to be cut. As our friend eyed the lawnmower, he quipped,
" Cheer up. Maybe it’s a boll weevil ! "
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