No tulips nor tomatoes here

I work for a pretty good company; we manage and maintain apartments, a whole lot of them. I am a maintenance guy, and enjoy helping folks solve their little household breakdowns. I fix many toilets, sink drains, holes in the walls, broken doors and such.

Funding comes indirectly through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as that federal agency subsidizes tenants' rental needs.

In front of the apartment buildings where I work, there are mulched ground areas for sparse shrubbery. In past years, some residents have wanted to use small portions of their time and energy to put a few plants in the ground--tulips or lilies in the spring for color and cheer, tomatoes and maybe squash for a few veggies on the table later this summer.

But the tenants are not allowed to plant anything for themselves. Instead they are required to view the sterile, pine-barked grounds outside their windows, and live contentedly appreciating the unproductive, boxy little shrubs spaced three or feet apart along the front edge of the building.

And of course they can amuse themselves watching TV.

This seems a little odd to me, considering that the place is subsidized by the U.S. Department of Agricultural. Folks are prevented from growing a little food of their own?

I suppose it is just a sign of the times--life in the post-productive USA.

Glass Chimera