Soldiers of the Grass

This is a story about a landscaping company called Centennial Landscaping, located in Lakewood, Colorado. That''s near Denver. There were only three employees: Me, Robert, and Doug, the boss.

The work was physically demanding, but there were fringe benefits. Like working around all the teenyboppers and the soccer moms, who were sunning themselves around all the pools. It was like a real-life Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.

The neighborhood we worked in was called Thraemoor and most of the residents were wealthy, and had beautiful lawns.

The bread and butter of our jobs was lawn mowing, although we did install a lawn.

We put in sod, river rock, trees and a sprinkler system. When we were done, the homeowners thanked us and told us how proud they were of their new lawn. They gave Doug a nice bonus.

Doug threw a party, and all the fine women showed up. I met this girl named Mallory, and we made out under all the pot smoke. It was dreamy. I really liked that girl.

As the summer of ''91 faded, I decided to go back to college and pursue my Marketing degree.

Robert went to work as a bartender.

And Doug just kept on landscaping.