This morning, I was thrilled that a new load of gin trash was delivered to my garden.

A Load of Gin Trash Being Dumped into Jacki Kellum’s Garden

What Is Gin Trash?

Gin Trash is a by-product of ginning cotton. Unfortunately for many of you, you must live near a cotton gin to have access to gin trash, and that is one huge reason for living in the “Land of Cotton.”

On November 1, I began my New Year, and one of my resolutions is to be more active–for me and my life, that means to turn off the television and go back outside and relaunch my program of working in my garden,

Today, I have a huge pile of gin trash, which is the best garden soil available, and it will take me a while to shovel all of that dirt into the raised beds where they need to be:

“Slow and Steady Wins the Race.”

As I looked at the task of shoveling a large pile of dirt, I thought about the 2024 Presidential Election. If we look at the word “Race,” that word may allude to more than the race between the Tortoise and the Hare of Aesop’s Fables — It may also allude to the 2024 Presidential  Election.

Yes, Folks, we lost that race. But that race is not the end. It is merely an inconvenient pause that may be laced with setbacks and darkness, but another day [another race] lies ahead. Today, as I have begun working on next year’s garden — “Inch by Inch, Row by Row” — I urge the people who feel that they lost in the 2024 Election to begin a new garden for our nation.

“Come on people now, smile on your brother,” and let’s begin today to work on our new and improved nation.

Losses should be teaching tools. Let’s learn from our mistakes and begin again.

Today, I quote Toni Morrison who said:

“We speak, we write [and we make gardens]…That is how civilizations heal.” – Toni Morrison