interview

Lee Braver was the first interview in Paul Ennis’s series. I was next.

HERE IS THE INTERVIEW.

For those who wonder what corn detasseling involves, see the photo below. The golden fuzzy thing on the top is the tassel. You can pull it out with a little bit of force; some are harder than others. The reason for detasseling is that these are fields of very special seed corn, and they don’t want it randomly cross-pollinating with just any old corn plant.

The one thing about this photo is that this kid is crazy to be wearing short sleeves, no matter how hot it is (July is detasseling season). Pesticide gets all over your arms. I would always wear not only long sleeves, but also a scarf around my neck. You simply have to accept the heat as part of the job.

Now that I think of it, this kid is also a bit later than usual. You’re not supposed to wait until the tassel is already exposed like that. It grows inside a tight green sheath, and generally you pull out the whole sheath just a few days before the tassels are scheduled to emerge.

Anyway, this is how I earned my first copy of Being and Time. A classic rite of passage for kids in Iowa and other agricultural states. If memory serves, Nick Srnicek even did it in Ontario.