I love corn on the cob, who doesn’t? I have been told countless times that corn has no nutritional value and actually might even be harmful to the human digestive system. Then, of course, there is the unattractive aspect of eating corn on the cob that turns people off. I was born after my parents immigrated to Canada and I vividly recall hearing one of those “If we only knew” stories from them when we went grocery shopping. My dad stood, staring at a bin full of unhusked corn, shaking his head saying - “we left Portugal because of the poverty and hunger we suffered there, where we had fed our corn to animals. Never did we think to eat the corn, maybe we wouldn’t have been so hungry.”
Everyone has their beliefs. Unfortunately, most of them are unoriginal as we often adopt the ones we were raised with. My parents felt that corn was not for human consumption but excellent for animal survival. I continued to grow up in a household avoiding corn as if there were a scarecrow in our kitchen.
Don’t Be Afraid Of the Scarecrow
The Scarecrow, also known as Strawman, is meant to discourage birds and creatures like crows from eating growing crops. They are used all over the world but they are rapidly vanishing from our landscape because of the pesticides that have taken their place. Scarecrows no longer take the credit for perfect-looking corn but now has a more symbolic meaning. The symbolism depends on if you think of The Wizard of Oz or the history of the Strawman.
The symbolism I see for the Scarecrow is not like the one depicted in “The Wizard of Oz”. In the movie, he was simply seeking a brain/intelligence and was overall a very kind and sweet character. On the contrary, the Scarecrow was actually created to be threatening. For me it represents intimidation and when I avoid doing something because I am intimidated or frightened about it, then that is a Scarecrow at work. Identify the scarecrows in your life, the things that we fear are sometimes harmless in reality. Don’t be afraid of the Scarecrow and eat the corn.
Featured Image - “Corn And The Scarecrow ” by Fatima Learn. Acrylic Painting Paper.