ica or someplace where grass grows this high. I mean high. Even here
at the sidewalk it's well over a man's head, seven or eight feet. And
this crew is carving right into it, cutting it like steel with an
acetylenetorch. Theyre making big holes in it. You hear that hissing?
That noise like a steamhose? Well, that's the grass shriveling. Think of
it--grass with so much sap inside it hisses. It's drying right up in a
one-two-three! Now the top part is falling down--toppling
forward--coming like a breaking wave. Oops! Hay.... It put out one of
the torches by smothering it. Drowned it in grass. Nothing serious--the
boy's got it lit again. Progress is slow here, folks--youve got to
realize this stuff's about ten feet high. Further in it's anyway sixteen
feet. Fighting it's like battling an octopus with a million arms. The
stuff writhes around and grows all the time. It's terrific. Imagine
tangles of barbedwire, hundreds and hundreds of bales or rolls or
however barbedwire comes, covering your frontyard and house--only it
isnt barbedwire at all, but green, living grass.... Just a minute,
folks, I'm having a little trouble with my microphone cable. Nothing
serious, you understand--tangled a bit in the grass behind me. Those
burnt stems. Stand by for just a minute...."

"This is KPAR, The Voice of Edendale. Due to mechanical difficulties
there will be a brief musical interlude until contact is resumed with
our portable transmitter bringing you an onthespot account of the
unusual grass...."

"Kirk, Quork, krrmp--AR's portable transmitter. Here I am again, folks,
in the street in front of the Dinkman residence--a little out of breath,
but none the worse off, ready to resume the blowbyblow story of the
fight against the devilgrass. That was a little trouble back there, but
it's all right now. Seems the weedburners hadnt quite finished off the
grass in the parkwaystrip between the curb and the sidewalk and after I
dragged my microphone cable across it, it sort of--well, it sort of came
to life again and tangled up the cable. It's all right now though.
Everything under control. The boys with the weedburners have come back
and are going over the parkwaystrip again, just to make sure.

"I want to tell you--this stuff really can grow. It's amazing, simply
amazing. Youve heard of plants growing while you look at them; well,
this grows while you don't look at it. It grows while your back is
turned. Just to give you an example: while th