I have always wanted to go through a corn maze, but for years the experience has eluded me. Perhaps there was a small part of me fearful of truly losing my way shaded out by a jungle of maize. And an even more distant delusion of being attacked by roaming zombies... But...today after 32 years, I can cross the experience of my list.
There is something to be admired of these plants up close. Driving by the fields, we think, "Oh, some corn...no biggie." But these giant grasses are so unique and amazing. For an American food staple and perhaps, an American icon, they are quite primitive. I felt as if I was moving through some sort of bamboo jungle, with the plant's huge grassy blades rustling in the wind..one large chorus of flowering lawn. 12 feet tall, the male tassels tussle against each other with each gust supported on pole-like stalks. It is quite something standing in the middle of corn field. You feel a strange sense of dense isolation. Outside sounds are blocked, and you are left alone to feel the Mesoamerican whispers of ancient cultures. It is quite something that this plant, domesticated from a typical grass plant over 9000 years ago, is now the most widely grown grain crop by weight in the world!
Check out more interesting facts about Zea mays @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maize and now's the time to visit your local corn maize...prepare to be haunted & lost!
