How Do You Want To Live Your Life?
I have a brick planter around the front perimeter of my corner lot. It's filled with roses and other flowers. There is a sign I hand made that one can see on the fence that says:
"My roses are pretty I know, I grow them for gifts and to show, but ask first you must, it avoids quite a fuss, and is the RIGHT way to get one you know."
I often notice, folks sniffin my roses and admiring them, whereupon I ask, "Would you like one?" [ made a LOT of new acquaintances-friends in this fashion ]
Over the years I've had many opportunities to interact with folks who have either asked for --- [ and been given ] or ignored the sign, and *taken* my roses.
Many lessons have been given AND received in the course of these interactions, over more then 30 years of living here.
One example, of a *poor* example would be the mother and her small boy walking by
the small child grabbed a rose and broke off the whole branch to take it
damaging the bush
and they walked away.I caught up with them and asked the mother why she did nothing to admonish her child? Her response?
"It's JUST a rose!"
My response to that?
It's just a rose *this* time
it's just a candy bar the next time
it's just a bicycle the next time
it's just a wallet the next time
it's just a car the next time
it's just your "proud-ofs" the next time
it's just someone's LIFE the last time!
WAY to go Mom!
She stalked off in a huff
A *finer* example would be MANY years back, when I'd noticed 3 teenage girls repeatedly takin my roses as they passed to and from school. Saw them do it several times that I'd hadn't time to call them on it.THEN, one afternoon, I was waitin for em; sittin on my porch, watchin.
They came up to the roses, broke some off, and when I approached to talk to them, ran away guiltily. Well I chased after them for several blocks, caught up to them winded, and explained that I wasn't gonnahurt them but I wanted to TALK to them bout how *they* were hurtin my roses by breakin them off poorly and the fact that they were *stealin* them when all they had to do was ask for em --
Well, whatta ya know?
These 3 girls *asked* for roses numerous times after, for a coupla years till they graduated.
THEN, one winter's eve, years later, when I was single, I had a dinner date, and I'd stopped in to a 7-11 store to purchase a rose for my date and when I laid the rose on the counter, the young gal clerk looked at meand her eyes went wide with recognition as she wouldn't accept my money for the rose but got out her purse and put *her* money for it into the till instead!
Guess who?
One of those 3 girls!
:)Copyright © 2012 Thomas Weller
aka
the "San Diego Highwayman"
snail mail:
Goose Creek Ranch
504 Macon St.
El Cajon, Ca. 92019
PH # 619-442-3767
Be sure to visit his weblog (online Diary):
On The Road w the San Diego Highwayman a workin in his "Soul Garden"
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