Letter From Home: People Are Peculiar 6/18/11
People are funny.
I do not mean in a ‘ha-ha’ funny type of way. I mean just peculiar.
When James and I discovered in May of 2007 we were to inherit a condo it came as a shock to us. A very good friend of ours passed away and left us the condo in his will. That should have been the biggest surprise of the week. While it may have been the biggest, it was not the only one.
One of our first interactions with one of the neighbors involved a conversation that went something like this.
“I am so sorry about the loss of your friend.”
“Thank you,” we said, “this is all rather sudden and we are not sure the next step we should be taking.”
“Well, can I have the shrubbery around the house?”
That is when James and I must have looked like two of the most dumbstruck individuals on the block.
“Well, no, actually we thought we might use the shrubbery ourselves!”
The neighbor was not finished.
“Well, how about that sunflower in the flower-pot? Can I dig that up and move it to our place?”
By now I was less than thrilled with the conversation and said if the sunflower was left where it was, as the seed had been left by a bird or squirrel, everyone could enjoy it.
That was our introduction to the neighborhood four years ago.
Why am I thinking about all this today?
Because of the plant sale.
In spite of the above story this is a very welcoming and friendly neighborhood. We have many friends and great times at our home. We also have a ton of flowers all around our property and love to care for them. In addition we like to see others beautify their lawns and terraces with blooms.
A couple of weeks ago we needed to open some space along a path of ours that was too full of ferns and decorative grasses. Granted, this is not the best time to transplant these items, but knowing they will come back next year bigger and better we donated them to a neighbor who was making a whole new flower garden. We even planted some of them into the ground for her.
When it comes time to divide hostas, irises, and other plants this fall we will look about and see who wants and needs something and give it away. The whole purpose should be to create color and greenery. That is how the man who gave us this house lived his life, and one that we are following in the neighborhood too. In fact, many in this area can point at plants in their flower beds and remember when our friend gave it to them. I think that is a wonderful legacy.
But the neighbor who thought we should give our shrubbery around the house away for free had a plant sale. Every plant that possibly had a root had a price tag.
People are just peculiar.
Or cheap.
