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February 9, 2004

I’ll come back to you some sunny day

I’m a floral designer. I’ve been doing it, on and off, for quite a few years, and have amassed quite a bit of irascibility under my belt, particularly at this time of year. I’ve been known to be sarcastic and prone to making fun of particularly bad card messages (note to all the lads, and lasses, too: never, never, never sent flowers with a message that begins, “Roses are red; violets are blue.” You don’t have to listen to me, but you should.) I discuss it among my colleagues in the shop whenever I end up doing two arrangements for one man (one for the wife, and the other for the mistress, and inevitably the mistress’s is more expensive and showy.) I am unkind to those who speak down to me (which happens more often than you’d imagine) and ridicule them once they leave.

I deal with weddings and funerals and all sorts of anniversaries. Every once in awhile I have to help someone with a particularly sad story, but I’m pretty thick-skinned. Even so, I was unprepared for the phone call I got today. It was from a young man, who sounded like he was about 17 years old. When I asked him for a phone number where I could reach him if there was a problem with his order, his answer threw me for a lulu.

“You can’t call me back. I’m calling you from a cell phone. I’m in Iraq. They said we’d be home for Valentine’s, but we’re not. I can’t talk long, but just tell her I love her on the card, ok?”

And when I got off the phone, I sat down and cried like a baby, and didn’t make fun of anyone at all for the rest of the day, which for me is a personal best.

Posted by pogo at February 9, 2004 6:50 PM

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Comments

well, it is nearly 3:00 am and i am lying here finishing this wonderful blog—a popular phenomenon that i have derided many times. i have read from the first to the last entry and have been intrigued by every single one.

i came upon this small treasure of intimate narrative while searching for the best places to eat in St. Louis, as i am headed there for an overnight trip to see a hardcore show at Pop’s in Sauget, IL—entries on the blackthorn pub and its apparently wonderful chicago-style pizza led to this blog. as i read through the earlier entries, i was amazed by similarities in tastes and philosophies that i share with you. and then i came upon an entry that provided some insight into the development of your personality and why your entries seem so personal and real to me—your ties to Benton, KY. I was born and raised in Paducah, spent many summer days in Marshall County in the lakes region, and attended many Tater Days. your writings about this area of the country is dead-on and absolutely captures its essence. I was also overwhelmed by the typical ‘small world’ thoughts and the ‘six degrees of separation’ theory. what a wonderful, sad, exhilerating, horrific, joyful, and yes, small, world in which we live. and your writing is fantastic…please write more—i am anticipating your next entry!

Posted by: tom on February 20, 2004 3:17 AM

Tom, I’m really flattered, and also glad you like the site. I wonder who you’re seeing at Pop’s? Make sure you stop by the City Museum in St. Louis if you get the chance — It’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.

As for the Blackthorn, it’s not the best pizza I’ve ever had, but it certainly hits the spot. I sure do miss a good pizza pie here in Texas.

Posted by: tam on February 23, 2004 7:02 PM

i am seeing a band called ‘poison the well’, a young band typically thought of as an ‘emo-core’ band….which you may or may not know refers to a sub-genre of hardcore that is typically apolitical. Bands in this genre usually write songs about love, loss, regret,etc. they also typically intersperse real singing among the grunts, barks, growls, and yells which are normally associated with hardcore vocals. poison the well are an excellent young band, if one is into that sort of music….all of three of their albums are great, with their most recent (‘you came before you’) probably being their most accessible (first disc on a mainstream label).

by the way, you make austin sound like a wonderful place to live….be careful with that though—you may attract thousands to the town with your writing and inadvertantly decimate its quaintness!

Posted by: tom on February 24, 2004 1:07 AM