LUCKY LUCINDA & RON THE FLOWER GUY

My cousin Cindy told me recently that she is now working at a floral shop. That reminded me of my days with good ol' Ron, back in Midland. When my children were mere tots, I had a part-time job with my friend Barb, who was a caterer. Back then, I wasn't much of a cook, so mostly I just helped out in the office. Occasionally though, I would help serve at some of her big oil baron shindigs, and it was at one of those that I met Ron.

Ron was THE florist in Midland, back in those days, and to say that he was a colorful character would be the understatement of the century. We always got such a kick out of visiting with him, when we were both setting up at the same parties. One day, he approached several of us catering housewives, to see if we could use a little extra spending money during the holiday season, and that's how I became a "Ronnette" - one of his team of little mommies who would help him do the holiday decorating in homes where they were too rich to be bothered with doing it themselves. On the whole, it was a pretty sweet gig. Not only did he pay about twice what most stores were paying their holiday help, he also took us to lunch, where he would regale us with hilarious stories about the various clients he had dealt with through the years, and we would laugh until we snorted food out our noses.

One year, however, he talked me into helping out at Valentine's as well - not doing flowers or deliveries, just manning one of the extra phone lines he had to set up each year in order to handle the influx of calls, and then dealing with last minute shoppers who never seem to think ahead. How hard could that be, right?

Oh my stars! Words fail me. There is no way I can describe the lunacy that infects people at Valentine's. Picture one of those PBS telethons, but with each one of the callers being a wee bit frantic or insane. Or both. That was the one and only time I ever volunteered for that job, and Valentine's has never been the same for me since.

So, hats off to you Cousin Lucinda, and to all ye manners, or wo-manners, of phone lines, and ye arrangers and deliverers of that which is fragrant and beauteous. You are far better men and women than I. May you survive this season of love, and live to fight another day!

P.S. Many thanks to graphicshunt.com for the above image.