Encounter With A Crazy Plant Lady
That is one of the few risks one runs in Groningen: you meet really odd people who ask you for even odder favours. What happened less than half an hour ago is just another example of that.
I'm just walking on home, minding my own business, when suddenly this lady appears. She is standing next to a large potted plant that she apparently wishes to "save" from the florists who threw it out. Having a good look at the plant myself, I can imagine why a florist would want to toss it out: it did not radiate the promise of a long life. In the meanwhile, the Crazy Plant Lady managed to get some other girl to help her get the plant on the back of her bicycle. So the girl and me lifted the damn thing, she tried to tie it down with one of those portable bungee straps. It seemed to stay put for a while, so we said our goodbyes.
Of course, the Crazy Plant Lady turned out to possess a lot of zeal but not very much mustle, so it fell off again. The other girl decided that she'd had enough and went her way. The Crazy Plant Lady, meanwhile, decided that she wanted me to help her carry the thing a couple of block so what she considered to be a safe location from those evil florists who dared cast the poor thing out. She just kept going on and on about how plants and animals have genes in common, and all that jazz. In the end, I just got really tired of it. It's a very nice sentiment to try and save a plant, but honestly. There are limits. One of those limits is expecting a complete stranger to help you get it to a safe location in the middle of the night. So, I said my goodbyes. As I was walking away she tried to convince me that it was my obligation to the plant to help save it. She wasn't doing it for herself, she said. In fact, she didn't even want to have the plant herself. In retrospect, what is the point of moving a plant from one space to another when that other space is going to be just as cold and the plant just as likely to freeze there? Anyway, I rounded the corner, and that was the end of it. I just heard her say "Scheisse" one last time (she is a German Crazy Plant Lady) and then that was the end of it as far as my involvement is concerned.
I seriously hope never to run into another crazy botanist zealot ever again. Especially not at night when there are big potted plants around that need to be saved from the evil florists of the world.
TTFN
I'm just walking on home, minding my own business, when suddenly this lady appears. She is standing next to a large potted plant that she apparently wishes to "save" from the florists who threw it out. Having a good look at the plant myself, I can imagine why a florist would want to toss it out: it did not radiate the promise of a long life. In the meanwhile, the Crazy Plant Lady managed to get some other girl to help her get the plant on the back of her bicycle. So the girl and me lifted the damn thing, she tried to tie it down with one of those portable bungee straps. It seemed to stay put for a while, so we said our goodbyes.
Of course, the Crazy Plant Lady turned out to possess a lot of zeal but not very much mustle, so it fell off again. The other girl decided that she'd had enough and went her way. The Crazy Plant Lady, meanwhile, decided that she wanted me to help her carry the thing a couple of block so what she considered to be a safe location from those evil florists who dared cast the poor thing out. She just kept going on and on about how plants and animals have genes in common, and all that jazz. In the end, I just got really tired of it. It's a very nice sentiment to try and save a plant, but honestly. There are limits. One of those limits is expecting a complete stranger to help you get it to a safe location in the middle of the night. So, I said my goodbyes. As I was walking away she tried to convince me that it was my obligation to the plant to help save it. She wasn't doing it for herself, she said. In fact, she didn't even want to have the plant herself. In retrospect, what is the point of moving a plant from one space to another when that other space is going to be just as cold and the plant just as likely to freeze there? Anyway, I rounded the corner, and that was the end of it. I just heard her say "Scheisse" one last time (she is a German Crazy Plant Lady) and then that was the end of it as far as my involvement is concerned.
I seriously hope never to run into another crazy botanist zealot ever again. Especially not at night when there are big potted plants around that need to be saved from the evil florists of the world.
TTFN