I was six or seven, in the first or second grade and always walked up the alley to and from school. It was only five blocks and as I walked along other kids would be heading to the same place, and by the time I got there about ten or so was in the group. On the way home, the group grew smaller, the closer I got to home.

Now one day, while walking along in the alley, I discovered a few boxes of flowers and in pretty good shape too. So, it did not take me long to put a few together in a bunch for my mom. I just chose the colors I liked and took them home. She put them in a vase, I was happy, and she was happy.

A few days later the vase was empty, so, on my way home I put together another bunch. It seemed there were always boxes of flowers in the alley. I wasn’t sure why, but I was glad they were there.

As before, when I took them home mom put them in a vase and they would last a few days, then they were gone. Of course, when the vase was empty, I would bring in new ones. Looking back, I am not sure how long this went on, but long enough that other kids noticed and began to make fun of me.

Now, while the flowers were still the same, and my mom was happy each time I brought a new bunch home, I quit bringing them to her.

The reason I stopped bringing the flowers home, was not because the kids made fun of me, but because they started saying, they were, “Dead people flowers.” Now of course, I didn’t want my mom to be dead, so I stopped bringing her the flowers.

Naturally, when I was older and knew what they really meant it had nothing to do with “making” someone die, it was that the flowers were from the funeral of people that had died. You see, the place I was getting the flowers in the alley, was from the trash bin of the funeral home.

A child’s misunderstanding over words caused me to quit bringing the flowers to my mom. Looking back, in the overall scheme of things it was no big deal.

So, what’s the point? Before you make your decision, of what you will or will not do, make sure you know and understand “all” the facts. There could be a misunderstanding on your part, or on the part of the others.

Dick Brant