“It don’t matter how pretty you are, if you’re a bitch ain’t no nobody gonna like you.”
~ Loretta Zoe
neighbors
I’ve been waiting two years for these yellow iris to bloom. My neighbor at the end of the street with the most beautiful iris gardens traded for a few of my African iris. Elaine Heis gave me the African iris when I bought my house. See how this works? When I thanked my neighbor, she very quickly stopped me. “You’re not supposed to say thank you for a plant.” I was taken aback, afraid I had somehow been rude in giving thanks. It turned out to be an old wives’ tale, one I had obviously never heard. The superstition claims that thanking the giver for a plant dooms it to die. Instead, one can say something like, “I appreciate this,” or “I’ll give them a good home.” Once I understood her meaning, and fought the urge to thank her again and again, I said, “they’ll be happy here.” I love my neighborhood.
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