Flowers vs. Tools

Thursday, April 27, 2023

I’m scheduled today to work for three-and-one-half hours. What? Who designed this?

After next week, my hours will increase to the typical twenty-per-week for Home Depot’s part-timers. Spring’s finally arriving with customers starting to flow into the Garden Department, where I work.

Interestingly, I gather that starting now, and throughout the summer months, Garden will be the store’s highest grossing department. Tools usually is highest grossing. That shift lets my brain create fun mental images with “flowers overcoming tools.”

Considering that shift takes me to related larger social issues. For example, Washington State’s Governor has just signed a law forbidding future sales of AK-15 automatic weapons. Today, new reporting reveals that in the last month Washington State’s gun sellers processed a typical year’s worth of sales. So, the upcoming change-law has people gunning-up ahead of its starting date.

Okay, now my thoughts are shifting to children’s lives. Normally, we equate children to flowers, but these days’ children are becoming easy victims to older children wielding automatic weapons. In the old days of social teaching, weapons violence was associated to world wars and large plans for things like, “butter vs. guns.” Now, we need workable plans for something like, “flowers vs. guns.” What will be the solutions?

Dear Friends: As often, I’m stuck with images that ought to mesh, but don’t, and somehow won’t. Diana