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Looking for a Bargain?
by LaVonne Boruk
His Nibs had grown weary of the sad looking azaleas that resided near the
foundation of our house. They were faithful bloomers and beautiful in the
spring, one seemingly big ball of bright pink or white, but the rest of the
year they presented nothing outstanding to catch the eye. He dug them all
out, and built up the soil, readying it for some evergreens. Then we went
hunting for just the right shrubbery to put in their places.
A quick tour of our local nurseries showed us nothing that interested us
until we reached the farthest one out. Here they only wanted a king's
ransom for one large healthy plant, and we needed a slew of them. Their
selection was not large, and the one plant the nurseryman tried his hardest
to sell us looked more like sticks than greenery, so we told him we'd think
about it, and we left.
Once we were back on the highway he said, there has to be something around
here. Where else can we look? I set my mind to thinking and the local
Farmers' Market popped into my head. I'd heard an advertisement for
Christmas trees on the radio just a few days before, so I thought out loud
that they just might have some shrubbery there, too.
Then he thought of one other place to look, and he drove by there, but we
didn't see anything worth getting out of the car for, so he drove on home.
We forgot about the shrubbery for a day or two. Then this morning while he
was running some errands, he decided to go to the Farmers' Market, which is
way over on the other side of town, and look around. Seeing a large
selection of something green from the highway he stopped. Sure enough they
had just what he wanted.
He asked the man how much they cost, and was told that it depends how many
he wanted to buy. A lot of them, he said. The man quoted a very low price,
which came to a considerable sum when totaled. His Nibs offered his credit
card, but the man said he didn't take credit cards. He didn't have the
checkbook with him, since he hadn't planned on buying anything when he left
home. Neither did he have anywhere near that much cash.
All this time the man was busily loading the plants into his pickup truck,
and when he finished loading them he turned and said, "Just mail me a check
when you get home." He handed the receipt to him.
There was no address on the receipt, so His Nibs asked him to write his
address on it. He did. Never did he ask for any identification or
anything. Just mail me a check when you get home, was all that the man ever
did ask of him. And he drove away with a truckload of shrubbery that he had
not paid a cent for, with the man's blessing ringing in his ears.
These two men had never seen one another before today, so that had to be
blind faith. You don't run into that very often nowadays. But it is
typical of farmers in the south, or at least it was typical when and where I
grew up. People helped each other out back then, never asking anything in
return, probably because they knew that sooner or later they would be on the
receiving end of that help, themselves, without having to ask for it.
His Nibs could hardly wait to get home and tell me about this man's kindness
and show me the beautiful plants he got for about one-fourth the amount they
wanted at the nursery we went to earlier. He put the check in the mail
today, too, very pleased with his purchase.
It turns out he is a local man, and you can bet we will visit him again the
next time we are looking for plants.
If you have a farmers' market near where you live, you might find it to be a
place for finding bargains, too, if you're lucky, all year round. Ours is a
pleasant place to shop, and if it grows in the ground or on trees whatever
you need is likely to be found there, everything from fruits, nuts,
vegetables, flowers, shrubbery, ornamental trees, and Christmas trees.
©2001 LaVonne Boruk
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