Flowers and the florists of Blacksburg, Virginia played a small but important role in helping express and heal the sorrow during last week’s Virginia Tech tragedy.
A story on ABC’s Nightline, Flowers Doing Their Work, which aired April 20, interviewed Karen Handel of Best Wishes Flowers and Gifts and Todd Dobbins, a local grower/wholesaler.
Handle spoke about the reason people feel the need to send flowers and she showed the compassion of florists as we do our jobs.
- “It’s just been very, very busy, she said. “People just wanting to do something … something that would make people in the area feel better. So, that’s kind of what we’re dealing with.”
They may be strangers who keep phoning in to place an order, but every conversation inevitably turns to the crime. And if you talk to Handel, you can see how it’s affecting her.
“This is … the calling that God gives each of us is to … help other people that are hurting too.”
Reporter John Donvan closed the segment saying:
- A few weeks from now, people here may be sending bouquets to celebrate Mother’s Day or maybe graduation. But for now, it is a time for grief and for flowers — living things, sent to honor the dead and give solace to the living.
In contrast, a disturbing post from AffiliateTip.com described how a pathetic bottom feeder affiliate marketer tried to cash in on the horror by inserting ads for “From You Flowers, FTD, and Grower Flowers, as well as Google AdSense ads” into a site created to capitalize on the horrific murders. Thankfully, the ads came down later that day.
Helping people express their sorrow and grief through flowers is an important part of what we florists do. We listen, we help, we counsel, and we cry with the grieving. We talk on the phone or in person to get a clear understanding of what the flowers need to say.
It’s inefficient by today’s standards of by-the-numbers ordering through operators at a call center.
It’s also a far different experience from the one-way, one-removed communcation of buying flowers over the web - and perhaps less emotionally complete for both us florists and the people who wish to express their sorrow with beautiful, personally designed flowers.
Thankfully, the real florists of Blacksburg were there to listen and help.
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