The Incident

I was terribly distraught a couple of weeks ago. I had just bought a pair of Poinsettias at the '99 Cents Only' store, and immediately began deeply investing in them emotionally. I was full of thoughts about how best to care for them. I wondered what to call them, and took some time to decide on that. I pondered where to keep them and settled on the ledge of our balcony. I watered them, and watched the first time as the water dripped down past the second story and first story balconies, both of which belong to friends. Little did I know what was to follow that water in the same fashion. I'm afraid I must call the plants Sid and Nancy, for they leapt from their place days later in an obvious attempt at self-destruction.

One, which I figure should be Nancy, landed top first, and was by far the worse of the two for their tumble. It was quite a grisly sight. The plastic pot was severely cracked and the soil was spilling a lot. Her main stalk was irreparably severed, and it was uncanny how she had already begun to wilt and dry up. It was as if her will to live was entirely gone regardless of how fatal her injuries were to prove. Resisting the urge to cry, I solemnly brought her inside and gingerly placed her in the trashcan. She may have only cost some fifty cents as part of a two-for-one deal, but she was worth far more to me.

Sid looked considerably better, although he had in fact lost much more soil. It's difficult to say exactly how the incident played out, but it seems as if he did not absorb the impact directly. In the absence of a black box I won't swear to that, but it is a fairly workable hypothesis. In any case, Sid himself remained intact and so did the pot. Naturally he was dried out as well, but retained good spirits and gave me hope that he would pull through so long as he received proper care.

Naturally there will have to be changes. The first thing I did was to retrieve a two liter bottle from our recycling box and cut away the bottom to make a broader-based planter in which to deposit the plastic pot containing Sid. I then watered it and decided that I couldn't trust him where he had been. I left him in the kitchen and resolved to determine whether he would be able to thrive by my bedroom window where their is no risk of a repeat attempt. I doubt he could survive that, and I know I couldn't. Truly such a thing is a parent's worst nightmare.