IN THE NEWS-FALL 2008

The Times They Are a Changin'...

One state, two state, red state, blue state. Listen, honey, whether you tow the party line of the DNC, the RNC or even the KFC, it’s up to you to make your floral voices heard from the rose fields of California to the red clovers of Vermont. From major floral import bills to state and local laws, you are impacted. For example, in Louisiana, not just anyone can sell a bunch of pretty flowers. You have to have a license. Oh, I kid you not. Pish-tosh on creativity. The law requires florists to pass a written test and make certain floral arrangements and then get a license to work on their own. That’s the law put in place by people you chose. My personal feeling - oh, and you know I was not going to keep it to myself! - is that the question of who has floral talent should be left to the marketplace. People whose arrangements are ugly will find themselves without customers. La dee dah! Import taxes and export taxes got you down? The price of floral products on the rise? Again, the law. Don’t like the law? Then vote!
And here’s the political spin on patriotic celebs. As sure as CHERYL CROWE crooned at the convention in Denver, the convention in St. Paul boasted a behind-the-scenes star. Former child-actor DEBBIE LARSON (Marta Von Trapp in the original “Sound of Music”) was one of the featured florists. The committee picked Larson based on two arrangements - a centerpiece and a taller showpiece constructed of tropical flowers, orchids and burgundy roses. What, no edelweiss?!
And in this season of platforms and policies, we all are reminded that we need to BEE friendlier to our environment…and, yes, I’m talking about our wee buzzing buddies. They give us our living, after all! Beekeepers have been sounding the alarm about disappearing bees for a few years now and it has finally become quite the sting. Seemingly healthy bees are simply abandoning their hives en masse. Science types call it Colony Collapse Disorder. Nearly 1/3 of all honeybee colonies in the U.S. of A. have vanished. Thank goodness, the 2008 Farm Bill grants the Department of Agriculture $20 million each year to support bee research and related work. It’s just a start but be proud - it’s your vote in action, guys and gals!
And what do our celeb friends have to say about that? All the world loves a bee! Just ask HALLE BERRY who gave her dear sweetums daughter the name Nahla, which means Honeybee. Rocker, poet and sometime actor STING (who allegedly got his nickname because he used to wear a gold and black striped soccer sweater which made him look like a bee) keeps bees at his Tuscan hideaway. And he’s not alone in this sweet hobby. In fact, MICK JAGGER is another celebeekeeper!
And so the time has come my fellow flower friends to ask not what the bee can do for you, ask what you can do for the bee. Find out more at www.thehoneybeeproject.com.
And one more reminder from little ole me to sweetie pie you - show your flower power by voting on Tuesday, November 4. Not registered? Tsk and task! Stop what you’re doing right now and go to rockthevote.org for info.
Now it’s time for me to get off of my soapbox and wash this day away! Ta-ta!

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