Article Presented by:
Wesley Berry, AAF
Millions of people are logging on to YouTube.com every day to view videos of people and animals doing crazy things that make viewers laugh. But, that laughter lasts only a few seconds after the video ends. For lasting happiness, flowers are a better bet.
Flowers have been proven to have a lasting, positive effect on people's moods. They help people to connect with one another and sometimes with people they haven't seen in years. Their power to evoke emotions has made them a lasting addition to our lives and homes for centuries.
One Florida man believes so strongly in flower power that he hands out dozens of flowers every week.
Jason Abbott, a twenty-eight-year-old man from Pensacola, Florida takes a twenty-mile hike nearly every day. His travels take him from downtown Pensacola to Pensacola beach and back. It's a hike he makes daily in spite of the fact that he has a painfully pinched nerve that he doesn't have the money to have treated.
On his daily walk, Abbott stops in at Flowerama flower shop and purchases around a dozen roses or carnations. As he walks, he places a single flower on the doors of those people he feels could use a little "spiritual comforting."
Gulf Breeze News, a local Floridian paper, reported that Abbot explained his floral gifts by saying, "I'm just trying to do what I can...I'm grateful that I can spread love and joy just like anybody else."
Abbott's mother, Denise Abbott, told the paper, "He's like a local celebrity. People buy his lunch and pay for his flowers...he always shows up with flowers for me every time he visits..."
People are so appreciative of Abbott's efforts to spread joy that they've begun donating money at the flower shop where he buys his flowers. Flowerama says that customers have donated approximately $180 toward Abbott's flowers.
YouTube users post their videos for any number of reasons-sometimes it's to make people laugh, sometimes it's for their fifteen minutes of fame. But, Abbott's motives are more pure than that. According to Flowerama employee Jennifer Musil, "He says he just does this to make people feel good."
About the Author:
Wesley Berry is member of the American Academy of Floriculture (AAF) and President of Wesley Berry Flowers, a successful multi-million dollar floral business that was established in 1946. As a major sponsor of local-library.com and Localschoolfinder.com, Wesley Berry has worked hard on behalf of improving literacy. Visit Wesley Berry Flowers on the web at www.800wesleys.com.
