Monday, February 13, 2012

paid in roses.

Listening To: Skinny Love by Bon Iver
I sometimes type wearing fingerless gloves. Because my hands get cold. I just snapped a pic and sent it to The Rogue Accountant and said, "I feel like Janet Jackson!" He texted back, "You look like Marv from Home Alone." My writing confidence is now depleted. ("We're the wet bandits!")



Hey party animals! Thank you so very much for your kind words on my last post. Your comments made my heart ache in a good way. There are so many bad heartaches, you know? There's the country music lyin', cheatin' leavin' kind. There's the break-up kind. There's the eating faux-meat-tacos from Taco Bell after midnight kind.


But there's a good kind of heartache too, and I think it comes from realizing how crazy-blessed you are to be around such awesome people. Thanks for being awesome. If you were here, I would have baked cupcakes for all of us!

.. And then you probably would have gagged ... because I'm very hit or miss when it comes to The Baking Thing.

Sursly though, thanks for making the second anniversary of the day I turned 29 so wonderful. Those little shouts of encouragement couldn't have come at a more appropriate time for me. (Happy Birthday to you, Lydia!)


I stumbled across the coolest story this weekend and I knew I had to share it with you. 

I know I've mentioned this a time or a thousand, but I'm very fond of my city. I actually live in the suburbs of my city, probably 20 minutes or so from downtown. When I was a teen, I lived twenty minutes or so from a Wal-Mart and a Sonic. Teens in these parts live ten minutes from Starbucks and Menchies and an honest-to-goodness mall. So when people mention the small-town-ness of where I actually dwell ... it just doesn't even make sense to me. I love cities and the sticks. I kind of feel like I get the best of both right now.


This post has to do with the city-part of where I live. There are storybook streets in my city. There are old battlefields and quirky shops and fun local legends. There is a bakery that only makes dog treats and, when you walk out the door of the bakery, you can look down and see bronze dance-steps embedded into the sidewalk. Like a couple of swanky ghosts decided to dance the Charleston just before you pushed the door open. Tall mountains scrape the storm clouds. Sunsets burn up the sky. This certainly isn't a perfect town, but its charms are obvious. And the best part of this city, the most charming part of all, happens to be the people. My town knows how to bring the quirk and celebrate individuality. Fabulous people abound.

In the newest edition of a local publication called Chatter, Merell McGinness interviewed Oterius "Sandy" Bell, better known as The Flower Man. Here's a quote from McGinness's article:

"He’s been dubbed the Midnight Matchmaker, the Midnight Florist or simply, The Flower Man. But while Bell has been spreading flowers and love throughout Chattanooga for more than 20 years, he’s had his fair share of hard knocks. Homeless for more than 13 years, he survived on the blossoms he sold late night in downtown restaurants and bars, eventually securing an apartment. Despite a recent colon cancer diagnosis, Bell takes it one day at a time and continues to count his blessings, hoping that everything will – as it always has in the past – turn up roses."


 Later on in the article Mr. Bell says: 


"I’ll be downtown and people will say, 'Sandy, you’re the reason me and my wife are together; I gave her my first flowers from you,' and that just makes me feel real good. A lot of couples will say, 'Sandy thanks to you we’re together,' and that’s just overwhelming."
You can read the full article here, if you're interested. I thought it was the sweetest. My favorite part is that when he was facing some serious discouragement and disappointment, he reached for something blooming. And that instead of being paid for his handyman work, he asked for flowers.


Paid in roses seems like a very sweet way to see the world, doesn't it? 


It made me think about writing and how, cheesy as this sounds, I've always hoped that whatever I'm writing resonates.  I was sitting with a group of writers once, and somebody asked us what our BIGGEST dreams were for our work. The first thing that popped into my mind is that I want to write something that lasts. Maybe that won't happen. I don't think I'll ever write thrilling, pulse-pounding fiction. I'll never be an expert at marketing. But I still have this little hope that maybe there's one thing I'll write that has weight to it. Somehow, in some crazy way, maybe these words will leave my imagination as one thing and bloom into something new - a dream first, then a thought, then ink and pages. And then even though they're only ink, just words on a page, maybe they'll have weight-enough that somebody feels like they're holding onto them. I hope I can write a paragraph or a chapter or an article or a book that somebody can press against their heart and keep. Because those words made them feel brave, or helped them remember, or just reminded them that they weren't alone in all the worrying and doubting and wondering. I don't know if I'm capable of that sort of thing, but it's what I'm aiming for.


Thanks for the encouragement, Mr. Bell. 

All this talk about flowers reminds me of this song, which happens to be one of my most favorites:




One of my goals this year is to pick out 1.) a favorite piece of art (that isn't a painting) 2.) a (new) favorite perfume (because my favorite has been discontinued *shakes fist at Origins*) and 3.) a favorite flower. I have no clue how I'll ever narrow down a favorite flower. Pretty sure I'll always love wildflowers the most. Violets, in particular. I love the look of Peonies but I greatly dislike the word "Peony". (I'm partial to dark pink roses too) (and Gerbera Daisies) (and lilacs ...)


Do you have a favorite flower? 

17 comments:

  1. What a sweet story! It reminds me of Diffenbaugh's The Language of Flowers. Have you read it yet? It is haunting and bittersweet and lovely in every way. And you'll never view flowers the same way ever again. Read it and thank me later.

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    1. I've seen that book so many times ... and picked it up ... and I always put it back. The first chapter never hooks me but, clearly, I need to give it more time. I've read so many great things about it! Thank you for the recommendation! :)

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  2. Natalie -
    When I was about 12 or 13, I read a column of yours in Brio. To be quite honest, I don't remember what it was about at the moment, but I remember what I did with it. I tore it out and slept with it under my pillow for a week. Something in it rocked my soul.
    All your sweet columns in Brio are part of the reason I decided I wanted to be a writer. I know you wonder about doing something that "lasts," but I thought you might want to know that you will always be a part of MY story, because of how you inspired me. That will last; at least to me.
    Also - sunflowers for the win, girl. My ma and I used to grow them every summer and take pictures next to them when they got taller than us. Then, many years later, they exploded all over my wedding ceremony. Can't beat that shining yellow.

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    1. You slept with it under your pillow?! This whole comment is so precious to me. Thanks for sharing it. I didn't think, until after I posted this, that I might have sounded like I was fishing for compliments. I really wasn't - but this is just the sweetest. Love that sunflowers will always remind you of the people you love. What sweet memories! (I bet your wedding pictures are amazing ...)

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  3. First off that picture is is beautiful. I love all flowers, wildflowers and tulips and roses. Your words are always an inspiration.
    LF

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    1. Thank you, LF! I love all flowers too. I really don't think I can ever pick a favorite. Maybe that's a good way to be though. :)

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  4. Dearest Natalie, when I read Paperdoll last summer is resonated with me so stinkin much. I was like you were in my heart, I realize Jesus was and He was definitely whispering (sometimes shouting) the words you wrote to my spirit. There are quotations from the book that I had to copy into my "quote-journal" so that I could re-find them easier. They are definitely words that I hold close to my heart.

    As for my favorite flower...it has to be a red/orange pansy...just because they are pretty without being overtly adorable or girly and no one ever thinks about the pansy but whenever it's in a painting it always makes me swoon. :)

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    1. Allie, you are way too kind for your own good. Thanks for sharing this with me. And you are so right - painted flowers are breathtaking. Pansies are amazing because they look like they have little faces! Like pandas or something. They are so pretty. Love that you go for the bright ones! :) Have you ever seen Lulie Wallace's work? She's a Charleston artist who paints gorgeous flowers.

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  5. What a sweet story. Origins used to make my favorite perfume and discontinued it a few years ago. I can't even remember the name of it, but it was citrus-y.

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    1. I bet it was Spring Fever. Those nerds at Origins no longer carry it but you can buy bottles of on it ebay for like a thousand dollars. I think the fact that I can't buy it is part of what makes me remember it with such affection. Not many perfumes smell right on me though. Finding a new one is no small undertaking.

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  6. I know you've already written quite a bit, between your Brio columns and your blog posts and Paperdoll, that has touched people and become a part of them. But that's not saying that you've done your part and can stop now...I hope you never quit writing. :)

    My favorite flowers are yellow roses, sunflowers, and the blooms on hydrangea bushes.

    ~Kristin

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    1. Thanks Kristin! I have no plans to stop anytime soon :) I love love looooove yellow roses. Yellow roses are my sister's favorite flowers. And hydrangeas are perfect. I love the blue that marble into green around the middle.

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  7. Natalie,
    your writings have definatly changed my life. Your article in Brio Mag a while back, Stars and Scars, changed my life forever. It is still changing the way I see my scars. I read that article when I was in a lost, lonely, hurting place and your aritcle gave me hope. And I can't forget PaperDoll, for my copy is covered in highlighted portions.
    As for my favorite flower, I love violets too. I also love tigerlily's, as that was my grandma's favorite flower and when she died my mom and my aunties got the tigerlily tattooed on their feet.

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    1. Thank you so much for sharing this with me. Not only are you an absolutely gorgeous girl, but - from one girl with scars to another - I can promise you that someday you'll look at those scars in an entirely different way. I always say scars are kind of like tattoos - but a little bit cooler because they're harder to earn. :) I'm so glad the book (and that article) were an encouragement to you. And I LOVE the story of your mama's tattoo! I love tattoos with great stories behind them. Tigerlily is one of my favorite words.

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  8. I used to not have a favorite color or a favorite number. When I met my husband after my freshman year of college, he told me I could borrow his until I figured it out. To this day, when I say my favorite number is 3, he says, "No it's not. It's 7, just like mine." Lol. Okay, I got off topic here. I don't have a favorite flower yet. Maybe we could borrow someone's favorite until we find our own.

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  9. I am 16, and a former brio reader and current susie subscriber (: Your devotionals are really solid, but I also find something very soothing about your writing style in your blogposts. Thank you for writing how you do. And on the flower note, my latest fave is called "ranunculus."

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  10. Let me first say your words do have weight. I LOVE your writing and it has inspired me so much. I'm constantly telling people to read your stuff :)

    My favorite flower is the adorable red poppy. In Italy, in May, they would start poking out of the stone walls and along the streets. It made my heart happy. One spring, I searched and searched for Monet-esque poppy field, but sadly never found one. I've heard rumors that whole fields truly exist. Maybe one day I'll go back and search some more :) I really do love them, I even have a poppy ring and a dried poppy in my Bible. And I'm planning a poppy-themed birthday this year :) They're a good favorite flower.

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