A Little Mailbox Garden Story

When your doorbell rings at 2 a.m., it's usually not a good thing. So last fall, when our next-door neighbor came a calling in the middle of a cool fall night, he was actually being very kind. He's a great neighbor. He was awakened by the sound of a crash--the crash of a young mother, drunk, who had run her SUV smack into my treasured brick mailbox!

This mailbox was the original brick mailbox built with our house. I had always thought of it as being fairly sturdy, but when a drunk driver fails to make the curve on a culdesac, and in fact hits it head-on, well, that's the end. Our neighbor ran outside to find this woman sitting on the curb by our now-crumbled old mailbox as her two friends hoofed it down the street and ran away with her car keys. Nice friends. When she saw our neighbor walking towards her, she tried to run away from him, and even yelled curse words at him! She was out of her mind.

The old mailbox after the crash.

He, being the gentleman he is, convinced her to calm down, called the police and a tow truck, and even gave her a ride home afterwards. So now, we knew who she was and where she lived.

A brick mason friend came to the rescue.

A call to her insurance company--now noted on the police report--took care of the rest, and I was on my way to getting a brand new brick mailbox with the built-in flower bed I had always wanted. This summer is its first crop of flowers, and I decided to go wild, planting wild flower seeds--since it wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for that wild woman and her drunk driving. I really hope that she grew from the experience and got her act together, especially since she has young children at home. Although it was obvious that this would have been a hit-and-run if she hadn't been too drunk to even know where she was or what she was doing. And, if she hadn't hit the mailbox, she could have hit our house! It was a very sad situation, and I'm glad my neighbor was kind to this poor soul because we were kind of in shock that night. But just seeing my growing flowers is symbolic that you can restore and bloom. I know my mailman has enjoyed watching my flower seeds grow each day he delivers the mail, and I hope it's something that my neighbors who are out walking babies, doggies, and jogging enjoy every day. I do! Now, I just hope it never gets mowed down again! 

He designed my special flower bed just for me!

The zinnias are the first to bloom. I'll post more photos when the coreopsis and marigolds get into the act with their blooms! Eat, Write, Dream, Stitch, Grow!