Story Archive

Flower Power

Henry Docter, 52, has an unusual hobby. He surreptitiously plants flowers in public places that need beautification. So far, he’s planted on four continents and always received positive responses. But when he started to worry about the more than 1,000 red, white, and blue flowers he planted in 176 barren flower boxes on the Washington, D.C., Metro transit system, the response wasn’t so positive. He sent a letter explaining what he had done, and asked for permission to continue to care for the flowers. The Metro’s response: a cease and desist order that threatened Docter with “arrest, fines and imprisonment” if he dared to weed, water, or care for the flowers. Metro representatives say they’re concerned with safety, but Docter’s attempts at reaching a compromise, including signing a liability waiver and agreeing to only access the flower boxes from the public sidewalk, have all been denied. “I’ve never gotten in trouble for planting flowers,” Docter said. “Never has anyone overreacted with such an absence of common sense.” That was even before Metro brought employees in on a Sunday to tear out all the flowers. (MS/Washington Post) ...Well, he is in the city where common sense seems most absent.
Original Publication Date: 07 July 2013
This story is in True’s book collections, in Volume 20.

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