Shaw's Grocery Store Manager's Special Flowers

One of the things which every guy has got to be careful about is balancing the impetus to do good things and really shine as a partner versus the all mighty task of saving a couple of bucks. In Manhattan there are so many bodegas and corner markets where you can drop eight or twelve bucks and get a really nice bouquet of roses or other flowers to show your lady you care. And that is something that every guy knows they should do on special occasions, when they've been in the dog house, or they're trying to smooth over some other bone-headed move they've made. But they don't want to get ripped off.

So I was shocked the other day when I was in Nashua New Hampshire visiting my dear old gram and I saw these "managers special" flowers on display. I was at a Shaw's grocery store and granted Shaw's isn't the botanical gardens or anything like that but Nashua New Hampshire also isn't flower-central, so the ends kind of make sense of the means.

Still, the attached picture makes more than clear; these plants should not be being sold to anyone. It's not like I was at Shaw's in the middle of the night or at some other off hour; I visited my gram during the day and we got to this particular Shaw's location on a Saturday late morning.

The flowers in question had been sanctioned off in particular so that the curious consumer could pore over these "manager's special" flowers as opposed to any other flowers in their racks. So obviously they thought someone would buy them, but what for? Who is the wife or mother or sick in the hospital friend to get these flowers and what was their reaction?

Maybe it should be more like sick in the hospital arch enemy; that seems to be more in keeping with the message these flowers would be sending people.

The only other thing I could think was that this was New Hampshire; maybe the flowers would be used as filler for some kind of a heap of old, discarded, dead flowers. But isn't the planting season in the winter or fall? And anyway aren't there far more economical avenues for farmers to get this filler?

Nope, it seems like the dead roses pictured here were really meant to be given as a show of good will, friendship, and love. It's too bad too because these flowers lived on just a few days past their prime. Even a few days ago, handing someone over flowers which are almost dead is a fleeting show of good will besides.

Shaw's in Nashua New Hampshire is located at 300 Main Street.