Handing out flowers

On our way to Valentine's dinner, Jen felt inspired to pick up a dozen white roses from a guy that sells flowers at the top of our street and to hand them out to complete strangers we met throughout the night. I thought it sounded like a great idea. So we found a parking spot a few blocks from the restaurant and started walking up Alberta St with a bundle of white roses in Jen's arm. We passed a hole-in-the-wall doughnut shop and Jen led me in and started handing out roses. The first guy received the rose the way I would have expected - a little taken back, curious, and polite. But, I wasn't prepared for what followed. Almost every other rose thereafter brought on strong emotions, starting with the elderly old woman behind the counter. She stared at the rose like she would break into tears any moment and choked out a thank you. Then, a girl that couldn't have been older than three reached towards Jen, grasping for a flower. Jen handed it to her father to give to her (because of the thorns), and he looked so impressed by the random act of kindness. I'll never forget the look on our hostess' face when we walked into the restaurant and she saw Jen holding the three remaining roses. She remarked how beautiful the flowers were and Jen immediately tugged one from the paper and handed it to her. She was visibly moved and told Jen that it was the first flower she had received. It was so romantic and fun.

I really enjoyed the unexpected reactions. Especially from the homeless guy that was picking up broken glass off the ground. He didn't seem to quite have it together. I warned Jen that the guy was holding broken glass as we approached him (being the cautious fellow that I am), but she didn't miss a beat. She handed him a white rose and wished him a happy Valentines day. I was pleased to see that he placed the piece of glass back down on the ground, but I was quite surprised and amused with what followed. He held the rose high as though it was the olympic torch and ran into the nearest candlelit restaurant with the flower in the air. That's when Jen and I started walking away really really fast. I noticed that a couple with window seats had witnessed the whole scene. I wondered what they thought. Especially when the guy came storming into their restaurant waving the flower in the air.

If you're wondering how to make your next night out more interesting, I suggest handing out flowers.