When You Think About It: ALL Living Things Deserve Respect.

Words and photo by F LoBuono

In order to spruce up the look of our floor here at CBS, the brass decided to purchase a number of beautiful, mature, potted fig trees. Yes, fig trees. Perhaps, they felt that, in time, we would all enjoy the bounty of their fruits. Be that as it may, they were placed strategically around the work area. We have a number of large windows so light would not be an issue. Once in place, they all started thriving. That is until I noticed no one was watering them. One by one, I saw them show the strain of dying of thirst - their large, beautiful leaves were full of brown spots - a sure sign of lack of water. Forget about bearing fruit. These guys wouldn't make it through the winter.

So, I decided to do something about it. I found a small, empty trash can and filled it with water and then preceded to give each plant a thorough watering. I swear that you could hear them drink!

A few fellow employees actually thanked me for taking the time to address this issue. I am grateful for their compliments. But, that's not why I did it. It was easy to look away. After all, they are not my property - shouldn't someone else be doing it? But, When You Think About IT, it was just as easy to take 10 minutes and give them the water they needed to stay alive. ALL life is worthy of respect - even a simple fig tree! That message seems particular important at this time of year.

I suppose that this can serve as my Christmas message. We don't have to do great things to make the world a better place - all of us doing the little ones, together, will work just as well.

MERRY CHRISTMAS - HAPPY HOLIDAYS - PEACE ON EARTH - GOOD WILL TO ALL.