Five vases filled with wilted roses

Simple vases made from old soda bottles, milk jugs, beer bottles, etc. are on the counter. The wilted roses picked just a few days ago still lay within them. I was supposed to enter the roses in this year’s virtual rose show, but wasn’t able to. This year, like most other years, commitments to work and family prevented me from getting entries ready until right before the show.

Usually on the day of the show, roses get chosen from around the yard, and cars/trucks get loaded with the freshly-cut blooms. Then off to the show to get them entered. When we get there, we prepare the roses for whatever class(es) they may qualify, and enter them. We have been quite successful in getting many exhibits up to the head tables this way. I enjoy doing it, and I enjoy encouraging others to do it as well. The more people that get their entries up to the head table, the happier I am. This has been my way of entering exhibits in the shows that I have done for many years. That was until 2017, when I missed my first rose show at the Rhode Island Rose Society.

Remembering the rosy-related events of June, 2017

2017 was going to be a good year in my garden and at the local rose shows. The gypsy moths had all but been eradicated. The roses were rebounding well from their encounter with that plague. I went to a fellow rosarian’s open house to take pictures on the Saturday before the shows in the District were going to start. The roses bloomed quite well in his garden, and I took many pictures. I was glad that I had decided to take the trip. I could smell the wild Multiflora in bloom through my travels to and from his house. Smelling the wild roses as I travelled through the back woods of Connecticut was something that I had never noticed before that day. Another week to go and it would be show time again, and I couldn’t wait.

That phone call we all dread

On Sunday, I received a phone call from my mom. She asked me to come down to her house (which was next door). My dad needed help. I clarified that they needed me right away and not just sometime during the day. Alarmed, I went down to help right away, and arrived just as my dad fell to the floor from his chair. I raced past mom to help. I got dad up off of the floor and seated again in his chair. Paramedics were called and took dad to the hospital. It was a long and adventurous day, and a day that I will never forget.

Before the shows

The next week was a long week, and I was very busy at work. Mom stayed with dad for hours and hours and gave me periodic updates on his health. That weekend was the time to show the roses. Friday was set-up day at the Rhode Island Rose Society show, Saturday was the Rhode Island show, and Sunday was the Connecticut Rose Society show. I was going to be setting up on Friday, showing roses on Saturday, and judging on Sunday. It was going to be a good year showing and judging roses. I had many roses blooming at just the right time. I expected to do well and was looking forward to being with all of my rose friends once again.

Getting ready

I got up early Saturday morning like I always do. As I left the house to go outside and gather up the roses, the electricity went out in the house. I thought at the time “Oh no! I still need to shower and get ready.” I gathered up quite a few roses and put them in buckets. Then, I loaded up my potted species roses in the back of the truck and placed the roses/tools/show schedule up front. All I had to do was shower, get dressed, and I was on my way.

The lights are back on

When I came back inside the lights were back on, and I felt relieved. I hopped in the shower and within a few minutes the phone rang. I heard the caller leave a message. After, I asked my wife to listen to the message, as it might be some news about my father, who was still in the hospital. After my wife listened to the message, she told me that my mom had been in a car accident, and she and my daughter were going there to be with my mom. An ambulance had already been summoned, and I was to go there when I was finished.

Off to see mom

I finished my shower and took off in the truck to see how my mom was doing. I soon discovered she hit a telephone pole, broke it into three pieces, and apparently, caused the power outage by her hitting the pole. Luckily, she was awake and talking. She was very lucky to be alive and was whisked off to the hospital to receive medical attention. She chose to be in the same hospital that my dad was at.

Getting help from my rose family

Telephone calls were quickly made to other society members to let them know that I probably wouldn’t be able to attend the show. I asked them to cover for me and do the duties I was supposed to be doing at the show (I was supposed to be the Chief of Clerks).

Later at the show

They had a great show that day, and it was the first one that I had missed since I joined the society back in 2004. I spent the entire day at the hospital, and really didn’t get time to reflect on what had happened that day, until very early in the next morning. The roses were still in my truck in their buckets waiting to be prepped for the show, when I left the hospital. I was disappointed that I wasn’t able to be at the show, but my family’s needs were more important that day.

My rose friends and rose family were there for me that day and covered my duties at the show. By Sunday (Father’s Day), things were settled down enough for me to go and judge at the Connecticut Rose Society show. I got to the show venue late and left not long after judging finished. Of course my rose family was there for me that day as well. They were quite understanding and supportive about the entire situation, and wished my family well in recovery.

Mom & Dad recovering from their injuries

Recovery was slow and steady for both mom and dad. Weeks and months went by, and they both recovered well enough to go home. Mom continued on the road to full recovery and is still doing very well, but dad wasn’t so lucky. Health issues returned not too soon after he came home, and he was never able to fully recover. This year’s Father’s Day is the third that we have had without him. He is, of course, missed by all who knew him and loved him.

What the shows now mean to me

I learned a lot about myself and how important the shows really are to me, back on that fateful day in 2017. I do realize how important our rose shows are to the public and in getting new members, but getting a trophy and putting roses up to the head table just isn’t as important me as it used to be. It wasn’t until the following Sunday after Father’s Day, that I entered my first exhibit in the New England Rose Society show.  The three families in my life that I wrote about in my last blog are what’s most important to me these days. And, when they need me to be there, I just need to be there.

These past couple of weeks

While it is disappointing that I wasn’t able to get my entries photographed and entered in this year’s virtual rose show, it was more important that I spend my time covering for one of my PrintCraft family members who had two stints in the hospital and is still not 100% healthy. My mom also needed to have some of her needs taken care of by me recently, and I’m only happy to help. There’s still one opportunity on Saturday to enter roses in the virtual show, and there’s five apprentice judges who need any and all entries that I can get in it to help them on their quest to become fully-accredited horticulture judges. We’ll see what’s blooming on Saturday, and I’ll see what I can do to get them photographed and in the show.

More entries submitted

I was able to get some additional entries in the show on Saturday for the apprentice judges to see. I was satisfied that I was able to get more entries for them to judge. While I personally do not like this virtual-type of show like we had this year, I understand why they had a virtual show instead of an in-person show. But, in my opinion, at least half of the show is non-existent without the people. It’s also so different seeing (and smelling) roses in person. We will be having an in-person rose show coming up this September on Cape Cod. I will be judging it, and it will be the first live and in-person show in the District in two years.

Getting the old Ford ready

As I finish up this blog, it is Father’s Day. Last night, my future son-in-law and I got my dad’s 1928 Ford running after we put it in storage in the Quonset Hut for winter. We went on a short ride around the block with my daughter. Today, I knew that I was going to be finishing up this blog, and I wanted to take the Ford on a longer drive in my dad’s memory. The old Ford ran pretty well, and almost everybody gave me plenty of space (which doesn’t always happen). The horn sounded pretty sick, and I adjusted it to have that “perfect aaaaROOOGaaaa” sound.

Epilogue

Currently, I have four different blogs either written or partially written along with many ideas for future blogs. On Friday night, I abandoned the partially completed blogs to write a completely different one with a slant towards Father’s Day. I’m happy that I have most of the summer set for the blogs that I am going to share with you. In looking over the blog ideas/stories, they are quite varied (as most of my blogs are), and I hope you continue to enjoy them. I know I enjoy writing them for you.

I wrote this blog with my go-to, trustee blue Osmiroid fountain pen. It almost never fails me, and gives me just the right words for my blogs.

While driving around in the old ’28 this morning, I remembered of all of the good things that my dad and I used to do. We had many common interests in old cars, mechanics, and printing. He taught me so much about cars, printing, mechanics, as well as life in general.

If your dad is still alive, make sure that you give him an extra hug or two while you can, or give him a call on Father’s Day. He will not always be there for you, and you need to let him know how much he means to you while you can. Once he is gone, he will be gone forever, and you will not be able to tell him how you feel. Many of us are no longer able to do this any more.

Out of all of the many varied things that I have done in this world and in my life, being a father is the one that I am most proud of.

Happy Father’s Day to ALL!