AN OPPORTUNITY SEIZED

PATIENCE IS A HIGH VERTU, ONE WHICH USUALLY DOES NOT BECOME ME, BUT MY BETTER HALF, DOUBLY ENDOWED WITH THE 'WAIT AND SEE' ATTITUDE, MORE THAN MAKES UP FOR MY DEFICIENCY. FOR THE PAST 5 YEARS, OUR LOCAL WAL-MART, EACH SUMMER, OFFERS FOR SALE PHALAENOPSIS ORCHIDS AT $19.00. PATIENCE DIVIDES BUT CHEAPNESS UNITES US AS A COUPLE. WE WAITED EACH SEASON FOR 'CLEARANCE' TIME, BUT THE PRICE WAS NEVER RIGHT. RECENTLY, CRUISING THE ISLES OF THE GREENHOUSE - A SATISFYING FEAST FOR EYES BUT RARELY FOR OUR WALLETS - MY BETTER HALF'S VISION SPIED A SIGN $1.50 IN FRONT OF WHAT LOOKED TO BE WILTED AND NON-BLOOMING ORCHID PLANTS ON TALL STALKS, SAVE ONE. ONE SPORTED A VIOLET BLOOM. SEMPER PARATUS. WE SEIZED THE ONE. WHAT DID WE HAVE TO INVEST OTHER THEN $1.50 FOR VIEWER SATISFACTION. THE POT, MARKED $14.88, TOLD US WE FINALLY SCORED. CHECKOUT TIME DELAYED US BECAUSE THE REGISTER CHINKED UP $14.88. I CHIMED BACK THAT THE PRICE WAS $1.50 FOR END OF THE SEASON PLANTS ON THE REDUCED RACK. THE MANAGER'S APPROVAL WAS REQUIRED FOR PRICE CHANGES SO WE CREATED A BACKLOG OF CUSTOMERS BEHIND US. BUT I, WE, WHO FINALLY 'SCORED' WERE NOT TO BE DENIED.

OUR WAIT WAS OVER, BUT OUR GIFT WAS TO KEEP ON GIVING. YES, THE SINGLE, LOVELY BLOOM ENRICHED OUR SMALL TABLE SET SO REGULARLY WITH GOOD FOOD. BUT THEN, NUMEROUS BUDS, BACKSTAGED ON THE STALK OF OUR PRIZE PHALAENOPSIS, OPENED ONE BY ONE OVER THE FOLLOWING MONTH. ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE, SIX. SEVEN IS PRESENTLY OPENING; EIGHT IS WAITING IN THE WINGS. AS OF 08/09/06 EIGHT IS ENOUGH.

SUBSEQUENT TRIPS TO THE OUR WAL-MART LAND OF NOD ADDED SPECIALNESS TO OUR FIND. LEFT-OVER ORCHIDS WERE NOW MARKED $14.88. SOMEHOW, $1.50 DISAPPEARED. ALL THINGS COME TO HIM WHO WAITS, EVEN THOUGH THEY COME AT THE EXPENSE OF ANOTHER PARTY'S MISTAKE.