Flowers are pretty fun creatures.
Somehow these bright and frilly things popping out of the ground bring an excitement to spring that cheers up the spirits. Now is the season of the early bulbs; daffodils, hyacinths and narcissus are the most common.
While there is often a contest for the first snow gone or the first ice out of the lake, perhaps another contest would be the first place to spot daffodils or crocuses. Another would be the first rhubarb plant to reach cuttable stage. Now there will be an explosion of green, and the race into summer will be in full swing.
I am reminded of someone who has been a cure for many ills in the community. With Richard Lord and Glenna Smith, he helped form a triumvirate of play-loving teachers who guided numerous plays and musicals in the community.
Daniel Ladner received an honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from the University of Maine at Presque Isle. This is a singular honor that has been long overdue. With his sense of fun and boundless joy and enthusiasm, he can cheer up even the most dismal of moments with his impish grin and vast knowledge of characters and songs.
Lucky are the ones who have experienced a class, a workshop or a performance with Mr. Ladner. He is like so many of the spring and summer blooms: an explosion of color on a brown push landscape. Lucky are we all that the doctor is in the house.
I met with one of the recipients of a new kidney this past week. He is doing well and so excited by the new lease on life he has been given. It was a Christmas gift that will keep on giving and the joy that brings is as precious as those blooms that are filling yards and fields in The County.
Be grateful for the blossoms as they are giving us a show.
Orpheus Allison is a photojournalist living in The County who graduated from UMPI and earned a master of liberal arts degree from the University of North Carolina. He began his journalism career at WAGM television later working in many different areas of the US. After 20 years of television he changed careers and taught in China and Korea.
