UPDATE 20 oct 09

you’ll be missed, mr. madonna

this summer i was lookin all over for venus flytraps.  i made calls to plant stores, went to home depot and some other places, but nobody had any left.  so one day i was walking down broadway past dyckman st. (200th st) in manhattan and i saw an old, small plant/pet supply store called Pic-A-Pet.  see, i’m a sucker for small, privately owned stores; the older the better.   this store had weathered a few storms in it’s day and the guy sitting down just inside the door seemed to be in about the same condition.  when i asked him if he had any venus flytraps,  he said with a smile, “yeah, we got em for 9 bucks.”  so i picked up two plants.  i asked him if i could have a receipt and when we walked near the register that looked like it hadn’t been used since before i was born he looked around for his receipt book.  it was yellowed with age and when he handed it to me, i looked it over and it was receipt #42 from the 70’s.  i said, “don’t write many receipts, huh?”  and he started laughing.  his name was Mr. Tony Madonna – a life-long new yorker; a real genuine kind of guy with a heart of gold.  it’s funny how once i stopped in to ask about flytraps and  now i stop in whenever i’m near just to say howdy to my new friend.  his wrinkled face and callused hands have a few stories to tell and if you stop in, you just might get to hear a couple.

look at the date. how cool is that?!