Letters, we get letters...

(We get lots and lots of letters. This week's theme -- you didn't know we were doing a theme this week did you? -- happens to be letters. I get a lot of weird ones. Maybe no weirder than yours, but I keep mine. For days and weeks just like this)

I found this missive wedged between my screen door and my front door, last week. It comes from a neighbor, an unknown neighbor, who has taken a shining to the flowers we planted in the front yard.  Of course when I say "we" I mean nothing of the sort.

The last time I broke out the shovel and the pick was to transplant a perfectly healthy, perfectly fruitful lime tree from the shady side of the yard to the more sunny side. I don't think I did a very good job. The hole was too shallow. The roots got damaged. And the limes, which were once plentiful and adorned many a Mojito, have disappeared.

Fortunately we still have a productive lemon tree. So when necessary, we pull a very green lemon off the tree and tell ourselves it's a lime.

Now we just leave all the gardening work to Gabriel. And as you can see he did a helluva job with the flowers.

I don't know how smart, "instinctual" and knowledgable Gabriel is, I just know that he shows up every week. He mows the grass, trims the bushes, and tidies up the yard. With the exception of taking out the garbage, he does all the things my wife would otherwise nag me to do.

And for that Gabriel is worth all the money in the world.

If you wanted to compliment me on something, dear unknown neighbor. You should take note of the way I write a check. I do a damn fine job of writing a check.