Wayward Weed



not this big

 A few years ago, hubby was out on a consulting job and made an impulse "buy".  Hubby is somewhat famous for shopping when he is out of town working.  Seems that he tracked down a bargain on two rather large topiaries in large pots that he thought would look  nice on our Dallas patio.  Unfortunately, the trucking company that was in charge of shipping these to us, typed our street numbers as 1420 instead of the 1402 it should have been.  Did I mention these topiaries were BIG?







not this big, either



more like this

After a week of the shipment being MIA, Yellow Freight tracked down the misdirected delivery and figured out they had left my carefully sculpted pine trees in pots at house down the street from me.  Off I go...to recover my trees.
As luck would have it the very nervous woman that answered the door said, "Yes, there were two very large crates delivered but I just left them on the porch.  The next day they disappeared." 

I have no way of proving that her back patio did or didn't have two very nice topiaries sitting back there but if darting eyes and stammering are an indicator of guilt, this chick had my flora decorating her patio.

What does this have to do with today's post, I hear you say?  Within the last 3 weeks, I have heard at least three stories about wayward packages.  Not topiary in pots but POT.  What is going on with misguided shipments?  AND ....as I listened to these stories I envision the real owners that were expecting their shipments marching to the door and saying "Excuse me but Fedex (or UPS or whoever) said they left a package here by mistake.  You might of noticed it having an "earthy" rank odor but I assure you that it is just some medicinal herbs that I am needing for medicinal reasons. You see me sweating profusely, right?  It is just some of the symptoms of my medical condition. Could I trouble you to hand over my package, pronto."  By the way, you haven't been talking to any cops lately have you?  Just asking.

According to the real news stories, it sounds like the real owners didn't come and claim their wayward weed but it would have made for a great story.  Here are a few of what turns out to be many "wrong" deliveries of pot gone astray.

A couple of weeks ago an elderly Pennsylvania couple came home to find a package on their front porch. Not recognizing the sender, they let the package sit a few days thinking that maybe someone would come by to retrieve it.  When no one claimed the package, they opened it to find a five pound brick of high grade marijuana.  The couple turned it in to the police that traced it back to a fake address in Tollison, AZ. (Good thing the couple didn't get pulled over for a traffic stop on the way to the police station.  Yikes)

Also, in April, another delivery was made to a dentist's office in New York City.  Orthodontist, Richard Lyons was returning from a conference when he discovered a parcel had been left for him at his Dr. Toothy's Dental Office.  The package was correctly labeled to his address.  The sender was listed as Gwendoline Lyons, whom the doctor said he didn't know.  So the doctor opened the parcel to find a box containing dish soap, wet wipes and 31 pounds of marijuana.   (presumably the dish soap and wipes were to mask the fragrance Eau de Cannabis) 

Dr. Lyons also, turned his unexpected stash over to the police who said the estimated street value is around $45,000.00.  Dr. Lyons, who calls himself, King of Chinatown, said is was one of the weirdest day of his career.  (one of the weirdest?  I wonder what some of the others are?)

Still in another incident, a package containing 70 pounds of marijuana was sent to  a business in Winter Park, Fl.  The weed had a street value of $200,000.  An employee called the police to retrieve the misguided parcel.  (He may or may not be getting "Employee of the Month" depending on who the owners of the company are and if they were expecting a shipment.)

Actually, when I did a search for waylaid weed stories, there are dozens of them.  So to all of you senders of illegal drugs...or anything illegal really....you really should be doing a better job on getting your addresses correct.

But....doesn't it make you wonder how many people are finding these waylaid parcels and thinking it is just their lucky day.

The Good for the Day....Somebody in Texas has two very nice large topiary, thanks to hubby's weakness for shopping.

The Bad for the Day....When packages get lost.


The Weird for the Day....Nothing to do with today's subject but WEIRD none the less.
You may or may not of heard the controversy over the suspension of two  Ohio teens for "passing gas" on the school bus.  The story first appeared in the Columbus Dispatch but  now been picked up by national news agencies.  For those of you that haven't heard the details as of yet.   Two 13 year olds




Child discipline expert Dr. Michele Borba says that an Ohio middle school's decision to suspend 13-year-old Anthony Nichols for farting on the school bus reeks of poor judgement.