TRUE. today

More months later. On a daily basis, not much happened. But in sum, a lot.

First, Excellence shipped the TRUE.-to-be roses to a German client for a few months, just to get a feeling with the product. The excited German wished to continue, but knew he would only recieve the flowers temporarily. Nevertheless, his feedback was very important. Bernardo (Heliflor): Vielen Dank!

Then: time for a NYC shipment. No doubt, this was going to be a process of getting all the details right. So, fully unforeseen, I could write to all those involved two weeks later:

Faith. "What a concept!," my Canadian hippie-friend Garth would say. TRUE.

We Dutch are pretty good with faith. Absolute faith in God for the Protestants among us and trust in only ourselves for all of us. We're a sceptic bunch of control freaks.
The more amazing that (1) I never lost faith in the rose variety I obtained 3 years ago and (2) I have had to rely on others to make this variety work.

10 Days ago Excellence sent the first two boxes from Bogotà to Manhattan after having worked on the variety for over a year. The shipment got delayed and arrived in Manhattan last Thursday. On Friday, from Liverpool Street Station in London, I called the recipient, Roses and Blooms. Jan Ooms (a Dutchman!) gave me goosepimples when he said that he had never seen such beautiful flowers. TRUE. TRUE. TRUE.

Today, 4 boxes (80 flowers each) are on their way, regular shipments start.
In the meantime, the world has changed. Dramatically for the flower business in New York, with half of the florists in financial problems.
We must go back to our shared faith in beauty and the appreciation of true beauty.

This rose will not solve today's crisis. But it will definitely make you feel good. TRUE.

Tomorrow I fly to Manhattan. A week ago Jan delivered TRUE. bouquets to a number of selected florists. Time for me to hear their reactions and see if we can add more TRUE. retailers, as Excellence continues to amaze us with the increasing numbers of TRUE. flowers.

My daughter Fienie (8) and son David (7) just gave me a new bag and toothbrush for the occasion. All gung-ho for the Big Apple.