did not sleep much last nite

bad things happen around here, around our minneapolis florist and flower shop....

very bad....

last nite -- actually yesterday as i was leaving the flower shop -- doing a delivery on the way home--- about 5 in the afternoon...

i was sitting at a red light at penn and broadway, (headed shoth on penn) and i was caught up in a real life gun battle --

there were lots of police in area -- i had just driven past one squad - and had seen another up the next block... and many in area as i drove down penn from dowling -- especially shoth of lowrey

then from the block i was on -- behind me i heard many gun shots --- a barrage of gun shots rang out - the the return fire! many many more shots... Pop Pop Pop so fast it was impossible to count

then another burst -- and more and more the sounds of the pop pop pop getting closer....

these bullets were whizzing past my car -- i could hear then wwwhhhhssssshhhp one after the other, not hearing the initial pop - there is truth to the phrase - "I did not hear the shot" the bullets get to you faster that the sound of the firing -- every now and then one would hit something -- a building in area or other cars, Plink, Plunk - Thwap --- i thought my car got hit -- one of the 'plunks' was very close to my car -- these sounds of the bullits hitting things around me, sounded like the sound a small rock might make when thrown at a can, or peice of wood, then off to my right -- a car was speeding diagonally, across penn ave into a nearby parking lot of the old bean scene, and drove thru this lot -- and sped onto the cross street -- broadway -- this was a car that was shooting back at the original shooters --

are these are mostly kids -- teenagers doing all of this --- ???

what in the name of god is going on here....

thankfully, i got the hell out of there in one piece -

the air was full of the haze and undeniable odor of exploded gun powder - lots of it... A cloud of it was in the area... A real live, real life war zone in the streets of Minneapolis

there were people sitting / standing at near by bus stop... they are very lucky they did not get killed ---

This the horror - of trying to do business in Minneapolis's north side...

we hope this new website will help us grow our business, so that maybe we can get the hell out of Minneapolis and build new greenhouses in a safer place!

here is a link to the Minneapolis Shot Spotter web sites titles "Shots Fired Maps"

Shots Fired Maps Minneapolis

here is an actual map of Minneapolis for April 21 2009 -- The red blotches that look like a cancer on the city are the North Side - every week the maps look this way --


Shots Fired Map Link

We have to stop this madness

We do need your support, more than ever before -- please do not be afraid to order flowers from us, as we do take safeguards to help insure our safety, and keeping off Penn and Broadway are now part of these safeguards!

Phil