My first freelance article!!!

The day I came bearing roses
The Dallas Morning News, 07:46 AM CST on Tuesday, February 13, 2007
By LINDA MARIE FORD / Contributor
I have a list. And my name is not Earl.
It is not the cliché Things to Do Before I Die list. I have a Things I Never Thought I Would Do but Have Done list.
I approach life in a "Hey, that could be one for The List" kind of way.
There are several beauties on The List already, such as spending two weeks in Australia; seeing the Pope on Easter Sunday; running a marathon; being profiled in Ladies' Home Journal and attending NASCAR.
So, last February, when I saw a sign seeking floral delivery drivers, I knew it was something to add to The List.
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On Valentine's Day, I pull up to the loading dock at 7:15 a.m. The pros have their vans lined with waterproof tarps cradling plastic bins that are partitioned for maximum loading.
I take a clipboard and read over the procedures:
1. Proper loading of deliveries is most important.
2. It is my responsibility to check for missing roses, discolored water or damaged filler.
3. I must get a signature for all deliveries.
4. I will be paid $6 for each delivery.
I am given a sign for my windshield that says, "FTD Floral Delivery." It looks more professional than the one I made that says, "Dear Officer. Please don't tow me. I'm delivering flowers for Valentine's Day. Maybe I have some for you!"
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7:51 a.m.: The van is loaded and I'm off for my first delivery. I take a right turn out of the parking lot and hear a splash from the back seat. My quick turning skills, perfected during years of driving carpool, will not be needed today. The address is a building at Southern Methodist University. I find it and hustle in with the roses. The receptionist takes them; the lucky recipient isn't in. Buzz kill. But my first delivery is completed.
8:41: Second delivery information includes an address and building that don't match. I check the card to see who sent Mitzi flowers and curse him.
10:17: Loaded and ready to go again. I'm known as the woman who made three deliveries to SMU in an hour. I don't know whether that is good or bad.
11:34: My car smells like flowers. It's much better than the sour-milk-and-stinky-boy smell it usually has.
12:14: The bloom is off the rose, literally. While pulling an arrangement out, I spun too quickly and decapitated a rose. I replace it with extras I brought for just such an emergency.
1:18: My nonexistent sense of direction makes me long for the compass feature in my old car. I eat a power bar and recaffeinate.
2:15: I was in the elevator of an office building when the doors opened and a guy started to get on. When he saw the arrangement I had, he uttered, "Doh!" I surmise that he also forgets his wife's birthday, their anniversary and which day the garbage goes out. I told him to relax, he had plenty of time to get something for his sweetie. He owes me big.
2:43: Time to turn in my paperwork and add floral transport engineer to The List. Everyone likes to peek through the peephole and see someone delivering flowers. Well, except for the woman who was bummed when she realized that the huge arrangement I had was for her neighbor.
Linda Marie Ford is a Dallas freelance writer and founder of It's Good to Be the Queen, a Web site for moms of boys. E-mail her at queenlinda@itsgoodtobethe queen.com.