I'd Like to Give the World a Rose

I'd Like to Give the World a Rose
I didn't think it was possible, but Phuket was even more depressing than Pattaya. More massage parlors, with the woman pressuring you to choose them...them, more bars filled with women trying get you to buy them drinks or take them home, more beautiful young girls with wrinkly old men, more ladyboys trying to fool you into showing a sexual interest in them, more drunks, more tattoos and more tattoo parlors, more obnoxious Germans demanding things and Russians strutting around like major Mafia figures, more insistent merchants, higher prices and less value, and generally less friendly people. What was I doing here? I guess it was just a matter of being curious and wanting to see places I had heard about but never seen. Now I knew for sure, this wasn't for me. There's nothing more depressing than being alone in a crowd when it seems that everyone else is having the time of their lives; guys sitting with their buddies drinking beers and laughing uproariously, guys being romantic with their girlfriends, people hustling money, and me, walking around alone and angry about it. More than anything I felt invisible and like a loser.
I kept walking around hoping I would see something for me, something i could enjoy, something I could get involved in. Everything that anyone said to me sounded like a cliche and just...depressing. Finally I found it. At one bar there were 2 obviously drunk guys who were having fun in a different way. The one guy was standing in the middle of the busy pedestrian way with a huge bouquet of roses. Each bouquet was made up of more than 100 flowers, and he was patiently passing them out one at a time to a crowd that was already overly worked and stressed. They were all so weary of getting asked to buy everything, that their automatic reaction was to say no, without thinking about it. They were all wrapped up in their little protective cocoons and barely able to peek out at the world anymore. After all how many times can you be asked if you want a massage or a taxi? This what happens when you are bombarded with pleas all day. And some of the offers were quite aggressive.
"Here have a rose"
No response. Looking dully straight ahead
"go ahead take it, it's free."
They still don't believe it.
"really I'd like to give it to you."
Finally the person smiles. Realising it's not a sale, it's a pleasant surprise, a breath of fresh air. Who doesn't like a rose? And a smile and relaxed feeling suddenly breaks through the ice. These crazy guys were having a great time just breaking through the defences that everyone had built up over their days in Phuket. When I saw them do it at first, I just stopped and watched. It was so funny to watch the surprised and often hostile looks they would get, and then the transformation as they relaxed and realised someone was doing a simple and kind act for them. Ahhhhh . A rose. How nice. I just stood there, invisible, and down, watching them work the crowd. The best part was that they weren't always so nice about it. They would get right in people's faces until they accepted it. Most did. I got hooked watching them. It was like they created a ripple effect and you could feel it spreading like ripples along the way. I circled around so I could see the recipient's face better. It was a joy to see those natural smiles breaking through. The best part was that they didn't pick only women. A big burly Boris came along, a guy I would normally avoid eye contact with.
"Here have a rose"
Boris glares at him and snarls like a hound.
"Go ahead take it, it's free."
He walks straight up to Carl. It looks like he wants to fight. Maybe he think Carl is gay and trying to pick him up.
"Hey you can give it to your girlfriend" Carl says walking along with him.
"I dun't haf girlfriend" Boris says slowing down
"Maybe you can get one with this rose."
Finally Boris is grinning from ear to ear and I snap a picture just as his smile peaks.
Carl turns to me, "that was a tough one"
He spoke to me. He spoke to me. It strikes me. Suddenly I'm not invisible anymore. I'm part of this street performance. An old Thai woman who is selling brooms walks by. He sticks the flower in front of her and she smiles sweetly, swept away. She never had a foreigner interact with her before. Snap. Carl walks up to a ladyboy, all dressed up to look like a Las Vegas dancer. She backs away. She/he doesn't want anyone to smear her makeup. She/he makes an x with her forearms. "Win some lose some" Carl calls over. A middle aged couple who obviously had too much sun waddle by. He gives a rose to the wife and then one to the husband. Snap. Now I'm an integral part of the team, Carl gives the marks the rose like a pitcher throwing a ball and I catch it by snapping a picture. People are watching us, Carl and I work the crowd. He's starting to run low on roses. 5 or 6 flower peddlers cue up. "Take mine. Mine are fresher. 500 baht here" selling a bundle of roses is a big night for one of them, usually they sell them one at a time. He picks out a huge bundle of white ones. He picks out a young Swedish looking girl in a stroller who starts giggling when he gives it to her. A young beautiful Thai woman walks by with a much older foreigner.
"here, give her a rose quick, before she runs away", he jokes.
A guy in an all white jump suit walks by, no one can figure out who he is. He looks quite confused, but finally takes one, laughing as he walks away. A woman who looks like she's a prostitute walks by, "wanna take me home" she smiles suggestively. "Why don't you take my rose home?". She walks away, not entirely disappointed. By now a group of people in the bar and standing on the side are watching the action, offers and Ad libs flying back and forth furiously. "I want to give the whole world a rose," Carl whispers to me. In the end he buys 6 huge bunches of flowers, about 100 dollars worth. It takes him more than an hour to give them all away. Finally he takes a break. I go over to talk with him and tell him how much I enjoyed his street theater. I promise to send him the pictures. I shake his hand warmly. "you made a lot of people happy tonight none of them more than me". He claps me on the shoulder then looks a bit confused. He wants to give me something but there are no more flowers, he gave them all away. He looks down. There's a lei around his neck. Without hesitation he takes it off and hangs it around my neck.
I'm a different person than I was an hour ago. I'm relaxed and smiling. People seem to be smiling back at me. I'm no longer invisible. I celebrate by buying some cha yen, Thai sweet iced tea. I hand the money over to the bored looking counter girl. Without pausing I strip off my lei and place it on her neck. She is startled and then delighted. Her eyes light up and she looks so pretty and sweet now. The ripple continues. I realise I want to give everyone a rose too.