"Working
at the greenhouse is like going to Florida every day," Matt Strazzula says
with a smile. Matt has been volunteering three days a week since February.
Much of the work at the greenhouse in the winter involves transplanting seedlings
initially grown in trays into their own individual pots and this is something
Matt has done over and over and over again. "It's almost like Zen, very calming,
it's almost prayerful," he explains. Now that spring is here he is more often
found popping pansies out of their pots, preparing them for planting out on
the cemetery grounds, or pulling dead leaves off geraniums and checking for
insects.
Like
the others who work at the greenhouse, he's not bothered by the fact that
he is also working in a cemetery, "we're all going to end up someplace," he
says. This is particularly poignant in Matt's case because, although he is
only 46 years old, he is struggling with a terminal illness. Being at this
particular cemetery is comforting, he says, because the dead are remembered
so well here. His work at the greenhouse also helps him cope with his illness
since "dealing with plants is connected with life." He hopes that at some
point the greenhouse will hire him, saying "I'm looking forward to working
with plants for the rest of my life."