Wow Buckytom this really hit a cord with you- it made me stop in my tracks and think...
I have/had beautiful lilac bushes on the corner of my property-every year my neighbors would "borrow" some.2 years ago a car stopped in front of the bush and this woman opened her trunk I didn't think too much of it until she was still ther after about 5 minutes- I walked up the little hill in front to the lilac bush and witnessed the slaying of the bush that all my neighbors and I had enjoyed for so many years- this woman didn't live in the neighborhood but, has a child who is a friend of a child who lives here.Her trunk was full of all the lilacs that were on the bush including 3 and 4 foot branches. I felt so violated. I said to her I don't mind sharing some of the lilacs but, you have destroyed my lilac bush. She said to me I left some and pointed up to the to of the bush about which is about 12 feet from the ground up.I told her she could have asked and she just shrugged at me.I told her she just stole from children in our neighborhood who loved to bring flowers to their teachers, she stole the first signs of spring from our community,she stole the flowers many of us brought to our mothers' graves for Mother's Day,and last but not least staring at the gaping holes in and empty spaces of the bush, I said you just killed my lilac bush.She shrugged at me slammed her trunk and left. I memorized her license plate-by the way several of my neighbors were witnessing the vandalization and had come out to confront her.I was going to call the police and file a report but, I didn't. I kept thinking about the kid who was friend's with the child of this woman and how it would effect his friendship. One of my neighbors was so upset with me for not filing a report that he kept saying what if the bush was by your front door and she did that- I said I hope she wouldn't have been so brazen if it was.I still see the boy and this woman's friend together- I know I made the right decision,certainly this friendship is more important than the destruction of a plant.I'm still saddened by the fact that the bush no longer blooms any where in reaching distance and we have to wait a period of 7 years to see if it ever will and I pray that this woman has not found someone else's property to vandalize.