People Are Awesome: A Detroit Florist Gives Away Bouquets Just for Being Kind

We've told you before that in these times of hardship for so many, others have made it their mission to lighten people's burdens wherever they can. In South Carolina, they're buying each other's coffee. Throughout the Midwest, they paid for one another's gifts around the holidays. Now, one florist is looking to brighten the flagging state of Michigan one bouquet at a time.

Lori Morrison has been selling flowers for three decades in Plymouth, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit whose name it once shared with a brand of automobiles that has since ceased production. The struggling auto industry gave way to a struggling Michigan, where nearly 15 percent of the population now lives below the poverty line. Wanting to give back to the people who have kept her flower shop running in these financially trying times, Morrison came up with something called a "Good Job Bouquet," a simple reminder that someone in the Detroit area still cares.

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For the rest of 2012, Morrison will accept nominations for people in Plymouth and the surrounding area who deserve recognition for nourishing their community. "It can be anyone," Morrison told news station WDIV, "maybe the mailman we take for granted, someone who walked your dog or brought you soup when you were sick." Morrison will hand-deliver a floral arrangement to a winner each week as a token of her, and her neighbors', appreciation.

The most recent recipient of Morrison's new award was Lauren Langkabe, a restaurant owner who gave away food to customers on the honor system when her credit card machine broke last year. It was a simple kindness, just like a Good Job Bouquet is, but it's those simple, daily kindnesses that keep people going when things are bad.