PEARL

The Boulevard Greeter

Opuntia sp.

Planted at the property line, in the narrow strip between the sidewalk and the street where nothing is expected to survive and most things do not. Pearl did.

The accession was not planned. She arrived in the root ball of a plant since lost, and was left in position out of a mixture of curiosity and inertia. She has become the first thing anyone walking east on this street sees, which is a responsibility she did not ask for and has never once acknowledged.

She flowers yellow in April, on schedule, without regard to weather, audience, or care. Four vehicles have entered the strip since accessioning. The count is maintained.