Pathos/Pothos (2010)

Today I sat on the street with a cardboard sign and a plant. The sign said: “PLEASE HELP my plant remove toxins and pollutants from the air. DONATIONS of CO2 much appreciated. He’s a Pothos. I call him Fred. Exhalations = Awesome. No cash accepted.”

Over the course of 3 hours, 22 people stopped to read the sign or talk to me. As thanks, I handed them a flier with a friendly list of other plants that clean the air. Three people offered me money, one guy tried to give me a granola bar, all of which I politely declined. This was all part of the Conflux Festival in NYC. While I was sitting on my rear, there were workshops, panels, performances and hikes happening all over the East Village

The Grand Total of Reaction to Pathos/Pothos is below: Everything from joy to pornographic remarks.

The Grand Total of Reactions:

8 smiles

18 double-takes

5 direct exhalations on the plant

5 visitors actually from Conflux

$6.50 total offered in change (all politely declined)

1 kid dragged away by her mother

1 kid sent over with a dollar by his grandpa

1 guy who called me a marketing tool

1 guy who might have rolled something in the flier I gave him

3 people who commented on my red hair (2 of them pornographically)

1 perfect response: “Something to be hopeful about!” from a woman after reading the flier.

Countless folks who simply averted their eyes.

Fred and I go on to live another day.