I hope you're happy with yourself, whoever you are. I should like to think you might be ashamed of what you've done, but someone as selfish and thoughtless as you are is undoubtedly incapable of experiencing shame. If you're reading this, I want you to know that my friend who was with me when we saw this Showy Orchis was absolutely heartbroken to learn of its demise. And I mean demise because it won't survive wherever you've replanted it. Thus, whatever enjoyment you hoped to gain from your selfish act will be short lived. My friend was especially saddened, as she expressed to me at the scene, because the orchid reminded her of a mutual friend who also loved orchids; he lost his life to cancer a few years ago.
To be sure, you broke the law by stealing this orchid from a nature conservancy, but you also broke someone's heart. It's difficult for me to even comprehend such opportunistic immaturity, greed, and selfishness. How many people walked that path each day and appreciated the orchid? How many knew of its value as part of the conservancy and were content with admiring its beauty and leaving it be for others to enjoy? And then you came along and destroyed such sentiments with your imbecilic and egotistical act. I can just imagine how childish you probably looked on your knees as you frantically dug around the base of the orchid; you were obviously in a hurry for fear of getting caught given the plant remnants and broken stalks. You knew it was wrong and yet you did it anyway out of pure obsessiveness and selfishness.
Shame on you!
Showy Orchis © 2016 Mike McDowell