Chapter 2: The Company

    Mike went out to the local diner that night.  About once a week he would go down there for some Chicken Marsala.  It was a favorite meal of his, and Mike was definitely in the mood to celebrate.  The next day at work Mike was sorting through some mail in his new office when the phone rang again.  It seemed to ring constantly, with different vendors calling all the time.  This particular call was from a big corporate office, in fact it was the biggest corporation the industry had known.

    "Mother Nature" was it's name, and they always seemed to have some new product coming out to make things easier for the home gardener, landscaper, or local resident.  "Hi, this is Bill with Mother Nature.  How are you doing today?"  "I'm fine", replied Mike. "How can I help you today?"  "We have a new fertilizer that we are introducing to the world next week, one that will change everything." said Bill.  "Would you like to have some of this revolutionary product in your nursery?  I am sure your customers will love it."  "Of course", said Mike.  "I have seen the commercials about this fertilizer already, supposed to accelerate plant growth to five times the normal growth rate right?"  "That's the one", replied Bill.  "I'll send you a couple pallets to arrive on monday.  The bill will come later in the month."  "Thanks so much" said Mike, "I'll look forward to it."  Friday was almost over now, and Mike was just finishing up watering the plants.  He noticed the magnolias were starting to bud, and the climatis were in full bloom.  On the bike ride home, he wondered about something.  How on earth can you accelerate a plant's growth by five times?  I have been using the same fertilizer for years, and it does help the plants grow faster, but not even double the speed of a regular plant.

    Over the weekend Mike decided to do some research on plant growth, and on "Mother Nature" to see if he could figure any of it out.  He found that with just the right acidity in the soil, and just right conditions, you can make a plant grow faster.  But "Mother Nature" turned out to be very mysterious about their new product.  There was very little information posted about the chemicals used in the fertilizer, and even less about the research behind it.  But the media for it was everywhere, on his facebook, on television, in the newspaper ads, and in the news.  On Sunday Mike even received a mailer about it.  "This new fertilizer is going to be a big deal I guess."

-end chapter two-

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