(June 16, 2009)

For 26 years she's lived what she says is the great American dream, but that was shattered after a fire destroyed her flower shop.  

Coming from a communist country, Margaret Fratila, who is from Romania, opened a local flower shop. Her friends tell us she worked. Sometimes around the clock to make others happy, but that just recently her mission quite literally, went up in smoke.

An electrical problem caused the fire in a shop where Margaret has done her most gratifying life's work. Even today, as a new shipment of flowers came in, Margaret Fratila took great pleasure in showing us the beauty that can be found in giving to others.

She has no where to store them. She has no cash register, no computer, no shop. The loss of her shop Margaret's Greenhouse and European Floral Designs.Is a devastation this woman can barely tell us about as she fights through the tears.

"I was thiking everything.crying.so, anyway.after two hours. I saw it, I said, it's not possible," said Fratila. 

Margaret is a woman who knows the value of America. She came here with one suitcase and 15 pounds of clothes. Coming from communist Romania, she worked from the start to have her own business to have even a business card was a big deal.

" I think got is chosing us, the heart of a florist.we dealing with every day will all kinds of feelings, some body wedding, funerals, somebody is sick," Fratila said.

So, on Thursday, when she got that call, her shop was on fire, her heart sank. With no insurance, she has little to no options.That's where others can help.

"She is always there and always thinking of someone else," said Linda Bell, a friend. "This is her life, giving."

From a used refrigerator to vases and baskets any small donation would mean something to a woman who believes not just in the American dream, but in the beauty of giving. In times of happiness. And in times of tragedy.

For more information on how you can help, call Fratila at 361-851-9418 or 361-852-0471.