Tropical Zone Gardening: The coconut wireless - chat threat 2, 1 by lourspolaire

lourspolaire wrote:
A glorious day to you all!

The post that follows is sent as a public service message. Do not take its contents lightly. All this is real, very real. I am afraid, very afraid.

It all has to do with the Hawai'ian goddess of volcanoes: Pélé. Pélé is not someone with whom one should trifle. Here's why.

When I visited Hawai'i 5 years ago, I had read many times that bringing back sand and rocks was frowned upon because Pélé considers those substances as her own children. It is said Pélé will find you and set a curse upon you. At the time, I had a collection of sand from every beach I had ever visited on my cruises. Leaving a sample of their sand behind when I left the beach broke my heart. However, I decided to err on the side of caution and I didn't collect any sand. I didn't bring back any rocks, either.

One month ago, 2 friends left for a Hawai'ian cruise. They intended to visit the islands by car at each port of call. They would visit as many botanical gardens and beaches as they could while taking in the sights. So far, so good. They also intended to ship the plants they will buy directly to my house, where I could care for them until they visit their Florida house in April. I cautionned both of those guys to leave the sand and rocks alone. We seemed to have an agreement.

Altogether, I received 3 separate shipments from their shopping trips in various botanical gardens and nurseries. I am not sure what part of "no sand and no rocks" escaped their minds. The first box contained 3 bromeliads mounted on lava rock. I thought I would faint. The next day, a second box arrived. It contained another bromeliad mounted on (you guessed it) a piece of volcanic rock. I had to pause and sit down that day. If I were a drinking man, I would have hit the bottle. But I don't drink in response to life's curve balls. A few days later, the third box that arrived contained a bottle of sand for my collection. I got a bad case of "the vapors" and a stress headache reared its ugly head. I was not a happy camper.

So, there is nothing else to do but sit back and wait for Pélé's curse to hit us full force. Why do I feel like one of these cartoon characters who gets hit by an anvil falling from a great height? Yesterday, my computer's monitor conked out. It had to be replaced because I had no idea how useless a computer can be without a monitor. It's one of those things I took for granted, I guess. This morning, I went out to water my plants and my hose had a leak. I had all the hardware to fix it. Thinking back, I never owned a hose that suffered such a gash before.

I have the address where such mineral samples may be returned to appease Pélé. The sand will be easily packed and shipped. However, I don't want to harm the prized bromeliads in the process. So, I have a plan. I'll ship the sand and I'll load the bromeliads into the car. I'll deliver those dangerous rocks to their house, where they'll do well in the garden. I hope it will be sufficient.

What say you, my friends? Do you believe in that curse? Have you experienced anything like it before? My research brings me to realize that there are many such places in the world where you shouldn't bring back mineral samples: Ayers Rock in Australia, Stonehenge and a few of those rock formations in Thailand that seem to have sprung directly out of the sea.

Gotta go. I have a delivery to do ASAP. Oh, BTW, I also wanted to bring back this delightful dancer. However, I sensed that Gail would not think it was a good idea. I know when to pick my fights. It's the beginning of wisdom.

Aloha, y'all.
Sylvain, a.k.a. Pu'ole.