Everything Fred – Part 152

5 November 2023

I’m at least 50% better than yesterday. To be honest, just about anything is better than yesterday. However, I still am not up to a walk nor do I have any inclination to clean house nor do much of anything except rest and relax.

It’s a pleasant 68°F outside with partly cloudy skies and even though the humidity is 89%, it’s tolerable. We really must be in our “winter” season now which coincides with our dry season. However, forecasters are predicting a “wet” dry season for South Florida. I’m not sure what that means but I hope it means I won’t be adding water to the pool as frequently since new water rates went into effect this past month.

I did have enough energy to walk around the back yard and pull a few fallen palm fronds out and put in the yard waste bin. I also noted that a plant given to me by my neighbor Martime was in bloom.

This is native to South America but like so many plants in Florida, it’s been brought in as an ornamental. The reason I like it so well is it reminds me of a tree that was growing outside the window of the Parker House in San Francisco. The Parker House is a guest house I used when I went to the opera back in the day. So many guests had asked, over the years, what the name of the tree was that the hosts had put up a photo in the breakfast room with the name and its history so they didn’t have to answer the same question thirty times a day.

The tree got so big over the years (it was close to the house) they had to cut it down and root some cuttings to plant elsewhere in the yard.

I’m not sure it’s the same genus and I know it’s not the same species but I suspect the two plants share the same family, Melastomataceae. A common genus of the family in the U.S. is the genus Rhexia (Meadow beauty).

It’s interesting what evokes memories. For me, plants are right at the top of my list. I’m sure most of the senses are all evocative of past experiences and for the most part, at least for me, they are good experiences: the smell of Grandma Laura’s tea cakes baking in the oven, the taste of a ripe watermelon on a hot summer day, the smell of gardenias on a summer’s night. At certain times of the year, newly mowed grass evokes the scent of cutting into a ripe watermelon to me.

I used to explain to my students that taste and smell are often very individualized. For example, gardenias. Some people (like me) like the smell. For others, the smell is overly sweet and is off-putting. I like the taste of cilantro but others seem to taste a soapy taste. There are actually people who think skunks’ odors smell good (I’m not one of those). The sense of smell of one item may evoke a totally different memory in two different people.

A lot of that is due to genetics. We used to run an experiment in bio lab where students were asked to put a paper strip in their mouths. The strip had been soaked in phenylthiolurea. For most, all they got was a soggy paper taste. Tasters would give you the most awful face because “tasters” reacted to a bitter sensation. For the record, I’m a non-taster.

This week is busy. I have an eye exam on Monday, Herceptin infusion on Tuesday, hand doctor on Wednesday and hydration infusion on Friday. Hopefully, I’ll feel well enough to drive myself to all the appointments.

Stay tuned!