Ugly Cactus Type Plant With Large Limbs

Image September 23, 2017 debbie413 Leave a comment

A few years ago, my Mom gave me a plant that she could no longer keep. It was growing too big and climbing up the walls of her apartment complex. I accepted the plant and brought it home. It was planted in a 12” green planter. It’s an ugly cactus type plant with large limbs that look like tentacles which attach themselves to whatever is nearby. I placed the plant at the very back of our yard out of my sight.

One day, while working in the yard. I looked at the plant and thought of throwing it away (see photos below). It is so ugly, and the limbs are just dangling everywhere. I did not know what to do with the plant. I figured that I’d at least let my Mom know I didn’t want the plant, so I left it where it was until I spoke with Mom. However, later that day while browsing through Facebook, I came across an article on a Dragon Fruit plant. The article caught my attention because the plant on the photo looked a lot like my ugly plant with tentacles.

The plant in the article was called a Dragon Fruit Tree. Dragon Fruit is an exotic fruit which is difficult to find and quite expensive. Ancient Chinese legends say, “The Dragon Fruit was created thousands of years ago by a dragon in battle. During the battle, a dragon blew a burst of fire containing the fruit. The Chinese believed that those who consumed the pulp of the dragon fruit were given the strength, and immortality of the dragon. The health benefits and delicious flavor of this exotic fruit are legendary. Dragon Fruit plants are easy to grow in containers as long as you provide a strong support structure. Dragon Fruit offers excellent nutritional and health benefits. It is packed with high concentrations of antioxidants that boost the immune system.” (http://dragonfruitplants.com/index.html).

After reading about the Dragon Fruit plant, I decided to keep it and changed its container. I re-potted the plant into a larger 22” pot and had my husband build a trellis for it. From that moment on I began caring for it differently. I was curious to try the fruit. I had never seen the fruit before, nonetheless tasted it until my trip to Spain. While in Barcelona we visited La Boquería market which is known as one of the best markets in the world. While strolling through the aisles of fresh fish, meat, vegetables, and fruits, there it was, fresh-cut Dragon Fruit ready to eat! Of course, I had to taste this exotic fruit that I had the privilege to own in my backyard. I was so glad I kept the plant. The fruit was delicious and refreshing. What a delight.

Fast forward a few months now, I saw that my Dragon Fruit tree was blooming. I anxiously waited for the flower to open and every morning walked outside to check on it. Then one night I happened to glance towards the Dragon Fruit tree, and it had the most beautiful big white flower. It turns out that the Dragon Fruit tree will open its flower during the night. I only saw it open for two nights though. I’m not sure if it had been opening before I caught a glimpse of it. Right above the flower was a bump where the fruit began to grow. Every day it became larger and started ripening from a beautiful green to a bright pinkish-red. And, every day I checked to see if it was ready to harvest.

The day finally arrived when the Dragon Fruit was ready to be picked. It was soft to the touch, so I tucked on it a few times, and it came right off. I rinsed it out and carved into to it. Its rubbery red skin peeled off very quickly. Its soft white flesh was full of tiny black seeds, and it was just as I expected – a delicious sweet taste that melts in your mouth. It was well worth the wait. Lucky me there were four more on the plant ready to blossom and ripen.

My little ugly-looking plant with tentacles turned out to be a beautiful Dragon Fruit tree which I am proud to own.

Short Stories

How Hurricane Irma Tormented Me

September 22, 2017 debbie413 Leave a comment

It was Sunday, September 10, 2017. Hurricane Irma is a category 5 storm expected to hit Florida. I live in Central Florida. The expected time of impact for my area is roughly 2:00 a.m. We prepped as best as we could – plenty of water, non-perishable food plenty for a few days, batteries, flashlights, and so on. Our roof was in the beginning stages of repair so the roofer’s placed a tarp over it to avoid any further damage. We cleared the patio terrace from all furniture, plants, wind chimes and any other potential projectile as recommended. It was very calm – no birds flying or chirping. A clear sign of what was to come. They knew to steer clear from the monster that would creep in.

Besides my family and my myself, we expected to have my mom and a friend of mine with her 4-year-old child to weather the storm at our home. We were 8 people, two dogs and a cat. The wait was endless. We tried to make the best of it by playing board games, talking and watched some TV even though most of the television time was spent watching the news. Some of us were anxious, bored or worried.

The rain began at around midday with some wind gusts of about 40 miles. It seemed like a long day. At around 11:00 p.m. I was ready to shower and head to bed. The winds began to pick up as soon as I got into bed. Chewy, our 25-pound dachshund/chihuahua mix, was trembling with fear. I allowed him onto our bed instead of his.

I heard the winds pounding on our windows and what sounded as if either the shed, roof of the outdoor kitchen or the fence was ready to come off. It stopped for a few seconds followed by silence, which was just as terrifying as the howling wind. Irma was not happy. I tried to sleep, but as I was about to doze off I heard a text message come in. It was my sister. She was giving me her accounts of the storm. We texted back and forth for a little while when I decided that I’d prefer to wait it out in the family room. I got up and walked into the family room. The double glass doors vibrated from the winds force. I walked towards the other side of the house and knocked on the door to the bedroom where my mom was but she didn’t respond. I opened it slowly and called out to her a couple of times. She was fast asleep. I wished I had been able to sleep like that while the hurricane stirred outside. I returned to the family room and sat down for a little bit with my friend.

My husband, son and son-in-law all stepped outside the front entrance – crazy guys. Just then the power went out. It was 2:00 a.m. and just as the news anchor predicted, the winds picked up. My sister sent me another text. It seemed to be winding down in her area so she was going to try to get some sleep. I could hear the clanking of flapping roofs and the tossing around of flying debris. I could hear the flapping of the tarp on our roof. It sounded as if the roof was about to give in and fly away. I didn’t know what category the storm was by now nor the speed of the wind. I really didn’t care. I just prayed to God to spare my family, friends, neighbors and Florida from any catastrophe. I headed back to bed even though it was so hard for me to fall asleep. I dozed on and off as the wind pounded on our windows like a mad man, in this case, a mad woman wanting to come inside. She grunted, howled and pushed with all her force and no mercy. She was relentless.

It was now 3:45 a.m. I still couldn’t sleep. I grabbed my iPad and logged onto Facebook and read how my local family and friend’s status depicted their Irma experience. Like I, many were terrified of what was going on. It was surreal. In between Facebook posting I maintained communication via text with my brother and my cousin. By now my husband was oblivious of what was going on as he slept peacefully with Chewy between us trembling. I got up a couple of times and peeked out the window towards the pitch, black night torment of Irma. The last time I glanced at the time it was 4:37 a.m. Irma’s furry was still thrashing away at the windows and everything outside. I was so tired but every time I dozed off I was awakened by Irma’s winds. It finally began winding down just enough for me to get a shut-eye.

I woke up at 6:08 a.m. still tired but relieved that the hurricane had moved on. I lived in Puerto Rico until 1996 and had been in many hurricanes back then and a few here in Florida. But I don’t recall any of them being as terrifying as Irma. It was the longest night of my life.

Short Stories

The Spunky 5-Year-Old’s Gift

September 18, 2017 debbie413 Leave a comment

I Met A Little Boy

Every time I switch out purses, I come across my dingy old crucifix. It’s a silver and gold-colored crucifix with green gemstones, and made of some sort of plastic material. It is missing one gemstone. A spunky 5-year-old Caucasian little boy with beautiful green eyes gifted the crucifix to me. His name was Timothy.

It was the year 1981. I worked as a cake decorator at Baskin-Robbins. Timothy came in with his Mom every day and ate a French vanilla ice cream cone. Neither Timothy nor his Mom spoke Spanish, so I would tend to them since I was fluent in English. Timothy was not shy at all and asked many questions about ice cream.

Timothy loved the cake decorations and complimented my cake decorating skills. He especially enjoyed the ice cream clown cones, which were nothing other than a vanilla or chocolate upside down ice cream cone with a cherry as its nose, icing as its eyes, mouth, and decoration. His Mom didn’t buy those since Timothy liked French vanilla and I never made French vanilla ice cream cones.

One time on their usual visit, I said to him, “Wow Timothy, you are so lucky to have a Mom who brings you to get ice cream every day!” Timothy replied, “I sure am,” while licking away on his ice cream cone and chatting as he usually did. There was something about that little boy that made me stop what I was doing just to listen to him talk. If I was very busy, his Mom would prop him on the counter closest to my decorating area, and he’d continue to talk to me while I worked. He always made me laugh and smile. Timothy made me happy.

Unexpected News

I had not seen Timothy in about a week. One day, Timothy’s Mom dropped in by herself and purchased a pint of French Vanilla ice cream. I asked her about Timothy; she responded he was ill. I thought maybe he had a cold or something like that and asked. Her response left me in shock. She said, “Timothy has cancer and doesn’t have much time to live.” She told me he knew, but didn’t understand it too well.

She told him he could have whatever he wanted in the world and all Timothy requested was a French vanilla ice cream cone every day until the day he went back home to God. I was speechless and other than “I’m sorry” I didn’t know what else to say. She smiled, thanked me and told me that most likely she could bring him on Friday or Saturday if he was feeling better.

Expecting to see him that weekend, I made a single French vanilla clown cone for Timothy and wrote his name on the clown’s hat. It would be my little gift to him.

Friday came along and in ran Timothy with a massive smile on his face. I could hear him yell, “Hi Miss Debbie” in his sweet child’s voice. I turned around from my decorating area and went to greet him. He asked for his usual French Vanilla cone, and while he ran to the fridge where the cakes and clown cones were, I told his Mom about the clown ice cream cone I had made especially for him and asked if it was okay.

When she gave me the authorization to give it to him, I walked over to where Timothy stood and asked him if he knew how to read his name. He responded he did, so I motioned for him to look towards the clown cones. When he saw his name, he got very excited and asked if it was for him. I responded it was and gave it to him. I will never forget that look of happiness on his face over an ice cream clown.

The Old Dingy Crucifix

The next day, Timothy and his Mom returned. Timothy had a gift for me. He brought in an old worn-out, thin cake decorating ideas book and a small gift wrapped by him. He handed me the book and gift, and I unwrapped it. It was the crucifix. He told me he wanted me to have it, so I would never forget him. For the first time since I knew Timothy, tears rolled down my cheeks. He was the sweetest little boy I had known. I thanked him. He ate his usual French vanilla cone, and they were on their way. That was the last time I saw Timothy.

A few months went by when his Mom dropped in by herself. I didn’t need to ask. I already knew that she wasn’t there to buy ice cream. She was very sad. She looked at me and said, “I just want to thank you for your kindness towards my son. Timothy passed away a month ago.”

The rest of my day was a blur. I didn’t know Timothy that well, but he was such a delight that it was easy for anyone to feel love for him. Remembering that the crucifix was on top of the counter where I decorated cakes along with the cake decorating booklet, I walked towards it. I took the crucifix in my hand and vowed that I would never part from it or forget Timothy, and I placed it in my purse.

So as of today, every time I switch handbags, I transfer the crucifix into my new bag. And every time I come across it, memories of Timothy flood my mind. I will never forget him. Thank you, Timothy. May you rest in peace. With Love, Miss Debbie.