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Greetings Ted, and everyone else at the show!
I found it a great pleasure as well to meet you and Ted
outside the entrance to the dinner, along with all the people I "talk" to
almost daily regarding this wonderful group of plants. Thanks very much
for your very kind words. I write about them because I've written about
"something" for many years and writing about aroids is simply great fun.
Like just about everyone at the show, we're all just a bunch of "plant nuts" but
with a peculiar love for a specific group of strange plants. The only
person at the show I had met previously was Trisha Frank but everyone was as
warm as if they had been old high school friends!
You are certainly right about "Santa", except he needs to be
described as the Santa with the crazy Trinidadian accent! Julius has been
of so much help to me personally I can never thank him enough. But there
were many others there who have offered valuable advice, explanations, and
details on the aroid species I enjoy, to make me want to extend the show to a
couple of weeks!
And then there is Leland! Leland wrote me an email close
to a year ago as a result of my website. He was brand new on the computer
and was sending his mail from the local library (he now does it from
home)! But he couldn't figure out how to attach photographs and now I have
an entire file of hard copy photographs of his garden, plants, his wife, dogs,
the airplane he is building, even his niece! Leland has aroids that will
make you drool! At about the same time he began to correspond with "Santa"
Julius and the three of us continue to have three way "conversations", sometimes
daily! I was most anxious to meet the both of them and simply ran into
Leland down in the incredible Fairchild Orchid display Friday afternoon before
the show. Even though he had sent numerous personal photos, I didn't
recognize him! But he knew who I was since he was aware I was in
a wheelchair (I think). He treated me like a very old friend! What a
pleasure! (You know, Leland is quite famous).
So I join you in encouraging all of the great folks on this
board to make a serious effort to be at the show next year. You
simply don't know what you've been missing until you get to sit down and talk to
all these other people with whom we exchange ideas all the time. I'll
miss a bunch of names I know, but it was a pleasure to finally meet
and talk to all of you. And that includes Brian (and your mom), Enid, Sam,
Ron, and Ron, Windy, Julius, Leland, LariAnn, Derek, Betsy, Mike (and Mike),
Don, Denis, Bill, and all the other names I'm struggling to add! But
next year, I want to see the famous Joep and Dr. Tom there as well! What a
crew! Thanks for all the plants, seeds, and friendship each of you
extended! And a warm thanks to Trisha! For those of you who haven't
heard yet, Trisha now has a wonderful Anthurium named in her honor by
Dr. Croat, Anthurium trishafrankiae Croat. Can't wait until I can
add that one to my personal collection!
I enjoyed every minute.
Thanks again Ted. Next year, come early enough we can
sit and talk!
Steve Lucas
(the "older" guy with his own
wheels)
----- Original Message -----
From:
t*@us.henkel.com
To: aroid-l@gizmoworks.com
Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2007 11:34
AM
Subject: [Aroid-l] My First IAS
Show
All,
I wanted to weigh in on my impressions of my first ever
IAS Show and Sale. As it happened I was to be in south Florida for other
purposes and decided to come to the show. My goals were to see the show, hear
Leland, have Julius teach me how to say "chubas", and to generally get the
feel of this organization I only know from Aroid-L and the newsletters. All of
these goals were met. As an added feature, I brought along with me a
friend-since-childhood from semi-nearby Delray Beach (curiously also named Ted
- we were the two Teds) who was not even a plant person, much less an aroid
fancier. And such was the event that even the non-plant person had a terrific
time.
We arrived too late to
experience the show part of the meeting and too early for the banquet. We
wandered around looking for some IAS authority and found a darkened room
filled with an assortment of display plants. We could see through the gloom
that some were obviously rare and attractive. Others were not so obviously
rare, but were also attractive. The quality of the plants was very
high.
We continued our
perigrinations for a bit until we saw two individuals outside the display.
"Would either of you happen to be aroid people?", I asked. We were immediately
warmly received by who we found out were Ron Weeks and Derek Burch. Ron and
Derek then took us back into the darkened display area, switched on the
lights, and gave us an enthusiastic tour, with commentary.
Pretty soon it was time to begin
assembling for the banquet. We bought a second ticket for my guest and made
our way to the designated room accompanied by Ron and Derek. After a little
chitchat with other folks Ron came in again and ushered us into The Presence.
There he was, the famous Julius Boos, looking faintly like an off-duty
Santa.
I was bold. "OK, Julius,
say it for me: chubas." "Chubas, mon!," he said, with a hearty laugh. We then
related the heartwarming chubas story to my friend, who turned out to live
less than a mile from where Julius works. The world is filled with
coincidences.
Then Julius spirited
me back into the display area to show me a special Philodendron and a few
other aroids of interest to him, some with chubas, some without. Julius, in
case you know him only from the list, is an ebullient person and has a ready
manner with newcomers to the art of plants. Come to think of it, Julius is
that way in his writing as well.
Next it was a treat for me to meet and speak with Steve Lucas. I have
been a fan of his postings and in person he is just as intense and articulate
as he is on-line. I suppose it's a compliment to reveal that he is older in
person than I expected. He has a muscular writing style that made me think he
was maybe in his 30s. As it is he is a seasoned person with the clarity of wit
of a younger man.
Then came Leland
Miyano, the featured speaker and traveller from afar. Leland was embarrassed,
I think, to hear that his speaking was one of the main motivations for my
coming to the show. But he did not disappoint me. His slides and narration
were a thing to experience and worth the trip all by themselves. The range of
topics drifted from aroids many times. I wanted to be back on the internet
where they have those little highlighted words that you can click on to
receive more information. Fossil moa birds from Hawaii. Click. Rare palm trees
rediscovered. Click. The completely unexpected section along the Atlantic
coast of Brazil, where the sun bakes down on what we would call badlands.
Click. Unknown aroids that survive this climate that would mummify a person in
two hours. Click. Frogs that ooze foam and make one delirious. Click. Roberto
Burle Marx. Click.
My
plant-innocent friend found Leland's presentation tremendously
entertaining.
It was unfortunate
that I didn't budget more time to visit. But I had to be off first thing the
next morning to the Florida gulf coast. While there I was inspired by Leland
to find a few new aroid species on my own. What's the big deal?, I wondered.
Leland made it look easy. So off I went into some of Florida's many overgrown
areas, fully expecting to make a name for myself with at least one species new
to science. But lo, it's harder than it looks. After a couple of hours I did
manage to come across some Pistia. But I am doubtful that they would be of
interest to Dr. Croat. They appeared to be the same Pistia found everywhere in
Florida by the ton. Let me know if I'm wrong; I still know how to find them
again. I also found a small cluster of palms I was sure was a new species. But
I mentally channelled Julius and he informed me by telepathy that they were
plain palmetto palms. Like I said, it's not as easy as it seems.
At least I avoided the wonderful
stingless bees that seem to have been a favorite of Leland when in Brazil. Or
maybe it's more accurate to say the Leland was a favorite of the bees.
I have some resolutions I can recommend
to others. Maybe you have thought about attending but wonder how someone not
at the A-list level of aroid horticulture might be received. First, you will
be welcome regardless of your experience. Second, plan to spend some time in
the exhibit area as well as the banquet and auction. If you are curious and
have questions, this is where to get answers. Also, the breadth of plant
knowledge extends to beyond aroids. People at the show seem to know about lots
of kinds of plants. Third, bring a plant. If you have several, bring them for
the show and to donate for the auction. Especially if the plant is weird or
unusual you won't find any better audience than this. Fourth, bring some money
and bid on some rare plants or buy them from the helpful vendors.
And for those of you that are not
members, join the IAS.
Ted. The
one from Detroit.
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