Re: [Aroid-l] My First IAS Show

---

----- Original Message -----

From: l*@yahoo.com

To: aroid-l@gizmoworks.com

Sent: Friday, September 28, 2007 2:02 PM

Subject: Re: [Aroid-l] My First IAS Show

Dear all,

Aloha ("In the presence of the breath of life"),

I have been receiving a lot of positive feedback
regarding my slide show at the IAS banquet.  Ted's
words reflect mine as far as my impressions of the
show and people around me.  It was also my virgin
adventure to the IAS show and banquet.  That memory
will remain with me forever.  I cannot thank everyone
adequately that bent over backward for my comfort and
information.  Suffice it to say, my expectations were
high and they were exceeded.  I felt welcomed and
important.  I am grateful to all of you that have sent
good reviews of my narrative.  Fame is easy to come by
;expectations are harder to meet.

As Ted mentioned in his thread, my talk often went off
in tangents from the subject of aroids.  I did want to
emphasize how everything in life is interconnected.  I
love aroids because they are a part of a wonderful
whole...usually epitomized by tropical rainforests.
If plants were words, we are losing much of our
vocabulary, and soon we will have lost a language.
Whole libraries are lost and we have already been
willing to lose the best books in the absence of
complete knowledge.

In Miami and Sarasota, I saw many wonderful
collections.  Congratulations to those growers that
have amassed such botanical weath.  If I could
influence anyone, my request would be to collect more
species and record locality data as obsessively as
names.  It is often more important to have
locations...especially as the habitats disappear.    I
see many,"populations of concern" in Hawaii, of plants
within a species that are unique and distinct, but
largely ignored.  Aroids would be no different.  You
may be surprized how many new discoveries are possible
if one looks carefully.
 
I was honored and pampered in Miami.  I met my new
internet friends and although I was dragged kicking
into virtual world; their friendship is deep and
lasting.  Julius Boos and Steve Lucas have to be
mentioned.      
They are good men that need recognition and awards.

I do leave you with my word gift,"Aloha".  It is an
important word in the vocabulary of great gardens.

Aloha,

Leland Miyano


--- t*@us.henkel.com wrote:

> 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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