Column One: Carnivorous plants losing ground in the U.S.

I would like to photograph them.

Hope I get to before they are all gone.

Interesting topic two days after I saw Little Shop of Horrors for the first time.
 
"The guy sure looks like plant food to me!"

Matter of fact, just printed a copy of this photo.

It is a keeper.

FEED ME!!!!!!!!

DreadPirateRoberts~ You are not out in the cold. I, for one, found the idea of The Ten Suggestions very amusing. I collect Vicar & religion related jokes - my Dad was a Church of England Vicar for many years.
paolos~ Thanks, that was a bit lively first thing in the morning.
 
I have a Venus Fly Trap plant thriving on my kitchen windowsill. I talk to her. She does catch flies & now & then I give her a bit of minced lamb. The wetland below my place has large & deceptive areas of sphagnum moss, which looks like solid ground, so you confidently step on it & your welly boots fill up with malodourous muddy water. These areas are full of little carniverous Sundew plants,that are like baby Venus Fly Traps, but sticky as well. They catch teeny insects like gnats, midges, mosquitos. I don't now if it has something to do with their sticky properties, but water -dew or rain, stands in droplets on them & when the sun shines, every droplet refracts rainbow colours. Iv'e noticed that the Teasels, which are seeding everywhere, have the leaves on their stems organised to make a little reservoir to catch rainwater, in which many small insects drown. Presumably,they absorb this insect soup through their stems. The only pitcher plants I have seen in real life are in special glass-houses in botanical gardens.
The B movie toninght has to be The Day of the Triffids.

Alas, top of page - time to turn to tulips. Planting spring bulbs is an optimistic venture & if you only have a window-box to garden, there are lovely varieties to try. It's also time to be thinking about indoor bulbs, hyactinths, and must-have Narcissus Paper-White. They don't even involve planting, just get a bowl of clean pebbles & water & place the bulbs firmly in the pebbles. Your home will be permeated by their wonderful scent. Then you have to get some Amaryllis - and, and, and ..... I smell the aroma of burning plastic as I browse the bulb catalogues.

haze, thanks for the tulip reminder.

My Favorite B-Movie about growing things/plants/pods etc. ... is the Original Invasion of The Body Snatchers ... The only Good Property Kevin McCarthy was ever in .......

From my trip to Mt Kinabalu , the highest mountain in SE Asia, on the island of Borneo, there are pictures of the pitcher plant I took enroute: http://www.petermanseye.com/photos/280371
Mt Kinabalu is 4100m or 13500feet, is part of a national park and you can trek up most of it till the last portion which is tackled, usually, at sunrise.
 
I was actually 3 months pregnant then, only discovering it just before the trip. The girl I was travelling with hadn’t yet decided if she was interested enough in the guy who insisted on tagging along and I knew she wouldn’t have wanted to be alone with him, so without anyone knowing (the gynae had said not to go so I didn’t tell him either), I decided to go. Hmm…maybe that explains why my son is afraid of heights…. The Nepenthes Rajah, named after James Brooke, the “White Rajah” of Sarawak, is the largest in the world. Its pitcher can hold up to 3.5 litres of water when filled; drowned rats have been documented to have been found inside.

Does  anybody  remember  the  70's  television  show  "WKRP  in  Cincinnati?"   The  show  was  about  the  comical  dynamics  of  the  crew  in  a  midmarket  radio  station.   It  ran  forever  as  reruns.  There  was  an  African-American  cast  member,  whose  name  was  "Venus  Flytrap."   He  dressed  like  the  pimp  in  the  Clint  Eastwood  movie,  the  one  where  the  rogue  motorcycle  cop  does  a  traffic  stop  on  the  pimp  in  the  pimpmobile,  then  the  cop  summarily  executes  him.....

Hazel,  I  would  be  honored,  should  you  honor  my  request  to  name  your  flytrap  plant  "Venue."  Those  plants  are  ALL  females  in  my  mind,  because  I  remember  the  insects  whose  females  first  lure  the  smaller  males  into  having  sex,  and  then  eat  them.....lol

Thank you, my dear Hazel.
 
Whenever I hear the word, "vicar", two images come to mind.  One is the first vicar I met when I took my first trip to the UK in 1988.  He was the walking stereotype of an English country priest with the little white beard and little round spectacles.  A sweet man who seemed to have walked right off the set of an Ealing movie.
 
The second image is of two highly carniverous people singing about their meat pies:
 
SWEENEY:  Is that squire on the fire?
 
LOVETT:  Mercy, no sir!  Look closer.  You'll notice it's grocer.
 
SWEENEY:  Looks thicker, more like vicar.
 
LOVETT:  No, it has to be grocer.  It's green.

When I lived in Houston, I kept a small garden of venus fly traps. Somehow, the quirkiness of the plant had a way of putting me in a good mood.

Alas, there are two Othellos, "one being Shakespeare’s general mocked by
the “green-ey’d monster” of jealousy, and the other the voracious plant
that feeds upon the meat drawn to its green maw." Everyone needs a little protein I suppose. I would love to go to a society meeting of meat eating plant lovers. Gotta be an interesting group.   Ivan- Kevin died just a few days ago. As a kid, that movie scared the daylights out of me. Didn't want to eat peas for weeks.  Bert WKRP had Dr. Johnny Fever back when late night jocks were cult heros.  "All right my children. This is WKRP in Cincinnati with more music and Les Nessman" Les pretended he was in a helicopter doing a traffic report by doing a drum roll on his chest. 

Tommy  Typical:   When  I  was  in  high   school,   a  Chicago  disc   jockey  named  Dick  Biondi  was  a  magnet  for  kids  on  WLS,   and  his  son  was  an  underclassman.   I  always  felt  sorry  for  the  kid,   burdened  with  the  instant  unwanted   association  with  his  dad.

This topic creeps me out................TT.......WKRP was a reat show...........The guy who played Johnny Fever ( I cannot remember his name) Was in the first "Billy Jack" movie...............

Bert: All the way down in Oak Ridge Tennessee in the late 60's, we could hear WLS at night only when they cranked up the signal. Great music and it made we want to go to Chicago. And now I visit a couple of times a month and it turned out to be the great city I envisioned it would be when I was a kid. The Italian Beef and Sausage trumps my childhood BLT's and PB&J's as #1 sandwich. 

Bert: And Bozo the Clown may have been the bigest celeb of all.  Still got my red Harry Caray shirt. Chicken Marsala from his joint would probably make these meat eating plants go bonkers.  

DreadPirateRoberts - Sorry for being so snippy yesterday.  I've been on web sites where a mention of "liberal" tendencies was a call to attack.  "Ten Suggestions."  Sounds interesting.  After all the Twelve Steps of AA are called suggestions in the Big Book.
Spring Fragrance - That pitcher plant is amazing.  Quite a photograph.  And quite a tale to go with it.
The only place I have ever seen carnivorous plants is in a shop where they were for sale, and that was years ago.  It really would be a pity if they disappear.  We never know what we might learn from them - how they function or that some chemical they secrete can be produced artificially and will cure some disease or whatever.  Maybe just that they delight the hearts of so many people.  At least they're not edible.

bebe- Howard Hesseman. There was something George Carlin like about him. And then there was the blonde bombshell, I believe. Burt Reynolds love interest?

An Associated Press release today reports that Jupiter will, on Monday, move by Earth in the sky at its nearest position in the past 50 years. For a few dyas it will be the brightest start in the sky. The posting adds that,"Uranus will also be close on Monday but will be harder to see."

Stoney, do you write for AP or something?

Lynn830- A person's spiritual life to me is the most beautiful and personal thing in the whole universe. Religion and politics are like everything else human, a learning process that involves a lot of passion. Mr. Peterman knows that of course when he chooses his daily topics. To freely quote one of my favorite authors, Tom Robbins: “Life is like a meat stew. You have to stir once in a while, otherwise all the scum rises to the top.” (From “Still Life with Woodpecker”) This site is one big Stirring Spoon. That's fun.  Coffee is being served on the back deck as I beat my head against the tree while the woodpeckers laugh. Go Vols! Kick some Gator Butt today! "O diem praeclarum!"

Tommy  Typical:  Your  recognition  that  human  beings  are  designed  to  incorporate  a  spiritual  dimension  into  their  lives,  or  suffer  the  consequences,   just  motivated  me  to  raise  you  up  two  pay  grades  in  my  assessent.....lol
 
Somewhat  off  today's  topic:   Got  a  lock  rekeyed  last  week,  a  routine  security  precaution  every  two  years  in  my  office.   Arriving  was  the  locksmith  (a  REAL  locksmith,  NOT  some  kid  at  Walmart  that  "makes  copies  of  keys).    The  company's  name:   ACME  Lock.   The  logo  on  their  truck:   The  Roadrunner,  of  cartoon  fame,  Wiley  Coyote'snemesis.    The  item  in  Roadrunner's  "hand"  as  he  scoots  by  in  a  cloud  of  dust:   A  stick  of  ACME  dynamite,  with  the  fuse  lit.....lol 

TT........ thanks for responding to my missing letters post......... cringe inducing. Hessman very much plays a George Carlin figure in the Billy Jack movie......... he was incredibly funny in his little bit. It was just a great cast & my mother has always said that if she is not doing well healthwise she wants us to get her the dvd's of "WKRP" because she loved that show. The bombshell was Loni Anderson & she was absolutely fantastic........  Oh by the way........... lots of Nashvilleiens here to watch the Ole Miss/Vandy game........... Rebels will triumph! 

bebe- Without doubt, the two best dressed crowds for tailgating and enjoying the ol' pigskin in the SEC.  Loni Anderson- Va Va Va Voom! Have to admit, I had a thing for Wonder Woman during that era. 
 Bert- Thank you, sir. 

Politics and sometimes overly organized religion remind me of Imhoff's Law: bureaucracy is like a septic tank; the really big chunks always rise to the top.  Tommy, sometimes people mistake religion for spirituality and take that as an excuse to have no active part in their own spiritual lives.  Gotta have a spiritual life.  I believe that our lives and their quality are dependent on our spiritual condition.

Lynn830- Reading Thoreau as a boy and hanging out in the woods taught me more than anything else. Truth (& Love/interchangeable terms in my book) comes in many tasty flavors but it is in the end, the same Truth. Nothing more. Nothing less. And the quest will drive you crazy like a real life Rubicon, but like a beautiful romance, worth every crazy moment because sadness is not the opposite of happiness. Boredom is. And Love expressed as Truth is never, ever boring.     

IVAN - You're right as rain Roy Rogers..... the first Invasion of the Body Snatchers was the very best of the bunch, but I've got to say I liked them all except for the last one with Nicole Kidman ..... who in my book could probably kill off all of the pods by just being in the same room with them....... just sayin' there's somethong spooky there.

TT and bebe....... Dr. Johnny Fever and hubba-hubba Loni still rock! Loved that show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jRXt2Bt1Sc

Tommy Typical ..... Very well said indeed..... especially " Love expressed as Truth is never, ever boring".

Me too!  WKRP was one of the funniest shows ever.  Remember clueless "Big Guy" who Loni Anderson had under her thumb.  Les Nessman, what a twerp...perfect parody.  WCRAP's cast was one of the best bunch of off -kilter characters ever.  Is it on reruns now, anywhere?

If anybody wants to know about Pitcher Plants, track down BBC Nature, David Attenborough. As far as I recall, they are cunningly designed so what falls in can't get out, and the liquid in the pitcher is very acidic and contains enzymes that process the victims rapidly. I'm eating vegetarian tonight.
Spring Fragrance~ What a treat to see rare plants in their natural habitat. Thanks for sharing your pics, what extraordinary plants they are!
karma swim swami~ your 8.57 post - last sentence ....
Q:- What do the Starship Enterprise & a handful of toilet tissue have in common?
A:- They circle round Uranus and wipe out Klingons.
Blame my son for that, he came home from school with it & while I can't remember good jokes, the bad ones seem to stay around.

How come its the "bad ones" that make you laugh until you are shooting milk out of your nose?.... when you are drinking milk of course....

Bert~ Just told Venus that the S on the end of her name got changed to a E. She says that's fine on condition she gets a little something from the cat food bowl. I keep a little brush from a kid's paintbox by her, as you pop a bit of something tasty into one of the wide-open traps & then stimulate by simulating a struggling insect by tickling the area with a suitable implement. It is facinating & a bit spooky to see a plant grasp & trap a food item. Female insects eating their mates .... makes sense to me.

Paolos: I didn't overlook your post from yesterday about Grant and the volcano; I felt somewhat under the weather, and just postponed answering til today.

I suspect that the men experienced severe eye pain after descending because of airborne silicates as a result of tramping through ash residue on the side of the mountain. They probably raised such dust while ascending as well, but since they were moving upward, were someone oblivious.

The cornea of the eye is only one-cell-layer thick, and even trivially abrasive agents can denude it. Corneal abrasions, even when no gross eyeball injury is apparent, are so painful that when treating them clinically, in addition to keeping the eye coated with antibiotics, it is customary to prescribe oxycodone or hydrocodone (narcotics way stronger than Tylenol #3).

The descriptions given by Grant's men of severe pain, and the responsiveness of many of them to lavage of their eyes, and the peri-orbital edema some got---this would all be very typical for ocular exposure to airborne silicates. I am sure they were not overstating the severity; corneal abrasion pain pain can quickly reduce a stalwart person to a jibbering heap. And if you rub your eyes directly over the cornea, you just sandpaper the cornea and make the pain worse.

In actual fact, I had a somewhat similar experience climbing the volcano Agung Batur in Bali. It is active; there is an impressive field of ash and lava rocks all around it. I took great pains not to follow in the steps of anyone while descending and took of an overshirt I had worn going up to wrap my brow. Lawrence of Arabia-like while climbing down. The eyes started to burn, and I rubbed them on either side of the corneas to induce some lachrymation. There was a geothermal spring in the small village at the base camp, and I immersed my whole head, eyes open into it.

This all obviously neglects the fact that if your eyes are getting coated with silicates, one is also breathing silicates. Shudder. I don't think I'd climb a volcano against without wearing some kind of cheap face mask. Or maybe some Berber-style headgear.

karma swim swami~ do you mean sharp dust particles got in their eyes? Silicates are not user friendly. they dry up eyeballs, lungs & skin surfaces. You find little packs of silica in moisture-sensitive goods that are mailed to you e.g. camera stuff. (Ha! the K on my laptop is sticking & that nearly came out as Sin Surfaces!)

Lynn,
 
I'm so glad it all appears to be a simple misunderstanding.  After such a fun and funny day, it would be quite dismal to end on any other note.  As for matters of the spiritual life, my own beliefs are best expressed in my favorite play, A Man for All Seasons by Sir Robert Bolt.  Although I am not a religious man (I agree with you 100% about the crucial difference between spirituality and religion), my belief in the sanctity of the conscience is echoed well in the character of Sir Thomas More.
 
I was raised near Joplin MO, one of the most conservative regions in the US.  Today, I live in New York City, one of the most liberal regions in the US.  I have seen moderates and extremists on both sides of the aisle at close range.  I have been befriended, loved, and cared for by people who, if they ever took occasion to discuss politics with each other, would find themselves at one another's throats.  And, as I touched on last week, I have Jews, Muslims, Protestants, Catholics, and Atheists all in my immediate and semi-immediate family.  There!  Now, you all know why I'm so weird!

Re just previous ~ if you get something in your eye DONT RUB IT, wash it. If you are doing a dusty job, ware eye protectors. Please.

Or.
This is all i've got today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57tK6aQS_H0

Jalopkin,
 
I agree that Invasion of the Body Snatchers is an unmitigated masterpiece (and my personal choice for Best Picture of 1956).  But I disagree that it is the only jewel in Kevin McCarthy's crown.  Remember, McCarthy played Fredric March's son in the movie of Death of a Salesman.  While I, personally, find the Pulitzer Prize-winner overrated, I cannot deny its influence or significance to American Theatre in particular and literary culture in general.
 
More to the point, though, McCarthy had an absolutely glittering stage career.  Having made his Broadway debut in Robert E. Sherwood's Abe Lincoln in Illinois (another Pulitzer Prize-winner), McCarthy was also in the original cast of Joan of Lorraine, Cactus Flower, and especially Advise and Consent in which he played the smarmy Senator Van Ackerman (the part George Grizzard played in the movie).  He also appeared in major Broadway revivals of classic works by Shakespeare, Chekhov, O'Casey, and O'Neill.
 
So, all in all, McCarthy did some fine work.  Alas, most of it was in the ephemeral world of live theatre, lost to future generations of the information age.

Hazel...I actually came across DA's video on the Amorphophallus Titanum (also Titan Arum), the largest carnivorous plant while looking for the Rafflesia which I had been hoping to see on my Kinabalu trek. It's native to the rainforest of Sumatra. One would be lucky to get it to flower in 10 years and the stench, which lasts one to two days, attracts the insects, carrion eating beetles and flesh flies, which help it to pollinate. Its name Amorphos (Ancient Greek for misshapen) + phallus (penis)  + titan (giant) and you'll see why in the video. The female flower, on the same cluster as the male flower, opens a day or two earlier, preventing self pollinating
 
There is a plant in Cambridge University Botanical Garden and it flowered for only 2 days in Sept. 2004. There is also one in the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens which flowered in June 2005, the first time in 10 years. I wonder if any of you heard about these?  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lk8kEMaRN3g ;
The Titan Arum looks to be the largest flower but its actually made of clusters of flowers. The largest flower is still the Rafflesia which I didn't get to see on Mt Kinabalu. Its named after Sir Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore (1819)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWD95QxDFjk&NR=1

Both plants are called "Corpse flowers" for the smell the emit.. Amazing plants these..

DPR and Lynn830, I for one took the Ten Suggestions as a liberal take on the Ten Commandments and thought it was pretty clever. I'm glad that neither of you is upset.
 
Hazel, KSS,  when I sew I try to wear a face mask to keep from breathing the dust...and there is a lot produced from 100%organic cotton....the surface of my sewing machine will have a thick layer by the end of the day....but, I don't wear anyeye protection and sometimes I can see a thin layer of dust on my eyelashes and my eyes will feel very dry and itchy. I rinse my eyes with a saline solution which feels so soothing. The thought of sharp particles is painful even to think about.
 
Both "Little Shop of Horrors" were fun. The original Jack Nicholson and the Steve Martin versions. "Feed me Seymore".  The original "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"  was scary...and still is to me. Bebe...this is one thing we differ on...you like horror films..right?
 
 

Lynn830...Chuntian Xiāngchì is indeed Spring Fragrance but in Chinese names, we often use only one part of a double word.  So ethnically, my name is Chun Fung (fragrance is also Fern Fung).. My following sister is also Spring Fragrance - she got the Chun Fern part. Thank you so much for your effort. I am much gratified
 
Karma SS - I heard about that Jupiter/Uranus alignment, apparently it happens every 14 years, and while searching for that, an astrological proclamation popped up "this Jupiter/Uranus alignment could cause you to wake up to the behaviors that are holding you back from moving forward in life..."crumbs....about 14 years ago for me was when I decided to buy a business here in Tassie...what's next??....lol...
BTW, enjoyed your eye-talk.  Does asbestos have the same effect? It's a big problem here when old houses get bought and its discovered.

 hehehe...couldnt resist this.....more on that Jupiter/Uranus lineup....

 http://astrocenter.astrology.msn.com/msn/ArticleAstrologyHomeV2.aspx?sd=20100601

DPR:  I agree with you, entirely ... I just didn't remember so much detail about his Body of Work ... Truth is, regardless of how talented he might really have neen ....... I just never liked the guy ... Fortunately, his Bacon was saved by the Little German Girl, otherwise I would have walked out after I finished my Popcorn .......

BEEN, actually .......

JANE.........yes I love horror movies & I am a bit ashamed to admit that I have never seen "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"............... after today I must! why does organic cotton produce so much dust? Interesting fact Miss JANE!
 
PL........... It 's like Nicole Kidman just went berserk & had creepy plastic surgery & ruined a good thing. But it sounds like she did not float your boat in the first place............. Why can't Gena Rowlands gather all the young/youngish actresses together & smile & say, " No need for plastic surgery ladies, really.............." 

Jalopkin,
 
Forgive me if I'm being dense (I've had a strange day) but I'm not sure I understand.
 
Little German Girl?
 
Are you saying you know something personally about McCarthy that causes you to dislike him or you just didn't find his screen persona appealing?

Bebe,  yes, if you like old black and white movies...I've never forgotten that one. I try, but I'm not always as vigilent about wearing a mask as I should be. ...and I just happen to be working with organic cottons for the last 10 years, but all fabrics leave dust behind....and my serger cuts and sews simultaneously, so that is even more dust producing. I know it's time to change my mask when my throat starts feeling scratchy.  
  getting a little technical here; Byssinosis, also called "brown lung disease" or "Monday fever", is an occupational lung disease caused by exposure to cotton dust in inadequately ventilated working environments...   In epidemiological studies of byssinosis, comparisons of the effects of different vegetable dusts on lung function indicate that hemp and flax are the most potent, followed by cotton, jute, and sisal.
 
Thankfully, my exposure doesn't compare with that of a textile mill worker and taking simple precautions seems to really help as I don't suffer from any breathing ailments.

Sorry you can't watch this Bebe... http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3014131993/

Spring Fragrance~ ASBESTOS IS HORRID STUFF & very dangerous. Even working in a building that contains asbestos can harm your lungs - fatally. The pitcher plants - I'd fogotten they were the Arum family, we have one called stinikng willy, another called Jack-in-the-pulpit & various others, all of which have phallic bits & most of which are very smelly.
Janej78~ What about getting an ordinary household electric fan & placing it so it sucks the air & dust away from your sewing machine? &, if your eyesight is OK & you don't wear specs, try the lowest magnification off-the-shelf specs.

Doctor Karma, I thank you for putting on your Dr.
Sherlock hat.  I tried not to leave out any clues, but after reading your take,
the one fact that I left out supports your diagnosis.  On the way up it had
been raining.  On the way down it was clear. 
 
Y'all had fun yesterday.  too bad I missed most of
it.
 
Peter Lake, I extracted one of your
Wrightisms...I like to reminisce
with people I don't know.  Isn't that one of the things we do
here?

DPR, I think Ivan was talking about Dana Wynter.  If I am wrong, he will surely correct me.

Bert -- I remember that show - so funny.  Venus Flytrap was indeed in it; one of the characters always had a bandaid on in a different place every week..........but, of course, not related to the subject unless the plants would eat them -- was the episode where they had a turkey drop for Thanksgiving -- actually dropping turkeys from a plane.

bebe....You are right about that...... I like'em real so when you smile, your whole face smiles.  I liked N. Kidman up through "Moulin Rouge'.... then she turned to porcelean...........and that just doesn't work in horror films when you scream but your face has forgotten how....

peace out...... see ya on thesepia...... your seat is saved

Asbestos is indeed deadly.  I hope you don't live or work in any environment that has it.  It should all be removed as a matter of course.  No one should live with asbestos.  Or they won't live for long!

I've lived with asbestos for a very long time. So far, so good.   .   I came across a signiture from another guy in my vocational field on a forum we both populate :  "Insanity is a hereditary disease- you get it from your children"    (Herb Shriner)

Peter,
 
"you scream but your face has forgotten how".  Brilliant!
 
Paolos,
 
I had not realized Wynter was German.  Just goes to show, no matter how much I show off and geek out, there's still a lot of stuff I don't know.

Asbestos is indeed very serious stuff.  If it cannot be removed (and removal is tricky to do) then it should be sealed by a professional.  Did you know that barbers have a similar disease caused by breathing in hair particles?
Spring Fragrance - Chun Fung - thanks for the name.  It is hard to go from English to Chinese with names.  I expected you had a two character name.  My name in Chinese is Mi Lin (宓霖) and dates back to my days at Columbia University.  "Mi" IS for my last name.

Hazel, thanks for the suggestion. I don't wear specs for work...I'm near sighted so only need them for distance. I have thought about getting safety goggles, so your suggestion is one I'll check out. I do have an air filter/fan I use...you should see the filter after a couple of days.

DPR,  Ivan is a veritable fountain of
knowledge.
 
One thing worse than carniverous plants, is armed
ducks.
This is for you Willie Trask, for your next visit
to the duck blind.
Has anyone seen Willie lately?
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R8prS1jsvI&NR=1

I had once read that if the World Trade Towers had been fireproofed with
asbestos above the midpoint, the towers would very likely not have pancaked and
collapsed.  I didn't snopes it and I'm quite certain Snopes doesn't carry a
staff of civil engineers that could pontificate on the collapse. 
 
I worked for many years with asbestos with no harmful effects.  I also
smoked.  Maybe the combination is what kept my lungs clear.  (That was a joke) I
would add lol but it wasn't a funny.  There are different forms of asbestos, the
crystalline structure is believed to cause the damage to the lungs.  I never
worked with it in that form.  I understand that during the war, navy shipyards
had piles of it, free to blow in the wind.  I didn't Snopes that either.
 
G'night all.

paolos..... good point. Here it seems we do begin by reminiscing with folks that we don't know until we do...... Perhaps reminiscing is an active ingredient that transforms strangers into friends. I think that falls under the category of 'there's more than one way to skin a cat'

That, and the fact we all pass the T.S.A. screening before entering the Sepiatrain Club Car

Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) ? http://www.turtlesurvival.org/