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Tuesday, June 1, 2010

We're Back. And, the "Palm"

Well, we survived our excursion to Washington, DC.  I had a seminar to attend on SEC reporting, which was actually quite informative.  The folks at the SEC Institute put on a top notch event, should you be so inclined (or required) to attend.  While I was in my two day seminar, my lovely wife and son enjoyed a few of the many sites around our nation's capitol.  I, unfortunately, only got Saturday to drag them around to the sites I wanted to see.  With a seven year old, as I'm sure you gathered, stops at botanical gardens and arboretums are not on the agenda.  Aquariums, museums and anything involving the sale of ice cream top the list.

I would like to give a special thanks to The Elegantologist and ADG for their very helpful tips and recommendations.  I'm starting to realize all of you other blogging folks aren't such a bad lot, myself excluded, of course.

At this point, I must point out one thing that still irritates me.  Now, I do hate to dwell on the negative after a great getaway, especially when the entire rest of the trip was wonderful, but here three days later this still is under my skin.  On Saturday, we visited the American History Museum.  Just outside the museum, my son had purchased a small American flag on a stick.  One that probably every other country in the world sells.  When we here at Castle Turling secede from the Union and establish our own kingdom, even we will sell little flags on sticks.  Once my son (remember he's seven) walked three feet from the man selling the flags, he no longer wanted to carry it.  My wife then put the flag into her backpack, so the flag itself protruded out the top.  She looked like a tour guide.

Upon entering the museum, we had to go through security.  The guard, or officer, I'm not sure whom he worked for, told my wife that she had to roll the flag up and put it upside down into her backpack so only the stick stuck out.  When she, rightfully, asked why, she was told we didn't want to offend anyone.  WHAT????  ARE YOU F-ING KIDDING ME????  OFFEND ANYONE????  We're in the AMERICAN History Museum and we can't display an AMERICAN flag??  Want to know something...I'm offended!!!!!  If I were to walk into the British Museum, I would expect every single person to be carrying the Union Jack.  I reckon I could have carried that into the American History Museum.  Anyway, back to the task at hand.

For today, I want to talk about our, I believe, Sago Palm (Cycas revoluta).


This palm (ok, I understand it's not a palm and it's not a fern, it's a cycad, but if it walks like a duck, talks like a duck...you know where I'm going with this) is right at the front door.  It dominates the walkway that you can see a portion of in the lower right.  I really like this palm (shut up) and it seems to really like the spot.

However, if you'll notice at appears to have been hit with a samurai sword several times on it's right side.  Bear in mind, I did no such thing.  I have other uses for my samurai sword.  The issue is this:



What is that, you ask?  I'm guessing it's offspring.  Their are six of these growing around the base of the palm.  I was under the impression these plants are single trunk, so either ours is proving some Darwinian theory or I'm mistaken.  For the past couple of years, I have cut of the prawns from these little devils and the next year they sprout anew.  At this point, the cones are now starting to poke through, so I feel I'm at a crossroads.  Do I allow a seven headed monster, keep cutting the prawns or embark on some more drastic surgery.  I'm not sure how of if I should remove the children from the parent.  Maybe that's how I would propagate more?  Anyone?  Bueller?

12 comments:

  1. You have to be careful; what if representatives from Al Qaeda were visiting the Museum of American History that day? Honestly, you need to show some restraint in your own country, looking at your own historical stuff.

    Me? I'd have told them to screw themselves.

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  2. Looking at your photo, it does not look like it is dominating the walkway. Looks like it gently drapes over about 1 foot , maybe. May be a territorial issue with you , and it takes one territorial person to recognize another.
    Have no idea about the sago and it's little offspring.

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  3. I would have told that guard that he is some kind of a moron for a statement such as that. You have to wonder about how a person's head can work, don't you?

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  4. IG, I'm sure you would have had some ripping comment for the man. He was carrying a pistol, though, which does change things.

    ART, my poor prose didn't describe well, I see. I didn't mean dominate as in taking over the yard, I meant dominate as in when you turn the corner to the walkway, it's the first thing you see. More of a focal point I guess you would say.

    Mr. Branch, I must give the man the benefit of the doubt. He was such a professional at figuring out exactly how to hide that flag, I think he has been ordered to do so to everyone. The man selling the flag was a frisbee throw from the front door, so I doubt we were the only ones with one.

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  5. I didn't see any security issues at The White House in the news over the weekend so I was pretty sure you'd return. Glad you were able to take the family with you. By the way, you don't have to be 7 to put places that sell ice cream on top of your to do list. :-) Sorry you had a flag incident. I could see being concerned it could poke someone in a crowd since it was sticking out, but otherwise...(shaking my head). As for your palm (cycad)...I have no idea on the possible offspring, etc. It looks healthy in that first photo. Maybe you should check with a palm reader. Oh, that's right, it's not a palm. Good luck!

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  6. The way I see it, our American tax dollars support that American history museum. As such any of us should be entitled to have the flag showing out the top of a backpack. Seriously, if Obama walked in wearing his flag lapel pin, would they make him take it off. If any of us walked in wearing a flag t-shirt, would they make us strip? Sadly, our tax dollars also pay that idiot's salary. How absolutely absurd. Sorry I can't help on the Sago palm, I've never grown one :P

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  7. Sherlock, they were way ahead of me. They don't allow bags, camera's and a whole slew of other items. The funniest requirement is that you can only bring ONE baby diaper. I don't know if having a baby is required.

    The cycad is quite healthy. It just loses it's symmetry when these offspring pop up.

    Curbstone, I was just happy my wife wasn't wearing an American flag t-shirt. God knows what would have come from that.

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  8. Everyone is so worried about offending someone that they offend people by telling them they don't want them to offend anyone. A big dumb circle.
    I don't know anything about Sagos, but I think it looks really nice where it is and it's a beautiful plant.

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  9. I don't get it...what's the offense? You almost have to laugh at that kind of stupidity. I wonder what would have happened if you said "NO".

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  10. I bet the guard was Canadian. Frost-bitten bastards :P

    How ridiculous. If you had walked in with an American flag on your shirt, would he have asked you to disrobe??

    A trip to Washington is definitely on my Bucket List. And I'm going to have a flag shirt on. And American flag sweatpants, like 1980's weightlifters wore.

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  11. Kyna, I was on the lookout for any and all Victoria Secret models coming through the front door wearing American flag t-shirts. The anticipation nearly killed me. Of course, none came through. Plus, I think they're all Brazilian and are the one's we don't want to offend.

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  12. WTH? This PC stuff is really spiraling out of control. I hope Kyna will actually don some American flag couture when in DC and then post the pix with gusto! As for the Sago, all I can say is that it looks pretty good, but I have no clue about the proper surgical treatment for the samurai-cleaved offshoots. I would recommend checking out Jungle Music Palms & Cycads www.junglemusic.net, a local nursery in Encinitas (20 minutes north of San Diego), which has a lot of FAQ info on Cycads/Sago Palms.

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