Ramble on down to Fairchild Gardens

The "Queen of Carnivorous Plants" returned to her post last Saturday. It was Fairchild Tropical Gardens' Annual Ramble time, and this was my 6th year hawking all manner of meat-eating (do bugs qualify as meat???) plants to wide-eyed children and equally fascinated adults. The Ramble is an institution in the Miami area, and is the Garden's main fundraiser.

I can tell I've become somewhat of an institution at the carnivorous plant booth because Bob, the man who grows all these varieties we sell once a year, welcomed me back by name. This year I worked the Saturday 9-1 shift, arriving at 8:30 to help set up, and spending the morning explaining about the various plants, how they feed themselves, and how to keep them alive, especially the Venus Fly Traps that the kids tend to kill within a day or two.Teaching is as important as selling at the Ramble, and the kids are fascinated to hear everything we have to say. For a woman who lives in a highrise condominium and can barely keep a potted plant alive on her balcony, it's amazing how much I know about all kinds of exotic plants and trees.

This year I worked alongside a young man named Jamie who is studying theater and dance at the New World High School of The Arts in Downtown Miami, and a very nice senior citizen gentleman named Egon, who also volunteers on a regular basis at the Garden. I think you can tell from the photo just who is who. No, I wasn't standing in a hole when they took the photo, although I do believe the ground was a little uneven. At least I'd like to believe that.

The plants you see hanging all around us are varieties of Nepenthe, a pitcher plant that traps its dinner in hanging cups filled with a sweet liquid that apparently is to flies and bugs what a good martini is to a habitual drinker. Once the bug enters the "pitcher", it gets stuck in the sticky stuff, and as I tell the kids, "that's all she wrote." They understand perfectly. Nepenthe, by the way, is a Greek word meaning "absence of sorrows". I bet a bug stuck in a pitcher might have something to say about that.

At 12:30, Jamie and I snuck out of the booth for a few minutes to witness the release of two turkey vultures that had been rescued from Biscayne Bay by Wild Life Rescue of Dade County. Turkey vultures can't swim, and no one knows why a whole flock of them ended up in the bay. The rescue service, whose slogan is "Keeping Dade County Wild", is run by a Viet Nam vet named Lloyd Brown. They do amazing work. Don't laugh, but I'm thinking of volunteering there. They need help with their website and I love animals, so it sounds like a good match.

The "significant other" spent the morning driving one of the solar-powered shuttles, hauling visitors around the Garden and to the parking areas, so when both of us finished our shifts at 1pm, we made a bee-line for the booths offering food samples. Benard tends to be picky, but I am an equal opportunity sampler,from sticky Thai orange ribs and my all time favorite Arepas, to Key Lime pie and double chocolate cheese cake. It's not a day to count calories.

If you've never experienced The Ramble, you don't know what you are missing. Put it on your calendar for next year. I guarantee it's worth the trip. You'll find me at my usual carnivorous plant stand. . . .good thing I'm not a vegan.
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Photo: Jamie,Me and Egon. . . .can we interest you in a killer plant????

Check off one more item on my electronic "bucket list". I just installed Skype and am ready to have a video chat with any of you, just ring me up!

Why, you ask, have I gone out and bought a web cam for my computer when the bulk of my acquaintances these days hardly can manage e-mail? Because I will become a great grandma in 2011, and by golly, if I can't be in Jacksonville in person, I am definitely planning to be there via video.

Our family is an interesting study in contrasts. I had to literally walk my technically challenged daughter Andrea through the installation of her webcam only to find out that my older sister Fran has had Skype for several years. She installed it herself when her grand-daughter Laura was in Prague for a semester. So much for thinking the new technology is only for the young.

Anyway, I had my first video phone call with grandkids Adam and Amy last night. The two of them were in their usual post-work positions, side by side in bed, each with an open laptop on their lap. I even got a cameo appearance by my grand-dog Layla and a video tour by Adam of their new enclosed sun room. What a hoot!

I suddenly realized there will be no more sitting at my computer in my nighgown, or worse still, my underwear. Vanity insists that I put on a full face of make-up and be sure my hair is looking good before I make or answer a call, so don't be surprised if I don't answer on the first ring. It takes a village these days to get ready for the camera. . .a village named Bobbi Brown, Maybelline, Clinique, etc. etc.

So ring me up please, I need the practice. . .my Skype name is ggjojo11. . .that's greatgrandmajojo11 (Jojo was Adam's name for me when he was very little. . .he long ago shortened it down to just Jo) and the 11 is because Skype added it. . .don't ask why.
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Photo: Add your name to my list, please!

Living large on Lincoln Road. . .

We did Halloween on Lincoln Road again this year. It's a definite experience, but I think we'll take a pass in 2011. It used to be a real hoot to sit "ringside" at a restaurant table and watch the passing parade stroll by. No one does Halloween like Miami Beach's gay community, and that includes their dogs of every size, shape and breed, dressed to the nines.

Daughter Andrea was in town for a family bar mitzvah and joined us for the Sunday nite ritual. I think she's been living in North Carolina too long, because she looked slightly dazed by the crowds that were so dense it bordered on mass chaos.

Still,everyone was having a ball, from infants in their mother's arms to a great dane dressed as a ballerina. This year there were lots of Chilean miners, whole bands of terrorists sporting plastic machine guns, lots of nudity and every conceivable costume. But the real stars of the evening are always the drag queens
in their incredible outfits. (See photos! That's Benard & Andrea, watching with awe, at our "ringside" table. The "feathered goddess" was at least 6'5" in her platforms.)

We weren't in costume at our table, although our friend Doree was sporting a pair of furry ears that added a certain cache to her outfit. I,on the other hand, came equipped with my elegant silver "star" wand, trailing multi-strands of silver tinsel, that was awarded to me as "queen" of last year's big birthday party. I just couldn't throw it away and sure enough it was a winner on Halloween nite as I graciously waved it at the costumed passerbys, tapping those on the head that I felt were worthy of my royal attention. You had to be there to truly appreciate.

We actually don't get over to Miami Beach very often these days, even though it's less than a half hour drive from our home in Coconut Grove. In truth, while people come from all over the world to experience South Beach, we've grown blase about its charms and tend to avoid its crowds. So it's fun every once in a while to do the scene and remind outselves that we live in a truly remarkable place. True, English is spoken less and less, and sometimes you're not sure if you are still in the U.S., especially when the cashier in Publix gives you your total in Spanish and looks annoyed when you ask her to translate,but for sheer interest, color and excitement, it can't be beat.
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