Garden Party

I went to a garden party to reminisce with my old friends...

Hey, that sounds like a song. I'll have to keep that in mind. Meanwhile, let's talk about Sunday's Brooklyn Blogade at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

This fabulous event at this beautiful location was organized by that sharp-eyed shutterbug Flatbush Gardener, whose photos I am once again proudly stealing for this post.

I've been going to the Botanic Garden ever since I was a child, but this visit was really special. We had lunch outside at the Terrace Cafe and then headed into the Members' Room for some presentations from the Garden's staff.

And then we got a guided tour of the place. The weather was beautiful as our guide took us around the garden's various sites. I told everyone about how I came here when I was a little kid with my aunt and got lost in the Japanese Garden.

I still maintain that I was never lost and even if I were, this would be the place to do it.

We ended up by the herb garden where I spotted a plant known as the "cannibal tomato." Not to worry--this is not a killer tomato that comes to life and goes for your jugular.

Legend has it that this particular plant was once popular with cannibals in the South Pacific who used it to make sauce for eating people. I didn't know cannibals used sauce for their human meals, but then I never eat hamburger without ketchup, so there you are. Or there you were.

I visited the Peabody Museum in Salem, Mass. years ago when I spied this strange implement mounted next to a human tooth in one of the glass display cases.

It turned out that the tooth once belonged to a cannibal ruler. He was suffering from a toothache, the story goes, and an explorer (I want to say Capt. Cook, but I'm not sure.) offered to remove the malicious molar if the chief gave up his consumption for human flesh.

The chief agreed and out came the tooth. The chief converted to Christianity and, as a sign of trust, he handed over his fork that he reserved for eating folks--the strange implement in the case.

I found it interesting that cannibals used forks. I just assumed if you made the decision to eat a fellow human being, you wouldn't be too worried about your table manners, but it's all right now. I learned my lesson well. You can't please everyone, so you've to--hey, there's that song again.

Anyway, the Blogade was great. We had a lot of fun, plenty of sunshine, and no one was eaten by cannibals. Who could ask for anything more?