Brainstrummings from a Bug-Eyed Bookworm

Tiff is a PhD student in English literature at UC-Berkeley. She takes no prisoners, bars no holds, holds no bars.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Edgar Ended. Belteshazzar Begins.

So, some of you who read my blog religiously (or so claims my freewheeling Indian friend, Anna, from the Wellesley days of yore), may remember the day I bought and planted 6 eggplant plants collectively named Edgar. Due to unfortunate, accidental circumstances which can only be described as AN ACT OF GOD (i.e. me going away for two weeks and not watering Edgar), Edgar died.

Oh, Edgar was a tenacious six-pack of eggplant plants, he was. He clung on for dear life for several more weeks, but despite assiduous watering and pruning, despite doses of plant food and spritzes of pesticide to kill the evil aphids that were sucking all the liquid life out of his very being, despite kneeling at his potside, shedding repentent tears and wildly entreating him not to leave me all alone in this cold, cruel world....despite all that, die Edgar did.

I moved house recently, and I moved the two pots containing Edgar's carcasses with me. They sat on my porch, looking like the dried withered stumps of Edgar that they were.

But the grieving period is over, and now I've gotten a new plant...hopefully, I won't kill this one. His name is Belteshazzar the Bell-Pepper Plant. (Actually a set of three plants collectively called Belteshazzar). The name choice was between Belshazzar (the King of Babylon in the book of Daniel) or Belteshazzar (Daniel's Babylonian name in the book of Daniel). "Belteshazzar" seemed more promising, more youthful, more resourceful, albeit more difficult to pronounce. And, as my friend, Charina suggested, I can call him "Belty" for short. We shall see how he fares.