I saw this article, and it made me wonder.
[b said:Quote[/b] ]'How do vegetarians feel about carnivorous plants?'
[b said:Quote[/b] ]
Writes The Farm Boy of St. Paul: "Subject: Deep Thoughts. "I saw a story about carnivorous plants last weekend. It made me wonder: How do vegetarians feel about carnivorous plants, killing and eating all those defenseless insects? (Come to think of it, how do vegetarians feel knowing that government regulations allow a certain level of insect parts in the grain from which their veggie burgers are made? But I digress.)
"If a person is a vegetarian for moral reasons, because he or she believes it is wrong to kill and eat another living creature, then that vegetarian must think carnivorous plants are barbaric.
"Therefore, I must assume that such a vegetarian would make it his or her life's work to personally eat as many carnivorous plants as possible, in order to save the lives of defenseless insects.
"I'd like to learn more about this overlooked aspect of vegetarianism. For instance: Does French dressing go better on Venus Flytraps, while buttermilk dressing is just the thing on a Pitcher Plant?
"How about it, Bulletin Board readers? Can any of you shed some light on this little-known phenomenon?"
Not exactly what he had in mind
Plus: Please release me!
Jerry M. of Highland Park: "Every morning in the wee hours, I get out of bed to answer Nature's call. When we are at the lake, I usually go into the living room and look out at the lake and the front yard — just to look. No need to turn on a light, since there is always enough ambient light to see with dark-adapted eyes. (I always wonder why people come to a quiet place with dark nights and starry skies — and get a barking dog and install a yard light that burns all night.) I then wander into the kitchen for a drink of water.
"The other morning I opened the tap, filling my drinking glass with the cold, delicious well water. With the first mouthful, I realized something was amiss. I felt a small lump in my mouth. Our water does not contain lumps!
"I spit the mouthful into the sink and reached up and turned on the light above the sink. There, curled up in the sink, was a small spider — looking a little the worse for wear after the trip into and out of my mouth and into the sink. I looked at the critter, and immediately part of an old campfire song came into my head: 'I know an old lady who swallowed a spider that wiggled and jiggled and tickled inside her. She swallowed the spider to catch the fly. I don't know why she swallowed the fly. Perhaps she'll die!' Of course, I had to dig out the other eight or 10 verses of the song! Then the entire song became an earworm for nearly the entire day.
"The upside was that, at daylight, the spider was gone. The critter had survived.
"Now before I take a drink, I rinse the glass out first!"
A Coke and a frown
Fisherman Fred of White Bear Lake: "The recent 'Watchdog' article about the problems that students are having with vending machines at Harding Senior High School made me think of the single Coca-Cola machine we had in our dormitory back in 1941.
"At that time, the machines dispensed the small glass Coca-Cola bottles from a rotating table which was held within a steel cabinet. When the dime (yes, a dime; the bottles were a nickel unless you bought them from a machine) was inserted to get a Coke, the table would rotate to move the next bottle under the opening so it could be removed by the purchaser. You were able to see the other bottles, but you couldn't reach in to remove them.
"Some students — I should call them 'thieves,' as I do not know whether they were students — were adept enough to work a bottle opener inside to open the next bottle under the cover. Once the bottle was opened, the thief would slide a long flexible straw into the open bottle and drink the contents.
"Of course the next person to insert a coin would be presented with an opened and empty bottle. Fortunately not many people were adept enough to steal Cokes that way.
"We learned to always visibly check the next bottle before inserting a coin."
The gifts that keep on giving
From Wally of Eau Claire, Wis.: "A friend today said the cheapest Christmas present he ever got was a card from his boss — with the signature rubber-stamped, and postage due.
Small enough for ya?
Plus: Older than dirt
Lola: "My hometown was so small that when my nephew mailed a letter to my mom and the envelope was addressed to 'Grandma /Watertown, MN 55388,' it was put into her box at the post office."
Swampy of Cumberland, Wis.: "I attended school in Redwood Falls. After WW2, I moved to 'The Cities,' till my retirement brought me to Cumberland and the culmination of a life's dream — namely: a home on a lake, where we have now lived for 14 years.
"A short time ago, a friend and I were having coffee at our local bakery shop along with an old-time resident who, while listening to our conversation, looked me straight in the eye and, with a tone of suspicion in his voice, asked: 'You're not from around here, are ya?'
"I had no answer to his question! I guess that after 14 years of trying to be a good citizen, I'm still a stranger in my own town!
"Another small-town incident happened while I was a volunteer at the V.A. hospital in Minneapolis. I was escorting an elderly patient to his appointment and noted on his I.D. bracelet that his home was Cumberland, Wis. I mentioned to him that my wife and I were looking at a lake home for sale there. His very abrupt answer was: 'Too many people there already!' I continued that we are retired and would be spending a lot of money locally! His answer was: 'Money isn't everything!'
"Welcome to small-town living, all you 'big city folks'!"
Older than dirt
One piece (possibly two) of evidence, reported by Ms. Virginia of Bald Eagle: "There definitely are six of us who are older than dirt. My husband (the bagman) and I went out with two other couples for dinner on Friday night. Afterwards we came back to our house for coffee and cookies. The stimulating conversation this Friday evening was about who gave away the best free handouts at the Medicare Part D presentation.
"Selective hearing: The bagman and I were watching the Wild game with my daughter and her family when the announcer said a player was penalized for pixie dust. I asked my daughter what the announcer meant by 'pixie dust.' She said: 'MOTHER, he said "fisticuffs." ' "
My teacher said …
Always a Mother: "Many years ago, when our kids were in parochial school, the light in the boys' closet was always left on. I found out why 20 years later, when the kids were reminiscing about their school years. It seems that a certain nun had told them that it was easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven. Tim was just trying to be sure we all made it.
"Sure hope it worked."
Band Name of the Day:
Lumpy Water — or: Pixie Dust
Web Site of the Day:
Questions Frequently Asked About Carnivorous Plants (including: "Are there any vegetarian carnivorous plants?") — at www.sarracenia.com/faq.html