Sunday, May 10, 2009

The mighty Dumb Cane has fallen

The first Sunday in the Imanta 1 Branch, I walked into the Relief Society room and saw this towering Dumb Cane (I don't know it's proper name but hope you all know it by this name). There were about 3 canes, each well over 6 feet tall, and in a pot that might have been sufficient for one. A sturdy stick (2-3' tall) had been placed in the pot and strings tied around the canes to support them. I mentioned to the RS president (who speaks no English) that if she cut the tops off and put them in dirt, they would grow. I thought, with hand gestures and, of course, talking loudly so she could better understand my English, that she understood what I was saying.

Week after week, the Dumb Cane stood in a corner. Milda, the RS president, would faithfully pour a pitcher of water into the pot most weeks.

Yesterday, Grandma Senkans (she's younger than I am by a few years, but there are 3 Senkans families, she being the mother of the 3 grown sons, and so I call her Grandma Senkans) took a large knife to the Dumb Canes, cutting each top about 3' down from the top. Next thing I saw, Milda was carrying in a bucket of water and they put the tops into it. I think they are planning to get 3 pots of soil in which to plant the canes.

Amazingly, the plants continued to be green and look healthy, other than their very misshapen canes. Perhaps by the time I leave in a year, the RS room will have 4 (3 new and the original pot) gracing the room.

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