Hello tootsweets, and happy Friday! Welcome back to the Good To Grow site, and thanks for being here.

Each Friday, I gather my panel of experts for some silly fun, and roll out a plant puzzler for you. I’ll also reveal the winner(s) of last week’s puzzler after the panel.

Let’s say hi to the Experts, shall we? Hi Experts!

“Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Liza!”

You guys are adorable! From left to right, that’s Tina, Thack, EZ, Dottie and Lewis. If you’d like to know more about them, please click here.

In honor of Friday the 13th, here’s this week’s question:

Q. Today is Friday the 13th. Do you have any spooky tales you’d like to share?

Expert Tina is normally up first, but she’s unavailable for a couple of weeks. Let’s admire her cuteness:

And move on to Expert Tim Thackaberry. Thack, here’s the question to you:

Q. Do you have any spooky tales you’d like to share?

A. I don’t believe in ghosts in the sense of lost souls of the departed inhabiting a shadowy, semi-astral plane, and haunting the living here on Earth. That said, my daughter told me a story the other day that made me freak out a little.

My daughter is 8, born in April, 2003; my father passed away in February, 2003, so the two of them never crossed paths here in the earthly realm. Last week I show her a picture of my dad from when he was about my age, and she says, “I’ve met him before.” I, of course, say, “No, sweetheart, you haven’t, he died before you were born.” She looks at me very intently and says, “He did a puppet show for me one night when I was sick. I was feeling really bad and he (pointing to the photo my father) did a puppet show in my room and made me feel better. He’s funny.”
The way she said it just freaked me out. She was completely serious, almost matter-of-fact about it. I don’t know, maybe it’s nothing, she’d seen a picture of him and forgot about it, then had a fever-dream with him in it. Nothing more than a manifestation of a subconscious desire on her part to know her grandfather. But the way she relayed the tale definitely spooked me.

Oh yeah, that story gave me chills! Super spooky, Thack! But also sweet! If I were to encounter a ghost, I’d like the ghost to do a puppet show, too!

That’s definitely a correct answer again this week. Nicely played! I’m going to hold off on prizes until the end of the panel.

Expert EZ Ed Johnson, here’s the question to you:

Q. Do you have any spooky tales you’d like to share?

A. I met a woman once who told me of how her great grandfather would visit her small room as a child. He would announce his presence by what appeared to be smoke coming from the window sill. He had died in a fire many, many years before.

Creepy! Although, I suppose it was nice of him to announce his presence instead of just showing up and haunting her. Ghosts are weird!

That’s another win for you this week, EZ. Congrats, and thanks for playing!

Up next is the ever-charming Expert Dottie Correll. Dottie, here ya go:

Q. Do you have any spooky tales you’d like to share?

A. “PARASKEVIDEKATRIAPHOBICS”

I am always curious about the origin of Legends.  It appears that Friday the 13th has many and varied versions of origin based on a morbid and irrational fear —even by normally rational people.  It is the most widespread superstition.  Psychologists have named it paraskevidekatriaphobics.
The emanation of this unholy terror is substantiated by statistics that prove;  more automobile accidents occur on that date, people refuse to go to work, weddings or other important activities such as surgical procedures are never scheduled, and on and on. People just want to “Hole up” and do nothing and go nowhere!  Psychotherapists have projected that more than 21 million persons in America are afflicted with this superstition.
Legend has it:  If 13 people sit down to dinner together, one will die within the year.**  Many cities do not have a 13th street.  Many buildings don’t have a 13th floor  — tenants do not want to lease on the 13th floor.  If you have 13 letters in your name, you will have the devil’s luck as Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer and Theodore Bundy.  There are 13 witches in a coven and on and on.
Conversely, The Chinese regarded the number as lucky.  The Egyptians thought life was a quest for spiritual ascension which unfolded in in stages: twelve in this life and the 13th; eternal after life.  This superstition seems to exist primarily with Americans.
The legend I find most interesting emanates from ancient man.  Primitive man had only his 10 fingers and two feet to represent units, so he could count no higher than 12.  What lay beyond that —-13  —- was an impenetrable mystery to our prehistoric forebears.  However, this does leave one wondering:  did primitive man not have toes????
**The bible tells us there were 13 present at the Last Supper.  One of the disciples betrayed Jesus, setting the stage for the Crucifixion.  Oh by the way, did I mention the Crucifixion took place on a Friday?
What are your plans for the day?  Are you a “Holer Upper” or are you like me and plan to address superstition in the face and take a risk and plan wild and wonderful escapades????

Personally, I’m an escapader not a holer upper. Maybe I should reconsider, though, because of what you said about accidents. There must be some truth to it as there was a huge wreck on the highway earlier today. Spooky!

Also, my name has 13 letters! But I promise not to murder anyone.

Dottie, we love your research and enthusiasm, so of course that’s another correct answer this week. Well done!

Expert Lewis Casey, what say you, fine sir?

Q. Do you have any spooky tales you’d like to share?

A.

Scary Friday the 13th, so what is so scary about this Friday the 13th is that it is in a election year and OH MY GOD what are we going to do if __________
wins the elections.
Reelect Obama, Go Democrats
Vote this bum out, Go Republicans
Or throw the whole damn bunch out
If I had a sewage leak and my house was full of crap
would I make the house bigger or pump the s*!# out
Same thing has happened in Washington DC, Congress is
full of s*!#heads and we should clean house this election
and get some new fools and morons in there.
My oldest brother died July 12th 1997 of a heart attack. He had chest pains from early in the morning but they did not call for a ambulance. About 1:00 in the afternoon they tried to drive across town to the hospital in Santa Fe. He died in the parking lot of a 7 to 11 convenience store on Airport road waiting for the ambulance. I received a call that afternoon telling me of his death. I asked “Does Mother know”?
This is the tale I was told.

My dear Mother in her mid eighties would always take a afternoon nap like a lot of old folks do. Her health was good and her mind was clear, she loved to laugh and tell storys of her life. There were five kids and her, my father had died when we all little and she raised us in a house full of love, life and joy. But she was not above giving us a good swift kick if we deserved it. Oldest child seem always to be the favorite and Jimmy had that spot. He had graduated High school and had joined the Navy, she said many prayers for him while he was away seeing the world. He returned safely and she thanked God and said some more prayer. 


That afternoon my stepfather her husband Antonio heard her crying in the bedroom and went to see what was wrong. “My Jimmy, my Jimmy no lord not my Jimmy” was all she would say between the tears. They lived in a small village in Northern New Mexico about 100 mile away from most of the family and no one had called because we wanted to be there in person when she learned of Jimmy’s death.

When family arrive there a couple of hours later Mother was sitting on her couch with her rosary, crying softly, praying and repeating “My Jimmy, my poor Jimmy.” She knew that he had died and told us this tale.

As I was laying there on the bed sleeping, I awoke because someone was in the room but I was not afaid. I looked around and there was Jimmy standing at the foot of my bed. He was bathed in this beautiful white light and he was smiling, he did not speak but I felt that he was at peace and joyful to see me. My Jimmy I cried, his smile, his eyes said I’m ok Mother. the light faded and he was gone. At that moment I knew that he had died, I was no less sad but I knew he was ok.

Oh my! Lewis, what a story! It kinda creeped me out but it’s so sweet as well. I like the idea of a son saying goodbye to his Mama, it’s comforting!

That’s another win for you this week, Lewis. An excellent tale indeed!

Thanks to all of our Experts – you guys are awesome! For playing this week, I’d like each of you to have an epithet for the weekend. Each time you introduce yourself to someone, I’d like you to add “the Spooky” to your name. For example, Dottie, if you meet someone in Arizona, you should introduce yourself as Dottie the Spooky. Just for the weekend.

In addition to your epithet, I’d like to award each of you 13 extra credit points, a Friday, an imaginary scare, a scary imagination, two thumbs up and one hurrah. Congratulations, and thank you for being here.

That does it for our panel of Experts. The Experts will return in exactly one week.

Up next, the answer to last week’s plant puzzler.

???Real or Fake???

Last week, I asked if this Dracaena was real or fake:

Let’s see how you answered:

Tom from Theatrum Botanicum wrote, “Real!”

Terrence from Dynamic Gardening wrote, “This plant looks very real in my opinion, it has a tropical look to it also.”

Nancy Popp Mumpton of Arizona wrote, “Although it looks almost too real, I have to believe it is!”

Martha from Plowing Through Life wrote, “I’m voting real. That’s one of my favourite plants.”

Ivynettle of Letters and Leaves wrote, “Water stains and tiny dead leaf tips, so – real!”

Claude from Random Rants and Prickly Plants wrote, “real. The coloring is too random for fake.”

That’s six votes real, zero votes fake. What’s the correct answer? Let’s see a wider view:

You guys have eagle eyes! It’s definitely a real plant. Nice observations about the water spots and coloration. Real plants have flaws, and we’re ok with that. I’d rather have a flawed plant than a fake plastic one. Fake plants are ugly!

So everyone is a winner. Tom, since you answered first, you can multiply the prizes by 13 honorable mentions. Congratulations!

I think all of you should add the epithet “the Spooky” to your name for the weekend. In addition, you have each earned one superstition, a pretend black cat, 13 bragging rights, a scary song and a not scary song, plus a grip of Friday nonsense. Thanks so much for playing – I really appreciate it!

Up next, the new puzzler.

???Real or Fake???

Is this Orchid real or fake?

(Photo taken with my phone.)

Think you know the answer, smartyplants? Leave your best guess in the comments section. You have until midnight next Thursday, January 19th, MST (that’s 2a.m. EST) to cast your vote. I’ll reveal the answer and the winner(s) after next week’s panel of Experts. Remember, the prizes may be imaginary but the link to your site and the glory of winning is oh-so-real.

I’ll be back manana, hope to see you here.

Advertisement