Banana Blight, Quite a Plight

A couple years ago I had an ant guy come out and spray around my house to get rid of the pesky and persistent little fellas. This guy was an interesting cat to say the least. Besides dragging me underneath the house to look at crap, he bent my ear for nearly 30 minutes on how bananas are going the way of the Dodo, that’s right, extinct. As soon as I heard this I immediately began telling myself what a nutbag this guy was and that perhaps he’s standing up wind from his ant spray, or that he’s just plain “bananas” Ha ha. He went on and on about how they are sterile (bananas), at least the kind they export and that a fungus is decimating the crops to such a degree that we will find ourselves banana-less within 10 years, (again I snicker using my “inside voice” and feel better about myself for not being as nuts as this guy) He has even gone so far as to grow his own bananas in his apartment. “What a dipstick” I think.
So here we are, several years later and closer to the time when banana cream pie will have to be enjoyed as a memory, becuase as it turns out, he was dead on the money! I did a little research this morning and everything he said was true! (don’t ask why it took 2 years for me to get interested in this) There is a fungus that is destroying bananas left and right. And it looks like all 500 species are affected, of course the hardest hit is the one we eat the most of. And it is in fact a sterile seedless variety. This is a huge problem, aside from it being the main export crop for many countries and the number one dietary staple amongst the people of those countries, it is also something I really like, its handy as a snack, tasty in cereal, when they get too mushy to eat, no problem, you simply have your wife make banana bread with them, problem solved. Now are you with me? Are you on the “Save the Bananas” wagon? I thought so.
You may be sitting there stunned with a feeling of hopelessness as I was. Or you may say to me, “Colin, what can I do to help make sure this doesn’t happen?” And I would say, “beats me. If a bunch of qualified scientists from all over the world can't figure it out, what makes you think you can”. My advice is to enjoy them while they last and while your at it, enjoy the comic hy-jinx of monkeys in various commercials because following on the heels of bananas will surly be monkeys right? What will they eat. Oh, and say goodbye to the Ol’ Banana-peel-on-the-ground trick that will without fail, send your target slip sliding ass over applecart to the pure delight of onlookers. I make light of this with a little humor, but really, it will suck. I eat them everyday and have recently taken to making, or at least assembling, banana cream pies and puddings. To learn more about the plight of the banana, google banana/extinct and up will come more info than you can shake a bushel at. Anyway, my apologies crazy ant killing guy.

In other news, Dylan’s basketball team took the first place championship after a very exciting last game. Now its on to baseball and yes, its really on already. The team practices 4 nights a week, at least until games start next month. He also was in a Tae Kwon Doe tourney this past weekend and one a gold, silver and bronze.