A thorny affair

A stinking king with nasty thorns, was my rendezvous last night. Of course this stinking king like all of us, have a name. He is DURIAN the king of fruit.



My mom’s love of durians had made me a lover of the fruit king.


For my friends, who have never heard of durian and for those who thinks it stinks...YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE MISSING.


For durian lovers, the smell is fragrant. For those averse to it, the smell is repugnant. Ohhhhhhhhhh that smell. 'Quick open it'




There are many myths relating to the consumption of durian (it does not bother me but through my observation, human do funny things).

1st myth – Never drinks alcohol and eat durian. Durian is considered a “heaty” fruit, and alcohol is also "heaty." If you have to eat and drink, maybe beer is fine. Beer is considered to be “cooling”


2nd myth – Yin and Yang, King and Queen: By balancing the heatiness, the consumption of a “cooling” fruit must be considered – the mangosteen.

3rd myth – Eating too much durian, will cause sore throat. The customary thing to do is put a pinch of salt into the seed pod, add water and drink directly from the pod (the inside shell)

4th myth – After eating the fruit, the aromatic scent will linger on your fingers To remove the smell from your fingers, just wash your hand in running tap water over the thorny part of the durian shell (my godma aka Huskee’s mom will not wash her fingers in running water over the thorns ........shhhhhhh !!!! hopefully she finds this funny or I am in deep trouble).

All the myths don't bother me at all. Mom had a durian party last night with Helios' ma and pa and Tommy's ma and pa and Huskee's ma and pa.

Helios (haha) being Australian love the fruit


Nothing these days goes without me, not thinking of Herbie. Here is a clip of my dear friend enjoying his durian


Tommy wasn't too keen so I had his share. Yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuumy


Buuuurppp!!!!!

My dear friend Herbie is no longer with us.

Grieve not, Nor speak of me with tears

But laugh and talk of me

As if I were beside you.
From To Those I love, a poem by Isla Paschal Richardson

Mom found the above poem and she said this is what Herbie would like us to do.

Losing Herbie, while tragic, is but a beginning of a lifetime of memories.

The death itself was not sudden but mom, Auntie Sam and I never expected it so soon. We should have had many more dog years together.

There were never any fights between the two of us. If there was a disagreement, you were always waving your feathery tail to say it is alright

.

We share so many things alike, like EATING and SLEEPING and enjoy just being together

and we both always knew where the food is and you have taught me the art of ‘begging’

Oh Herbie, the park will never be the same without you and my living room will definitely not be the same without you too. Auntie Sam also wanted me to add – the kitchen is not the same without you Herbie.

Although Herbie is no longer physically with us but he is with us in spirit.

We will miss you terribly but you will alway be right here in our hearts.

Long live Herbie.

Rest in peace my dear friend (Your Uncle Bob will now take care of you)