“You can’t be here without a name tag!” snapped the lady in front of us.
My wife and I were visiting a park in Long Beach, Mississippi when we happened upon a group of tables covered with house plants. We thought they were for sale. We were wrong.
The offended lady pursed her lips. “You are walking through a private gathering of our plant exchange club. The only way you can participate is by having a nametag.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “We didn’t realize. There were no signs, so we thought it was some kind of farmer’s market.”
“Well, it’s not,” she remarked. “And since you don’t have a nametag, you’ll have to leave.”
As we turned to exit, we noticed a woman waving us to her table.
“Hi,” she said. “We have one more plant to trade or sell. Would you take it so we could leave?”
“I’m sorry,” I said, “But we were just told we had to leave because we didn’t have a nametag.”
She knowingly smiled and shook her head.
“Nonsense,” she said. “Now this Aloe vera plant is yours if you want it. But, it comes with a story that you must hear if you’re going to take it.”
We were hooked.
“What’s the story?” I asked.
“Well,” she smiled. “This is Jimmy Buffet’s Aloe vera plant.”
“Does he know you have it?” asked my wife.
“Yes,” she laughed. “I grew up in the country down the road from Jimmy’s grandma near Pascagoula, Mississippi. She had a lot of these plants behind her house. After she passed, they were blown over and the pots broke. By the time Jimmy visited and we walked across the property, the plants were about to die. He told me I could have them if I wanted them. I saved a few and this is one of its descendants. Would you like it?”
“How much?” I asked.
“It’s free as long as you agree to tell your friends you have Jimmy Buffet’s Aloe Vera plant.”
Which is what I’m doing right now.
Today, I learned that Jimmy Buffet passed away peacefully on September 1st. I’m sorry for his family. I’ve listened to some of his music, but the truth is, I had to remind myself of his songs by opening Spotify. Margaritaville, Brown-Eyed Girl, It’s Five O-Clock Somewhere, and Cheeseburger in Paradise were a few songs I remembered well.
In case you’re interested, Jimmy Buffet’s Aloe vera plant has completed several propagations. We have at least five or six pots with its offspring. I’m not surprised his grandma’s neighbor was trying to give one away. They multiply really fast.
And to think, we almost missed it because we didn’t have a name tag.
JohnJFrady.com 