Day 182 Flaming Red

June 9, 2015

(This is part of a 365 project during my 70^th years where I write and illustrate a blog on each day’s gift.)

New bloom on Anthurium Flaming Red

It has been six months and one week since my father died. It was a sad time and we all will always miss him. He used to work at Mercantile Safe Deposit and Trust Company, which is now PNC Bank. He was naturally good with details so it is not surprising that he had planned his own funeral ahead of time. He had paid the funeral home, picked out his casket, listed what hymns he wanted and asked me to play at his funeral. For the funeral, my sister Nancy managed a lot of other necessary planning and my sister Jaymie gave an extraordinary eulogy for our father. When it came time to decide which flowers would go to the cemetery and which ones would go elsewhere, I took home an exotic looking potted plant with heart-shaped flowers that I intended to photograph.

Procrastinator that I am, I did not get around to it until today. Amazingly, this plant is not only still alive but it has a new bloom. I have learned that it is an Anthurium Flaming Flower. It has a waxy, heart-shaped “flower” that is actually a modified leaf called a spathe and the yellow spike that shoots out from it is called a spadix. I can see why it is sometimes called a Boy Flower. 

My father had a green thumb and loving heart. I am glad that this red flower sat patiently waiting for me to process my dad's death, waiting to finally become my photo subject after six months. If the plant does not fare well in the future, I will now have a photo to remember it. I also hold dear the many photos of my father but I treasure more the memories that still play over and over inside me. This heart-shaped flower connects these memories with my still blooming heart.

My gift today is a living heart-shaped spathe.

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> Day 183: Neon Yellow

You can find links to my other posts on this project here:

http://bjschupp.blogspot.com/2014/12/365-gifts.html