Canto Forty-Seven – In the Flower Garden
“Don’t get too near that old plant again, Brekka,” warned George Jetson. He shuddered with the memory of it scooping her up in the mouth-like blossom and nearly munching her to pieces as it had done to the scabby.
“Silly boy, the man-eating plant is now my friend. He… or she… or it… is calling to me, telling me it will never harm me again. In fact, it wants to help me and protect me.”
As the emerald-green girl tadpole walked closer to the huge blossom, the plant seemed to be smiling with flower-petal lips. George looked at Menolly. Menolly looked back and shrugged her bare shoulders. She appeared to be creeped out by the carnivorous flower as much as George was.
Brekka stopped, naked and defenseless, directly under the giant blossom that was grinning at her. She reached up with her left hand.
The blossom lowered to her.
“Oh, no!” gasped George and Menolly together.
But the blossom stopped an inch above her hand and let her stroke it… her… or him… under what could’ve been a chin, but definitely had the look of sepals.
“That’s a good boy, Lester… er, good girl… er, well… that’s good anyway. You aren’t going to hurt anyone ever again, are you?”
The plant pursed its “lips”.
“Well, yes, I suppose you can eat all of those scabby thingies that you want. That wouldn’t bother me a bit.”
The plant rubbed leaves together to get an actual chirping sort of sound.
“Oh, really?”
“What did he say?” Menolly asked Brekka.
“He says he… or… she can provide cuttings and runners to make baby plants that we can eat. She says she… or… it can process carbon out of the air with photosynthesis and make plenty of food for us… It says it… or he… um, can feed the whole Bio-dome if we want it to.”
“That’s good…” said George, “but if the plant is our friend now, wouldn’t that be eating our friend?”
“Lester says the plants on his… er… her world do it all the time… eat each other, I mean.”
“That will help with some of the food shortage problem, won’t it?” asked Menolly.
“Sure,” said Brekka.
“Maybe we should go talk it over with Sizzahl?” suggested George. He really wanted to get himself and the girls away from the creepy plant-monster.
“You and Menolly go,” Brekka said. “I want to stay here and play with Lester.”
“Are you sure that’s safe?”
“Lester can’t eat Tellerons without getting really, really sick. So he will never again try to eat one of us… er, she won’t. As long as we keep Sizzahl and the Morrells away from it… er, him. Geez, the boy-girl thing is really confusing.”
So, George seized the opportunity to get away. He dragged Menolly with him. Brekka seemed happier with Lester anyway, and George was thinking… well, maybe he and Menolly could try some more… kissing.
*****
Catch a Falling Star 
How Mickey Battles the Blues
It should be noted that Mickey does not battle the St. Louis Blues. That is his favorite hockey team. And while they have never won the Stanley Cup, they do win a lot and are almost always in the playoffs. So they help fight depression. Battling them would not only be counter-productive, but might also result in losing all those big square white middle teeth in that goofy smile.
But battling depression is a constant necessity. Not only am I subject to diabetic depression and Donald Trump overload, but my entire family is prone to deep and deadly bad blue funks. It helps to be aware that there are a lot of ways to fight that old swamp of sadness. It doesn’t have to keep claiming the Atreyu’s horse of your soul. (Yes, I know that Neverending Story metaphors seriously date me to the 80’s and signify that I am indeed old… another reason I have to constantly fight depression.)
I have some surefire methods for battling depression that apparently the science actually backs up. It turns out that most of things that Mickey does actually stimulate the brain to produce more dopamine.
“Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that helps control the brain’s reward and pleasure centers. Dopamine also helps regulate movement and emotional response, and it enables us not only to see rewards, but to take action to move toward them.” – Psychology Today
So, I guess I am secretly a dopamine addict. It is a brain chemical you cannot focus or function effectively without.
8. And please, don’t forget food. Depressed eating can easily make you fat, but there are certain magical chemicals in certain foods that give you certain dopamine-building effects that can turn blue skies to bright sunshine. The primary chemical is called Tyrosine, and it can be found in a variety of foods like;
– Almonds
– Avocados
– Bananas
– Beef
– Chicken
– Chocolate
– Coffee
– Eggs
– Green Tea
– Milk
– Watermelon
– Yogurt
9. And finally, thinking skills are critical. While thinking too much and obsessing can get you into the tiger trap pits of depression, meditation, decompressive mantras and positive thinking can all dig you out and keep you out.
You are probably wondering what kind of nitwit authority I can actually bring to this topic, but I have spent a lot of money on therapy, not all of it for me, and I not only listen to psychiatrists and psychologists, but I remember what they explained to me. And I have tried enough things to know what works.
So while you are busy chicken dancing to Beethoven while eating a banana, rest assured, Mickey is probably doing something just as embarrassingly ridiculous at the very same time.
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