Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Melons and Body Worlds

As I do so many things (this blog, for instance), I accidentally planted cantaloupe. That is, I intentionally saved the seeds I scooped out of a cantaloupe, dug a hole, and put them in, but I was only hoping that this would actually work.

It has. Recent rain and heat have produced cantaloupe leaves at exactly this spot of the yard, a ragged area made sunny by the removal of a mulberry tree (by the lovely power line guys in bright green jackets) and pruning of the forsythia (by me).

I know these are actual cantaloupe leaves because some are rising holding the actual seed aloft, just like the gymnast balancing on three wooden balls, holding his innards aloft in the Cycle of Life exhibition of Body Worlds. I alert you to that graphic image in case you don't want to see it, or similarly graphic images of the human body, in various poses, plasticened after death; if so, don't click that link. If you do want to see such images, it is the official website, and a dot com, and takes a while to load.

We saw it at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago yesterday, and it is amazing and enlightening. To see the body flayed and splayed, back or torso muscles opened out like wings, is quite something. I learned a lot.*

*Not to smoke, not to get obese. Especially if I want to donate my body to science. Yes, fruits and vegetables! Yes to a life with purpose, human connection, and as little stress as possible!

I was less moved by the more gimmicky things--poses with hockey sticks or footballs--but quite moved by the human body itself. And the ostrich body. And, downstairs, the giraffe.

We also sat under the Tesla coil to see lightning, and my son and I stood in a wind tunnel phone/photo booth.

Life is good. These are melons from Jonathan Koch! Muskmelon, Peaches, Strawberries, 2011, used with his blessing. Wild strawberries are ripe in my lawn, and the clover is in bloom. The rabbits are happy.

7 comments:

Kathleen said...

Speaking of melons, health, the body, feminism, humor, and all things responsible, my annual mammogram is done!

Kristin Berkey-Abbott said...

We are parched and desert like down here. Even the drought resistant plants are starting to get droopy. I don't miss the humidity but it is strange not to have afternoon storms.

SarahJane said...

I would like to smoke and have my back muscles flayed into wings.

SarahJane said...

I think it worked (posting, I mean)!

Kathleen said...

Yes, it did, Sarah Jane! You can be flayed open into flying with a healthy body, too. (Though probably some sudden death, in that case.) Sad, sickly organs were laid out in glass cases whole, or sliced...

Nancy Devine said...

interesting. you must not have had hybrid seeds. (i've got an interest here in seed saving, fueled by a desire to save heirloom tomato seeds)

Sandy Longhorn said...

Love the juxtaposition of the fruit and the flesh. Thanks for both.