Fred’s Makeshift Protection Against Oleander Plants
November 25th 2008 21:00
Photo by Cliff Hutson. Used in accordance with the terms of Wikimedia Commons’ GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.
As a cleaner cum caretaker, my friend Fred has had his fair share of interesting experiences. There was the time he found the garden overrun by dozens of green and orange caterpillars. Then there was the time he discovered a dead body in one of the buildings he looked after. From time to time he also finds drugs, small amounts of money and adult magazines. When Fred tells me these stories, I sometimes wish we could swap jobs. Who ever knew cleaning/caretaking could be so interesting?
Another interesting experience he told me about was his mysterious rash. One of Fred’s responsibilities is to water the plants. Shortly after, he started developing a rash on his jaw. Fred was wondering what was causing it. He spent a few days searching through every possibility. One day he realised one of the buildings he looked after had oleander plants in the garden. Fred had heard oleander was poisonous so he figured that must have been the cause of his rash, as often the leaves would brush against his face while he was watering plants.
Fred, being a practical person, came up with a creative solution to his problem. He found an old pillow case, cut two holes in it and put it over his head whenever he had to water the plants. I never found out whether he wore his glasses over or under the pillow case but the thought of him wearing a pillow case over his head while watering plants still makes me giggle.
Fred’s balaclava worked – his rash disappeared and has never returned.
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