A woman expected just another regular flight, but a bold action from the passenger next to her changed everything. The journey took an unexpected turn for both of them. Boarding a flight from New York to Los Angeles, I anticipated a calm and uneventful trip. As a 35-year-old marketing consultant, frequent travel was part of my job, and I had learned to handle airports and flights efficiently.This time, I was heading to an important conference in LA, with a tight connection to San Diego for a pre-conference meeting. I had meticulously planned every detail, including choosing an aisle seat for a swift exit. Upon reaching my row, I saw the man in the window seat already settled in.
He appeared to be in his early 40s, exuding an air of importance in his pressed shirt and polished shoes. He frequently checked his expensive watch, seemingly annoyed by my presence when I took my seat. I just wanted a peaceful flight to review my notes. However, my straightforward trip soon turned into a mini-nightmare,
When dinner was served, I realized I hadn’t eaten all day and was starving. The smell of the food made my stomach growl with anticipation. I couldn’t wait to eat, review my notes, and possibly take a short nap before landing. But then I needed to use the restroom. I checked to see how far the food cart was, and since it was still a few rows away, I hurried to the back of the plane, trying not to disturb my seatmate.
To my dismay, I found a long line waiting for the restroom. I anxiously checked my watch as the minutes passed, and I grew increasingly impatient. By the time I finally returned to my seat, my meal tray was gone, and the man next to me was happily devouring his second meal.
I asked if they had served my meal while I was away, but he merely shrugged and smirked, claiming he didn’t want it to go to waste since I was gone too long. Stunned, I couldn’t believe someone would do such a thing.
When I asked the flight attendant if any meals were left, she apologized and offered me a small bag of pretzels instead. I felt defeated, watching as the man polished off both meals and then fell asleep, clearly satisfied. While munching on pretzels, I tried to focus on my work, glancing at the man snoring beside me. My stomach protested, but I reminded myself I had a tight connection to catch.
As we began our descent into LA, the flight attendants made announcements about landing and connecting flights. When the plane landed, I grabbed my bag, eager to rush to my next gate. But just as I stood up, an announcement came: there was a last-minute gate change for my connecting flight.
I glanced at my seatmate, still asleep, and debated whether to wake him. He had eaten my meal, but I couldn’t just leave him to miss his flight. I gently nudged him, but he didn’t stir. I nudged him harder, but he merely mumbled and turned away.
Realizing I had to go, I left him behind and hurried off the plane. The terminal was crowded, and I navigated through the throngs of people to reach my new gate just in time to board. Once I arrived in San Diego and met my colleagues, one of them mentioned seeing someone who looked familiar at LAX. She described a disheveled man who had just woken up and was arguing with a gate agent because he missed his flight.
I couldn’t help but smile when I realized it was my seatmate. I told my colleague how he had eaten my meal while I was in the restroom and had slept through the gate change. She agreed that it was a perfect example of karma in action.
As I settled in for my meeting, I felt a sense of satisfaction knowing that while I made it on time, Mr. Important was stuck in LA, likely regretting his choice to indulge in both meals. Sometimes, what goes around really does come around.
Dealing with Cedar-Apple Rust in Your Backyard
Taking good care of the plants in your backyard can bring you great satisfaction.On the other hand, it also offers a good deal of challenges. Occasionally, you could come upon strange things that leave you scratching your head. Recently, a Reddit user from Oklahoma found something unusual in their trees: a significant quantity of yellow jelly and what they referred to as a “jelly alien nut.” Confused and curious, they turned to the online community for answers.
This mysterious phenomenon was determined to be caused by cedar-apple rust. To complete its life cycle, it requires two hosts; apples and crabapples are the most common hosts. Although the name implies cedars are involved, juniper trees can also be affected.
How to Identify Apple-Cedar Rust
The symptoms of cedar-apple rust vary depending on the type of tree it infects. On the twigs of juniper bushes, brown, persistent galls may develop. When spring weather turns damp, these galls grow orange gelatinous horns. The juniper host is unaffected, however the twig farther away from the gall may die.
The leaves of apple or crabapple trees get circular yellow blemishes shortly after they bloom. As summer progresses, these lesions turn into brownish tufts of threads or cylindrical tubes. They are hidden beneath the blotches on leaves, twigs, and fruits.
Understanding Life Cycle
Now, you might be wondering how long this ailment lasts. Well, galls start to form seven months after the initial disease. After eighteen months, they turn into gelatinous lumps. The galls produce golf-ball-shaped depressions from which telial horns emerge the following spring. When it rains in the spring, the brownish telial horns spread out and become a vivid orange color. When they release their spores, the horns eventually droop, dry out, and fall off. After they die, the galls remain attached to the tree for as least a year. The infection is most noticeable in the spring when the galls are covered in gelatinous masses.
Managing Cedar-Apple Rust
Fortunately, there isn’t much of a treatment for this infection. Cut off the afflicted areas to prevent the illness from spreading. It’s crucial to keep in mind that cedar-apple rust won’t kill your trees—it will only damage the plants’ aesthetics. If you would rather be proactive, you can use fungicides or select apple cultivars that are resistant to this disease.
To sum up
In conclusion, even though you might not often see cedar-apple rust in your backyard, your trees are not in grave danger. It’s essential to comprehend this infection so that, in the event that it materializes, you can respond appropriately. Tell people about this information so they too can recognize and understand cedar-apple rust. I’m toasting to your productive gardening!
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