TheBanyanTree: The Banana Belt

[Dee Churchill]

The last word on bananas has not yet been spoken, apparently. Not by a 
long shot. Thanks to Mage and Bill tipping me off, I Googled 
"Geostationary Banana Over Texas." Oh. My. God. In 0.16 seconds, I was 
faced with 29,100 hits, kablam! Go ahead, give it a shot. I double-dog 
dare ya.

You will find a few sites with great photos, the kind that make you 
appreciate the potential of Photo Shop and clever minds. What's fun, 
though, is to read the comment sections at some of these sites. The Big 
Banana has captured everyone's attention, for better or worse, and it's 
-- uhmm -- educational to read the different points of view.

Someone is probably already selling tee shirts emblazoned with floating 
bananas and slogans like Pecos Potassium or Ban the Banana. There will 
probably be a quickly written pop tune that will briefly rise and fall 
on the charts -- something along the lines of "Nana Got Run Over By a 
'Naner." And you can bet the farm there will suddenly be frothy 
cocktails in Texas bars with banana in the name, like Banana Slammer. 
Might even be a dance, like the Monster Mash, only it'll be the Banana Bash.

The big thing, though, will probably be a software game, where you have 
to shoot bananas out of the sky before they turn brown, while dodging 
hordes of berserker fruit flies. If you lose, you have to eat the banana 
bread that comes wrapped with the software CD.

Martha Stewart can probably whip out a colorful cookbook of banana 
recipes. The cover will feature a tastefully displayed banana split made 
with banana slices cut out in the shape of Texas stars.

For the record, I'm convinced this is a huge leg pull. The various news 
articles seem to be playing it straight but there are instances of 
suspicious phrasing. And I have to question the "science" involved here. 
Doesn't matter. Whether it's for real or for fooling, it's a welcome 
respite in the daily news dose of pain and fury. Gives us something fun 
to focus on, even if it's only temporary.

On the other hand, I wonder how much money one could make if one 
published an e-book called, say, "The Lighter Than Air Banana Diet." 
Sure. It could work. A banana smoothie for breakfast. Banana salad for 
lunch. Mashed banana steak with a banana souffle for supper. Frozen 
banana on a stick for midnight snack. Banana daiquiris in between.

You're right. The idea is full of hot air. It'll never fly.

Hugs, Dee
Coffee Bean Goddess
http://cbg-dee.blogspot.com