[Aroid-l] Tell us all your talles about the Julius you know!

From: ExoticRainforest <Steve at ExoticRainforest.com> on 2010.07.02 at 22:35:31 I spoke briefly with Julius about 2 PM and he is again very tired and weak.  My fondest memories of Julius are of a jubilant man with a gusto for life.  I first met Julius after trading e-mail with him for several years.  During the same period Julius and I were trading e-mail with Leland Miyano in Hawaii.  .During that time the three of us became very close friends, something I personally treasure.. The very day I finally met Leland in Miami was the same day I first laid eyes on Julius.  He was exactly jovial man I had imagined.  That evening the three of us shared a wonderful dinner and talked for hours.  My wife, daughter and son were also there and we all noticed a very tight bond had formed between Julius and Leland.  They were quite literally blood brothers as if they had known each other before birth. For the next several days we talked almost exclusively about aroids but I am certain of friendship between the two of them had formed for eternity.  Before we returned home Julius presented me with an enormous specimen of Philodendron xanadu before telling me the plant was one of the two he had used in his study with Dr. Croat and Simon Mayo before the three granted a scientific name to the species.  That plant is a centerpiece of my atrium. Leland often opens his e-mails with "Aloha "in the presence of the breath of life".  I wish that I could be the poet that Leland truly is, since he can express with words in a manner I only wish I could duplicate but never been able to master.  Please read Leland's greet again.  Leland's greeting expresses exactly the way I would like for us to think about Julius as well as everything he has done for the International Aroid Society and the members of Aroid l..  If you have not been on this forum for a long period of time there is an incredible wealth of knowledge available to every one of us, and a great deal of that knowledge was written by Julius in response to questions posed on this forum.  With only a simple search you can find many years of answers to help you grow your plants right here http://www.hort.net/lists/aroid-l/search.pl  Please explore this resource. I want to celebrate Julius for what he means to all of us that love him, and believe me I mean just that.  I consider him my brother as well.  Many people have been sending e-mail to my address asking that I share it with it with Julius.  Since our friend Ted Knight visits him on almost a daily basis I would like to ask all of you to post your most memorable thoughts about Julius for Ted to deliver.  I've already heard stories just today about Julius dressed as Santa as well as another story when he was mistaken by Carla Kostelac at the Missouri Botanical Garden for an Indian sales and marketing caller.  Some of you don't know that Julius has a very thick Trinidadian accent and is an incredible West Indian cook.  He has hundreds of close friends as well as casual acquaintances on this forum.  Please share all of your fondest memories with all of us. Julius never finished high school but is one of the most brilliant individuals I have ever known.  He is completely self-taught but can carry on a scientific conversation with almost any top scientists in the world.  Let's all remember Julius as he lived and for all you shared with us. Please share your stories so Julius can laugh along with us.  And Ted, would you please post again the link to all of the incredible stories Julius has recorded so we can hear his voice long after he departs us for his long deserved rest. Thanks Julius for taking me under your wing. Steve www.ExoticRainforest.com --------------030307080209080708040407

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