puff ball

When I was a child I had a friend by the name of Virgil Ronk who lived about six houses down the street. Whenever Virgil and I would go over to his house we would go to a particular small area in his backyard where the puff balls grew on the ground. At least that is what we called them. They were light tan, round and about the size of a tennis ball.

Evidently they were a form of fungus like a mushroom. These balls were hollow and filled with jillions of extremely tiny spores (seeds). We delighted in stomping on them because when we did they would puff out what looked like smoke, but was actually the very fine spores. This is exactly what the plant wanted because the smoke (spores) would be carried away on the wind to land and sprout elsewhere. I was walking in the backyard here in Orlando and I spotted a puff ball that must have broken open on its own exposing the dark smoke-colored spores inside. No, I didn’t stomp on it, I just let it be. I know that it is not very pretty to look at but it did bring memories of my youth. By the way, Virgil’s parents had an old fashioned gramophone with the big horn. There was a crank handle that wound up an internal spring which made the record turn-table turn. This was not a display item or a collectible. This is what they actually used for music. They played the gramophone for me so I could get to listen to it. The song I didn’t recognize and it was a very scratchy sound. I often wonder whatever happened to Virgil Ronk. He had a kind heart and was not a bully. A good person. Be kind to someone each day and perhaps they will pass that kindness on to someone else. Lew