Last night's rehearsal was very educational. Andy G told me how apple pips contain cyanide, I passed on my daughter's information that onions could kill a dog. After swopping anecdotes on poison we came to the conclusion that small doses must be quite normal in lots of foods. It seems we have both inherited the folk wisdom of our upbringings. I'm still going to stop biting into apple seeds ...
... which all made me think rehearsals are a great opportunity for conversation. This highlights part of the joy of being a musician, the chat and relationship between players. We always hear stories of how musicians fall out but the positive side gets less attention. Personally I appreciate the opportunity music gives to make unsuperficial friendships with men as this can be a little awkward in such a divided world.
We have arranged our next rehearsal to take place on a barge so maybe that will help Andy and I concentrate a bit better. But I guess the reality is it will probably be more distracting.
A little of most poisons is usually good for you in some way. When I was a kid traveling in Mexico, I was told that the poison in apple seeds killed many of the germs that cause dysentery. I don't know if it actually worked or not (I avoided drinking tap water and lettuce too), but I've been eating apple seeds regularly all my life and am still here. Sub-lethal doses of arsenic were the standard remedy for syphilis and tuberculosis before antibiotics were invented.. the effective doses were just below the level that can kill. Yogis in India ate sub-lethal amounts of arsenic to make their chanting voices deeper, and in the process, they developed a greater and greater tolerance for the substance. Legend has it that some rulers took a cue from the yogis and took a little arsenic every day so that they could "miraculously" survive assassination attempts.
ReplyDeleteMy dad's parents in East Texas in the early 20th century firmly believed that tomatoes were poisonous, calling them "love-apples", probably because they were known to be related to deadly nightshade and were still exotic "foreign" plants in that part of the world.
I have heard that tomatoes are very 'strong' in terms of their chemicals.
ReplyDeleteIt's all a question of dosage ... interesting.
By the way the rehearsal is not taking place on the barge - this time.