Being Mr. Kenny

It’s funny, really — as a culture, we show our love and affection for others by giving flowers. I’m thinking about this because there is a bunch of lilies and fresias in the office (office romance) and their heady aroma is filling the office and the corridor outside the office. So too is their pollen. But no matter.

They’re gorgeous flowers, but being a biology graduate I can’t escape their function. Why is it that we present the severed reproductive organs of another species to each other to convey the message, “I love you”?

Update!

My friend Dave just brought this to my attention. It’s from 1 Samuel 18:25-27 (NIV):

Saul replied, “Say to David, ‘The king wants no other price for the bride than a hundred Philistine foreskins, to take revenge on his enemies.’ ” Saul’s plan was to have David fall by the hands of the Philistines.

When the attendants told David these things, he was pleased to become the king’s son-in-law. So before the allotted time elapsed, David and his men went out and killed two hundred Philistines. He brought their foreskins and presented the full number to the king so that he might become the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his daughter Michal in marriage.

Thanks Dave!