Helen Keller gets lei'd

I am going through a de-cluttering process in my home, and came across a 1962 book titled 'The Three Lives of Helen Keller', which contains lots of photos of perhaps the most famous deaf, blind, and mute celebrity.

From the book, Helen Killer writes about her experences with leis in Manila.

Of leis, she wrote, "Their blended fragrances intoxicated me - gardenia, pekokee (very much like scented wisteria), plumeria, mock orange - so that I forgot the weight and heat of the flowers on my neck.

But when she entered her hot stateroom and found leis piled up high on her bed, "I could have screamed. I was so surfeited with sweet smells and crazy to stretch out. I simply threw the wreaths to the floor. I understood as I had never before the painful effect of a dazzling spectacle too prolonged upon the eyes of those who see."

That night she dreamt of being smothered with sweetness.

It makes me wonder if she ever sipped a mai-tai in her life - who knows, maybe they could have titled the book 'The Three Livers of Helen Keller."

By the way, The Who's 'Tommy' rock musical LP, about the deaf, dumb, and blind kid, premiered in 1969, one year after the deaf, blind, and mute Helen Keller passed away.

Vern

[ Edited by: ikitnrev 2006-03-05 21:40 ]

"Their blended fragrances intoxicated me - gardenia, pekokee (very much like scented wisteria),

Pikake, the Hawaiian name for Chinese jasmine, is very aromatic.
It was named after the Hawaiianised word for peacock, our own Princess Ka’iulani’s favorite pet on her estate here in the late 1800's... as her favorite flower was Jasmine - Pikake.
In contemporary Hawaii it is highly prized and one of the more expensive lei, given on special occasions.

I got 6 leis sent here from hawaii for the kahiki closing. I put them in my walk in cooler untill we went to the party. I remember when I opened the door to get the leis, wow! what a smell. The whole place smelled great! Nothing beats the real thing.

"The Three Livers of Helen Keller" - awesome - Thanks!

That's very interesting. I'm going to close my eyes --as a blind person and ponder that (and sniff flowers) for a while---opening my eyes every now and then to re-read the post to remember what I'm pondering. You think I'm joking, I bet!