An Explosive Beginning

The stone steps leading to my abode always bear the tell tale signs of some explosive activities. Definitely not of nefarious nature, but simply the cacophonous ripening of rubber-seed pods. The pods crackle and expel 3-4 rubber seeds unceremoniously on to the terrain.

The rubber tree, Hevea brasiliensis first originate from Brazil and thanks to one Sir Henry Wickham who managed to ship loads of it out to Kew Gardens in London where it eventually found its way to Malaysia. At one time rubber (1950-90s, I think) was the mainstay of the Malaysian economy and a leading agricultural export.

Now, it has become so much of an urban oddity and novelty that they have been purposefully planned into some new housing developments. There are a handful of trees scattered right at my doorsteps. Perhaps one of these days, just for the sheer fun of it, I shall tap the bark for its milky latex.

“Opportunities, many times, are so small that we glimpse them not and yet they are often the seeds of great enterprises"
- Og Mandino