Yes, they're still alive. And no, by FICA, I don't mean the tax. Originally brought in to Eric and Dane's room to spruce some things up, and once coveted by our infamous dorm mother, Atilla the Hun, the plants are still growing strong 6 moves and more than a decade later.

After freshman year, they ended up with Karen Winters, who kept them alive, but barely. Then, they prospered in King Henry Apt. 4 for three years, until I took them to my sister's apartment for a few months while I was homeless (I apparently inherited them because of I was the last one to leave Apt. 4). Then I took them with me to my apartment at Pinnacle Canyon View. Then they went with me to the house in south Provo. And now they're in my townhouse in Orem.

Let me tell you, moving them is no easy task. When I moved them to my sister's house, I tried moving them with a car, leaves hanging out everywhere. It almost killed Felspar. When going to Pinnacle, I tried doing it in the back of a pickup truck. Man, that wind gets strong. We had to keep one person back there just to hold them up. Then, on this last move, I had to go with a moving van. Had to keep two people back there to keep them from falling over, especially Felspar.

Shortly before I moved to Pinnacle, I had to put a broom stick in Felspar's pot and tie its main branches to the broomstick to hold it up--Felspar just grew a little too big. Felspar's pot, I might add, has become the resting spot for Evil Bob, one of the Doorbob family. He's been in there for a couple of years now.

FICA had a few problems with bugs, but this was more detrimental to my carpet than to FICA itself. He's not doing so well at my new place, having lost a lot of the leaves he put on during the Pinnacle Canyon stay, but it's more like he's shedding some excess weight than dying.

During the Apt. 4 stay, they also gained a little mini-companion: Weed, as I now call him. And he has a trademark sparkplug in his pot. During the Pinnacle stay I added a few more plants, so it's starting to be a big happy family.