[D-G] Holbrooke / Glastonbury Thorn

[charles hubaker]

Theodore had already read Logic of Sense, and pondered the Alzheimer's symptom 
of fear of cuckolding. There were other distractions, such as diplomats to 
Afghanstan croaking soon after having visited the Secretary of State's office. 
While knowing full well there would not be enough time to save up for a ticket 
by recycling aluminum cans, T. fashioned a time-machine from various items found 
in the dumpster. Plugging in the date, 1903, astonishingly, it worked like 
magic.

Approaching 5, Rue Chauveau-Lagarde, 8-10, Rue de l'Arcade, Paris, he saw the 
sign in the window: 'Pharmacie de la Madeleine, G. Delattre.' Another sign 
caught his attention once inside the apothecary: 'Crataegus Bocquillon Limousin 
Prix: 4 francs 50.' T. with his crude Berlitz translation, cautiously asked G. 
Dellatre, 'Hello, can you tell me more about Crataegus? 'Oui, il est indique 
dans les troubles fonctionnels du coeur et dans les maladies organiques de cet 
organe (Dr. Hucahrd, Journal des Praticiens, 3 janvier 1903)....Le Crataegus, en 
dehors de son action sedativ, ralentit, renforce et regularise les mouvements du 
coeur, et diminue la tension arterielle. Il est indique dans le troubles de la 
Menopuase, les Palpitations, et les Nevroses, qu'accompagnent toujours 
l'insomnie et l'irritabilite.' Theodore thanked the proprietor and swiflty ran 
from the room, the proprietor expressing a look of incredulity after the 
stranger with the strange accent.

Arriving back in the U.S. he saked the first passerby on the sidewalk: 

T: Aren't chytrid fungi attracted to Crataegus berries? 

S: Yes, of course, so what?

T: Aren't Batrachochytrium, the fungi distroying the world's amphibians, chytrid 
fungi?

S: Yeah, so what do you wahnt me to do about it?

Theodore walked slowly away, thinking to himself: 'pro- and anthocyanidins from 
Crataegus berries are very similar to (+)-cyanidanol-3, which attaches to 
collagen. Holy shit! Collagen literally holds the aortic wall together!'