We tried a short motor trip up to North Carolina to see how it would affect our bodies.  The shorter the trip, it seems, the better.  Long days in the car played havoc on my nerves and Carol’s ankles swelled and hurt. We enjoyed the parts when the stories on tape engrossed our attention. It was plain that such trips are now beyond our capabilities – unless we travel 300 or so miles per day and check into a motel to crash into bed.

But, what was also plain is the scenery that we remembered is now eerie and changed. The scary thing is the kudzu plant that seems to be intent on taking over the planet by first overcoming the trees and shrubs lining the highways. It also fills meadows and hillsides.

It is my understanding that goats enjoy eating kudzu.  If they were employed in this occupation early in the game I think we would have large herds of goats and less kudzu. As it stands, the kudzu seems to be winning and provides a frightening spectacle of this aggressive and hungry plant lining the highways from North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.  The tropical flora of these states is pretty, colorful and diverse.  What has happened to it is that it has become the host of Kudzu and now flaunts a single kind of leaf strangling the plants underneath.

There is a ghost forest underneath Kudzu.  Like a parasite it climbs fantastic heights and covers up the trees and undergrowth. It competes with the original inhabitants of hard and softwoods and obliterates the flower producing bushes and shrubs. The beautiful and interesting show of life at the side of the road has become a monotone of Kudzu. The shapes of the plant life under its new cover are made the host of the relentless newcomer and weighs down the formerly strong trees so that they bend in submission while the Kudzu seems to reach out for more.  There is a ghost forest underneath Kudzu.

Would those of my readers who continue to take motor trips keep us up-to-date on the progress of this monster at the highway’s edge?