Before reading my encounter narrative, please read Mary's first: https://lauofo3.weebly.com/encounter-narrative.html
and Drew's second: https://drew-eco-narratives.weebly.com/encounter-narrative
Please copy and paste all student website links mentioned on this page in the search bar, they don't the enter desired pages when clicked.
Southern Town Relies Entirely on Invasive Vine
March 12, 2040, 8:56 PM EST, Channel 1000 News
By Jared Compaleo
Bezona, Norman. "It's Back - The Vine That Ate Kona". 2015
KUDZU CITY, ALABAMA - It is the year 2040 and kudzu is all the rage. Kudzu (Pueraria montana), is a semi-woody, climbing, perennial vine native to China, Japan, and the Indian subcontinent. Kudzu was first introduced to North America in 1876 in the Japanese pavilion at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, and has wreaked havoc on eastern and southeastern farms ever since. The invasive vine is well known for crowding, outcompeting, and physically crushing any native plant species that it comes into contact with. Kudzu thrives in areas with both high and low amounts of nitrogen present in soil, because it has the ability to fix nitrogen in its roots. What's even more frightening about kudzu is that it has fire resistance, because its root crown is located underground. In fact, kudzu is so devastating that it is known as “the vine that ate the South". I traveled to the newly named town of Kudzu City, Alabama, because I heard a scoop about a group of individuals that rely entirely on the vine for sustenance.
Kudzu City has become the forefront of the so-called “Kudzu Movement”. The residents of Kudzu City, or kudzonians as they prefer to be called, use kudzu for just about everything in their daily lives. The kudzonians have a daily diet that consists of kudzu, kudzu, and more kudzu. That’s right, the kudzonians eat nothing but the invasive vine. Though, a strict diet of kudzu is quite tame when compared to all of the other uses that kudzonians have found for their prized liana. In addition to eating the despised vine, kudzonians claim to have constructed their town entirely out of kudzu. When taking a stroll through Kudzu City, it looks like some sort of sophisticated jungle, with vine homes and vine city buildings as far as the eye can see. To an outsider, this may seem like something out of a bad science fiction movie, but to kudzonians, this is the escape from society that they have been waiting for.
After searching and vine cutting throughout the city, no seriously, I had to cut through vines just to get around, I caught up with the mayor of Kudzu City. The mayor, fittingly named Kalvin Kudzu, sees the invasion of Kudzu as a “blessing rather than a curse”. The more I discussed the vine with mayor Kudzu, the more cult-like he felt to me.
Shown below is a transcript from a Q&A I conducted with the mayor of Kudzu City, Kalvin Kudzu.
Q: So Mayor Kudzu, every citizen in your town relies on a strict diet of the kudzu vine, correct?
A: That’s right. WE ARE KUDZU!
Q: Is it at all concerning to you or other kudzonians that the kudzu vine isn’t exactly edible?
A: Oh but it is edible, we simply boil the leaves, roots, flowers, and vine tips of the delicacy, and dig in! WE ARE KUDZU!
Q: Umm… so is it true that all of the buildings in this town have been constructed entirely out of Kudzu?
A: WE ARE KUDZU!
Q: Okay… but how is construction with a flimsy vine possible? Kudzu isn’t exactly a sturdy material like wood after all.
A: Our homes were once made out of those wretched earthly materials like wood and bricks, but they are now covered entirely in the heavenly kudzu. WE ARE KUDZU!
Q: So they aren’t necessarily made out of kudzu then, they are just normal brick and mortar homes that have been covered by kudzu?
A: To an outsider yes, but to a kudzonian, we see it as a blessing from our god King Kudzu. WE ARE KUDZU!
Q: So just to clear things up, a vine has not only covered your homes, but every source of human civilization in the area, and you see it as a blessing from “King Kudzu”? Aren’t you at all concerned that your city buildings and homes will eventually collapse onto you due to the kudzu weakening the structures?
A: Not at all, when King Kudzu decides it’s our time, it’ll be our time. Kudzonians cannot be concerned with human issues. WE ARE KUDZU!
Q: Final question. At the rate that this vine grows, the entire town will eventually be covered in kudzu to a point where there will be no further remnants of homes or other areas to take refuge. Are you making any attempt at all to combat the growth of kudzu?
A: Not at all. In fact, I have my best scientists attempting to mutate the kudzu genome in order to increase its maximum size and growth rate. We are expecting the mutation process to be completed on June 6th, 2040 at 6:00 AM sharp. You are welcome to stop by again and see our babies at full strength. WE ARE KUDZU! KUDZU FOREVER!
The longer I was in Kudzu City, the more uneasy I felt. I find it very concerning there are people out there who actually rely on a vine for food and shelter. However, I must remain as open as possible to the kudzonians and respect their beliefs. I will return to Kudzu City on June 6th to witness the “mutation”. Reporting for Channel 1000 News, I’m Jared Compaleo. Thanks for reading.
Mutated Vine Overtakes Town
June 6, 2040, 7:12 PM EST, Channel 1000 News
By Jared Compaleo
Penn State University "Overgrowth". 2013
KUDZU CITY, ALABAMA - In the previous article, I made my way down to the peculiar town of Kudzu City, Alabama. The town residents (kudzonians), are a group of individuals who rely entirely on kudzu. Specifically, kudzonians follow a strict kudzu diet and use homes that have been covered by kudzu vines for shelter. I had a Q&A with Kudzu City Mayor Kalvin Kudzu, who had informed me of a “mutation” his people were working on in order to increase the size and replication speed of the kudzu vine. Now, I have returned to Kudzu City in order to witness the effects of said “mutation”.
Due to a flight delay, I was unable to make it in time in order to witness the “mutation”, but when I did touch down in Kudzu City for the second time, I was greeted by absolute silence. The once bustling town with vine lovers in their vine buildings was now completely desolate. No longer could I make out a "vine home" from a sea of kudzu. Kudzu City looked almost as if it was a natural kudzu jungle in China. I continued to search what was left of the town for any stray kudzonians, but my expedition proved fruitless. Suddenly, I heard a loud rustling in the kudzu that sounded as if it was headed in my direction. The rustling got closer, so I frantically searched for an opening out the vines. Then it hit me, the “mutation” must have gone horribly wrong.
Our State. "Kudzu Takes Root in Southern Culture". 2013.
I ran 2 miles to the nearest sight of civilization, a small family farm. Upon arrival, I was greeted by three older southern men, each with shotguns at the hip. “Did you bring those monsters?” one asked, as all three pointed their shotguns in my direction. “Monsters?” I replied, as I raised the palms of my hands to show I meant no harm. “Those giant, alien vines that grab people by their britches and eat them” another one of the men explained. “I’m a reporter from out of town. I was following up on a news story about the kudzonians and their kudzu mutation. I had no idea what happened to them, but the pieces are starting to fit now” I pleaded. “What in the hell is a kudzonian? And what in tarnation is a mutation?” The third man questioned as he pumped his shotgun. “The kudzonians are people who worship the invasive vine kudzu. They eat the vine and use it as shelter, and their mayor wanted to mutate/change the vine, so that it would grow much bigger and replicate faster than ever before” I sharply explained. “That vine has been terrorizing our crops for years. Why in the world would somebody want it to grow bigger and faster?” The first man questioned, as all three kept their shotguns drawn on me. “They worship the vine, so they wanted it to expand its range. Now will you please stop pointing your guns at me?” I begged. Before the old men could answer, we heard a loud rumble, and saw a huge pile of vines stampeding towards us.
“MOVE!!!” The three men yelled at me. In an instant, they unleashed an onslaught of shotgun shells onto the kudzu, but it had no effect on the vine. The kudzu ricocheted the shells back into the direction of two of the three men, killing them instantly. The only old man left alive stood as still as a statue. “WE HAVE TO KEEP MOVING!!!” I yelled. “No, I can’t leave like this. They’re my only family left and this farm is all we have, I must die with them” He tearfully explained. “Take these keys, they’re for that pickup truck in the shed. Get out while you still can” The old man explained. I snatched the keys out of his hands, ran to the shed, started the truck, and made my way out of the farm. As I drove out, I saw the old man walk into the kudzu. I couldn’t bear to see him be devoured, so I looked away. Finally, I mustered up the courage to turn my head back again, but he was gone.
As I drove to the nearest city, the old man's pickup broke down unexpectedly. Upon arrival, I was greeted by utter chaos. Men, women, and children of all ages were being devoured by the kudzu, and I could do nothing about it. Out of nowhere, a farmer led a trip of goats directly into the kudzu. The human in me couldn’t bear to watch their fate, but my inner news reporter had to know what happened. Amazingly, the goats ate the kudzu and drove a significant portion of it back into Kudzu City.
After the goats' feast, I caught up to the mysterious farmer and asked him how he knew that goats were the kryptonite to kudzu. He explained that he deals with kudzu on his farm all the time, and the best way to combat it is to have goats eat the vines. Before I could explain to him that this was no ordinary kudzu, we heard a loud rumble, and the kudzu charged forward in our direction once more. “RUN! MY GOATS AND I WILL HOLD IT OFF!” He yelled. His goats were visibly sluggish due to having just chowed down on a significant amount of kudzu, but they managed to hold off the swarm again. In the midst of the melee, I ran to a nearby hotel that had wifi to ensure that this story could be documented. With no clear end in sight, I locked myself into a room to publish the article that you are reading right now.
While goats seem to be highly effective at combating kudzu, they can only eat so much at once and hold it off for so long. We are far too early in this “outbreak” to know of a true “cure”. I have very little chance of making it out of this, so I want my family to know that I love them, and that I put my life on the line for my passion, reporting. If there are no further updates to this article, I didn’t make it out. Reporting for Channel 1000 News, I’m Jared Compaleo. Thanks for reading and stay safe out there.
Please move on to Hannah's Narrative: https://hahetzel18.wixsite.com/hpeconarratives/encounter-narrative
Works Cited
New York Invasive Species (IS) Information. (2019, July 2). Retrieved December 08, 2020, from http://nyis.info/invasive_species/kudzu/
Gibson, L., Kelly, S., Kane, K., Markovich, J., & Wells, L. (2018, March 23). Kudzu Takes Root in Southern Culture. Retrieved December 11, 2020, from https://www.ourstate.com/kudzu/
Bezona, N., & *, N. (2015). It's Back - The Vine That Ate Kona. Retrieved December 11, 2020, from https://tropiscape.com/tropical-topics/its-back-the-vine-that-ate-kona/?v=9c587eccb9ce
Science in Our World. (2013, October 25). Retrieved December 11, 2020, from https://sites.psu.edu/siowfa13/2013/10/25/overgrowth/
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