Last night I had a strange dream: I was the next-door-neighbour of the BB house, and I had an inexplicably large collection of Bromeliads, including an inexplicably large one (tall as Josh) with a magnificent yellow and red flower, and I was trying to get them to look after them for me while I was away.
They had agreed to it readily enough, but I had a long and detailed list of things that had to be done in a certain way (the plants had to be watered by buckets, and each had to get a certain number of litres of water a day, and there were things concerning sun and possible frost protection, and the really big plant had to be taken from the pot and planted, in a particular way, and I had to give a detailed and minute step-by-step account of, even though I had to leave pretty much straight away.)
Most of the housemates had lost all interest and wandered off before I reached the instructions for mulching and fertilising the de-potted plant, but Michael, Brad, Ray and Ben remained. They all had a look of polite, feigned interest (except for Brad, who looked increasingly sulky and bored) while I gave them these boring, hurried instructions that were essential for the health of my many plants.
I woke up thinking "Why is Ben the only one I trust to look after my plants? Why is my subconscious telling me I can trust Ben?"
I have no good reason think of him as a trusty and reliable plant waterer, and no better reason to suddenly turn into a Ben fan, but I do think he is practical, has integrity, intelligence, is a good listener, good observer, and in real life, a good person. It has been obvious for a long time that the house would be boring, inane and a meaner place than it is, if Ben was not in it. And as of this morning, he is my favourite housemate.
edit: Watching the repeat of yesterdays show - just noticed how many fabulous Bromeliads they have in the house garden. Great job, landscaping crew. Think I became a Bromeliad fancier today too.