Anyone who has ever enjoyed a cold tropical drink has, at one time, found themselves playing with the colorful plastic swords that hold a sweet cherry so perfectly against a wedge of rum soaked pineapple. As a child, my sister and I would beg Mom and Dad to surrender these little gems so that we could duel with them endlessly and pierce chunks of fruit from our own tropical punch.

In this gecko art, there's no better weapon of choice for a tiny Hawaiian gecko to fight for the hand of a fair maiden. On some recently vacant umbrella table on a cool tropical lanai sits an emptied tiki mug. It’s the perfect setting to settle this tiny affair. The shy maiden reclines upon the lava rock wall with her paper parasol awaiting the outcome. She grins delightfully at such a tussle over just “wee little her!”

The mug’s umbrella becomes tattered and torn as one gecko slashes away and shows off his fancy, sticky footwork on the rim. He dodges the attacks from below where the challenger lunges and swings with increasing vigor. Finally, we see a spectator all too familiar to a tropical setting. He revels in this entire spectacle and rallies the event like some seedy fight promoter in Vegas. The Madagascar cockroach just loves to cause a little trouble and fully delights in encouraging this entire little drama.

So, next time you leave a few of those ”itty bitty” plastic swords on your table poking out of a cold chunk of pineapple, take a look back over your shoulder. You just may be lucky enough to witness, first hand, a grand gecko event on a tiny tabletop arena!