Dedi Cusak, the No. 1 enemy of all geckos

Dedi Cusak, the No. 1 enemy of all geckos

PONTIANAK, West Kalimantan (JP): Dedi Cusak demonstrates his
gecko-swallowing skills.

Dedi is definitely the No. 1 enemy of all geckos and their
kindred.

The heavily tattooed bachelor who hails from Menpawah,
Pontianak regency, eats the lizards alive as a "hobby". He claims
he consumes about 25 geckos a day.

"I always endeavor to catch a gecko and eat it whenever and
wherever I see one," says Dedi who has been enjoying his strange
hobby for the past 12 years.

At the beginning, he only ate lizards to heal his eczema. He
had tried a thousand different remedies to no avail until a
shaman recommended he try eating garden lizards.

But catching garden lizards proved to be somewhat more
difficult than expected so he turned in desperation to their
domestic brethren geckos, being convinced that the two possessed
very similar physical characteristics.

"My eczema was completely cured after I ate several geckos and
I have never experienced a relapse since," he cried excitedly.

He recalled that he was a little disgusted the first time he
swallowed a gecko given the fact that it had a tendency to jump
around and cavort violently in his throat.

"But, I got used to it. In fact, they're quite tasty,
especially if you roast them... they taste like young corn," he
enthused.

News about Dedi's rather unsettling gastronomic hobby has
spread far and wide. Curious epicures have come from all corners
of the land beseeching him to demonstrate his live lizard-eating
skills.

"At first, I was a little bashful doing it in public but the
money they gave me soon put paid to my shyness," he explained
confidently.

He claims that eating lizards makes his skin healthy and
beautiful, gives him a fair complexion and helps wounds to heal
quickly.

-- Gin Kurniawan and Dian Sastra