Inner life of plants

I’m trying for a tropical-look inside my study ..that means a lot of pine wood and green leaves. There’s a kinte palm next to my desk that I’m particularly fond of ..it’s doing so well that when people come by ..they ask me if it’s real. I hauled it outside yesterday to drench-water and feed it some palm food. This evening I was admiring it again ..when I discovered little round white dots on the leaves. OMG ..what are those? I don’t think I can just leave them there ~ flash ~ out of nowhere the word ‘aphid’ comes to mind ~ flash ~ I’m listening to someone, back in 1983, tell me that kinte palms are prone to something-or-other that sucks the life out of them ..dilute dish soap in water ..spray each leaf ..then wipe it off with a soft cloth. OK, I tell myself ..don't panic ..I have no idea what aphids are ..I don’t know if these are what he was talking about ..I’m not even sure if this conversation took place ..or whether he ever existed ..but I follow his instructions implicitly ..I put a trace amount of dish soap in a sprayer full of water ..spray it on my hand until all the suds are gone ..then spray each leaf ..and wipe them down ..still not knowing if this is going to work ..or if I was only making matters worse. Later on my sister ..my gardener ..and the panhandler down the street ..tell me that those were indeed aphids and I did exactly the right thing. It’ll be a couple of days before I know whether or not I succeeded ..but I thank whoever is in my head for telling me what to do.