The world that spins, and the things that happen within all that spinning, are quite impressive on any given day.
The animal kingdom, for one.
They have a voice—all of them. The blue whale, for instance, can produce sounds up to 188 decibels. And wouldn’t you know? This is the loudest sound produce by any living animal. Their chatting can be heard as far away as 530 miles.
Although, some animals seem silent.
We humans have more plastic flamingos in the world than real ones today. There are just under two million flamingos in the wild. But, those tacky plastic cousins, produced on a mass scale since 1957? They number well into the millions and millions. But here is the thing. Real flamingos die. Plastic ones do not.
Pink.
I’m thinking of Wilbur the Pig, now, in Charlotte’s Web, and how he used to look up and see those terrific, radiant, humble words she used to write above him. I just learned that it is physically impossible for a pig to look straight up into the sky. It was very fortunate that Charolette placed her web above, at an acceptable trajectory. This is one of the commonly overlooked facts about the book.
Speaking of stories. Years ago, I’d read the book Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. I just learned yesterday, or reminded, that the author’s name is Fanny Flagg. I had to look her up because I was struck by the quirkiness of her name. I figured that couldn’t be anyone’s real name. As it turns out, she was born Patricia Neal, from Birmingham, Alabama. They showed a photo of her on Wikipedia, and I recognized her immediately. I remembered her from being on game shows in the 1970s, like Hollywood Squares and The $10,000 Pyramid. I’ll take Authors for $200, Alex.
Since we are talking about humans, for the moment. There was a point in history when four distinct human species lived at the same time here on Earth. It happened about three million years ago—human species with very long names.
Funny. Today, I would say there are two very different human species roaming the Earth. We know who they are.
And. A whale’s penis is called a dork. I had to say that here.
Here’s something else. A “buttload” is an actual measurement of weight. I just thought you should know. It’s 126 gallons. I thought you should know that too. In case you’re planning on getting a buttload of anything.
Before this gets out of hand, I should probably stop.
Just remember. There are more historic artifacts under the sea than there are in museums. All of this, you see, runs deep.
=========
Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.
— Dalai Lama
==========
Growth is the only evidence of life.
— John Henry Newman
=========
Life is a succession of moments, to live each one is to succeed.
— Corita Kent
=========
Buttloads. And loud whales. And dorks.
