GinohnNews
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9 MARCH 2006 |
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J: We (Gina, Joey, Renata, I, and three
doggies-- Trixie, Sandi, and Gadget) found one of the bald eagles'
nests near our house this weekend. It's down near the wetlands of
Beaver Dam creek, way up high in an old tulip poplar, and it's huge. We found sticks that had
fallen from the nest ringing the tree, and some of them measured over
an inch in diameter and six feet long. We also found lots of bird poo.
On that same hike, after meandering our way down a dirt road, through
the woods, and along the crenilations of the wetlands' edge, we came
upon a village of great herons. They and their nests (also very big and
high up in trees) stood across the river from where we were. The herons
flew into the air when they saw us coming, and stayed up high in the
trees, sometimes flying a little closer to check us out. We sat on a
log that had a dry grass padding on it, and ate a little snack. Then we
walked back home. Coming back through the farm fields I must have
thrown a stick for Sandy more than twenty times-- she never gave up. It
was a beautiful day and a long, pleasant, exhausting hike.
On Sunday, while Gina went to an Oscar party, Stacy and I went to a
large pub in an Arlington mall to see a charity concert for animal
shelters, put on by a cadre of she-bands (Dagmar and the Seductones, Wicked Jezebel, and Carol Gaylor). It lasted from
4:00 till 10:00 pm, and had a nice lineup and great voices. (I thought
it strange, though, that free chicken wings were served at a concert
benefitting animals. I ate a salad and french fries, with a pint of
ale.)
Coincidentally enough, Chris Welsh was performing in a standup comedy
club at the same mall that night, so I took a break from the concert to
see his bit, along with some other comedians. Jenny was there too, and
we both had fun listening and laughing as Chris delivered his
monologue. Then we provided feedback afterward.
His material consists of medium-length quirky investigations peppered
with unexpected tangents and one-liners. One of his lines went
something like, "I'm sure you all have wondered, as I have: The
Byzantine Empire. Was it really all that complicated?"
Which reminds me. When I suggested to my brother Karl that he try
standup comedy (he is very funny), he replied: "Nah, I couldn't do
that; it's a tough job... you have to stand up a lot."
My brother Frank has left once again for Iraq. We wish him well, and a
safe return.
Frank and I have similar theories about dinosaur extinction.
He thinks that a change in the earth's
magnetic field lines disrupted dinosaur migrations, and they ended
up accidentally walking off cliffs or wandering into cold polar regions.
I think that when dinosaurs
evolved feathers they suddenly thought (with their puny
proto-birdbrains) that they could fly. Then there was a huge flight fad
for several years that resulted in millions of tragic failures.
Note that both of our theories involve cliffs. It's just that while
Frank's dinosaurs are accidentally falling off of cliffs, mine are
jumping with purpose.
For instance, in Frank's theory, a dinosaur, say, T-rex, might lose his
sense of direction and stumble off a cliff. Unable to correct his error
by grabbing some rock or tree with his tiny forelegs, he falls to his
death, crashing into a pile of similarly directionally-challenged
dinosaurs below.
In contrast _my_ Tyrannosaur has developed feathers. After taking a
massive running leap off the cliff, he flaps his little arms for about
five seconds or more, giving him little advantage at all against the
unrelenting acceleration of gravity, before slamming into the pile of
dead comrades. He doesn't feel a thing.
Meanwhile, an opossum, observing the devastating results of both
theories from a safe distance, shakes his head in sad disbelief at the
carnage, and continues rolling his fresh dinosaur egg home to share
with his family for dinner.
