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Life is for Learning
Someone said to me recently, “Life is for learning.” Very true, my friend. The common thread that flows through every life experience is the opportunity to increase your knowledge, should you choose to accept it. The ability to absorb information– what a gift! Even if it’s just your basic, “Maybe I should never stick my…
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Spirituality vs. Science
Sometimes I think I’m the only person on the planet who thinks that science and spirituality do not have to be mutually exclusive. For example, why do so many people think that if you believe in the theory of evolution, you cannot also believe in a higher power? I happen to think evolution is brilliant.…
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Laika, First Creature to Orbit the Earth
When I was a little girl I learned about Laika, the dog the Russians put into space on this date in 1957, seven years before I was born. All I really heard about her was that she died up there, and I imagined her little doggy skeleton, still in the spaceship, going round and round…
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Pet Peeves
I’m feeling cranky today because it’s my last day of vacation. I’m in the mood to gripe about stuff, so here goes nothing. It drives me absolutely nuts when someone who does not know me calls me honey or sweetie or darlin’. It sounds so condescending to me. It says, “I can’t be bothered to…
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The Amazing Coelacanth—Talk about a Fish Story!
Of all the unique creatures on this fantastic planet of ours, my absolute favorite is the Coelacanth (pronounced see-la-kanth). I love a good backstory, and this is a fish that most definitely has one. Back in 1938, Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer was asked to come down to the docks to check out a strange fish that a…
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Climate Change: Points to Ponder
I think the worst thing that could have happened to those of us who hope to educate others about the dangers of climate change is one word. Warming. If it weren’t for the term “Global Warming”, people would be more able to focus on the facts rather than the terminology. Climate change deniers cling to…
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Ignorance
It’s what causes women in backward villages to be stoned to death. It justifies the withholding of the truth. It encourages people to demonize scientific proof. It suggests that if children are not taught sex education, there will be no teen pregnancies. It allows us all to focus on one group and make them the…
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Calling on Greenland
Okay, indulge me. I’m one of those people who firmly believes in the whole concept of six degrees of separation, so I have an assignment for you: someone out there must know someone who knows someone from Greenland, and I want them to check out my blog. You see, whenever someone from another country visits,…
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The Pope and Higgs Boson: Too Much God to Digest all at Once?
So, we have a new Pope. That’s a load off. Not that I’m Catholic, mind you, but I think it’s never a good thing to have a vacancy for the position of God’s representative on earth, do you? He’s from Argentina, he’s chosen the name Francis, and he’s a Jesuit. All of these things are…
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Ocearch—Great White Shark Research
The other day I had a front row seat for what felt like a public television nature special. I got to see the research vessel Ocearch dock beside my drawbridge. They have been here in Jacksonville, Florida, tagging great white sharks off our coast. My picture of the vessel as seen from the bridge. …