I will be 75 this coming November and find myself mentally
navigating the ocean of my years and seeing the good, the bad and the ugly: the
squalls and the doldrums and wondering at the path I have taken. My mother told
me when I was just a very young boy that I probably would be happiest if I
found a cave somewhere high in the mountains and spent my life in meditation. I
wasn’t anti social - just looking for something of real meaning. I have come to
discover, albeit a little late in the game that I could have paid better heed
to her and to others like Kahlil Gibran when sailing through life’s
unpredictable ocean.
How very true this simple message has been for me during the
past few years. But then I am a great believer in trying to be “up beat” so I
often ask myself........
So I look to people like one of my top three icons who have
provided so much in the examples they have given me.
Jane Goodall has been an inspiration to me from the time I
read her first book and discovered a person who had found real meaning in her
life and continues to literally bring peace and love into this troubled world.
This is a picture of a little bridge I built years ago on
the path to my rocky stairs down to the beach. I can’t use it (both bridge and
rocks) anymore due to the effects of the stroke so use my neighbor’s stairway
to the beach. “it is what it is”, right?
This is the Mayan glyph Etznab denoting the concept of
“finding Peace” (among other things). Something we could all use, eh.
Talk about finding your bliss. Check out these photos by a
couple who are devoting and risking their lives - literally and figuratively to
recording the beauty of the sea and its creatures. They do all this as “free
divers” (no SCUBA). The quality of these photographs does justice to our
friends in the sea.
https://medium.com/vantage/this-amazing-couple-take-the-best-underwater-photography-we-ve-ever-seen-and-they-do-it-all-614bb73bd86d#.owsvhyl47
And how about this surprise to another photographer! I think
you will be surprised too.
I have seen a total of 4 humpbacks go by this June. That is
not unique but it is kinda late in the season so quite rare. One I was able to
get fairly close to but the others were too far out and I was not in my kayak.
Such a joy to see them even though I know they won’t start coming back till
November. I chose the pic below (from a different time entirely) because I
imagined it as a good-bye wave.
Before leaving the whales I suggest you read the article in
The New York Times, “A Conversation with Whales”, opinion section, Sunday,
April 17th, 2016. Delighted to see that other researchers are
extending the boundaries of their interpretation of whale sounds: something I
mention in my book and that supports the idea of a vast communication existing
between whales....that could include us!
As I have said before, if it were not for whales I would
certainly have chosen wolves to work with. Aren’t they beautiful.....and so
intelligent.
Well, I did it! Took me 5 years but I completed my reading
of Will and Ariel Durant’s magnificent epic, “The Story of Civilization”. There
are 10 volumes, each around 700-800 words. I say this not as a boast but as a
thank you for their absolutely wonderful success in providing an articulate,
intelligent, humorous and astute run down of history. I can just imagine what
it would have been like to have it as a textbook. It has been my boon companion
in the evenings for these past 5 years: never have I enjoyed the written word
more.
And never have I been more convinced of the truth of
Voltaire’s
Statement (included in the volume titled: The Age of Reason:
The Age of Voltaire) as I read the series and began to see the consistent folly
in man’s pursuit of power and glory.
Voltaire
Then I receive an image from my daughter Kersti in respect
for my pursuit of knowledge and all the negative get’s blown away.
A few choice astronomy related articles:
It's long been thought that a
giant asteroid, which broke up long ago in the main asteroid belt between Mars
and Jupiter, eventually made its way to Earth and led to the extinction of the
dinosaurs.
New
studies say that the dinosaurs may have been facing extinction before the
asteroid strike, and that mammals were already on the rise. Image credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech
In the end, it won’t really matter. We just want someone to get there. And we want an established presence. A colony. Our survival may depend on it.
“Elon Musk”
Planet 9, an "exoplanet"?
I will end with a few thank you’s to some people who have
gone way beyond “the call of duty” to help me out so that the work I do with
“The Whale People” can in fact continue. It’s been a lot about health these
past few years so....Thank You: Kersti and Bill for your kindness, hospitality
and care at my hardest time - To my son Zack, always honoring my work, caring for me when the need be and joining me in my work here for an amazing three month father - son experience, Tanya, Macy, Jackie for your advice on food and
supplements - Susan Janssen for so many things but one I definitely needed to
hear “take risks” - Carla and JC for your unconditional friendship - Leslie and
Alex for the many kindnesses and generosity over the years - Nancy/John,
Bonnie/Nole, Frank/Diana, Juanito for your “courier service” from The States –
Robin for teaching me the “breath wave” technique – Charlie/Lisa for your
encouragement and understanding – Alan/Marilyn for their constant and
unwavering support, Pam, Christina, Christine – Isa....well, you know. To Drs.
Toledo and Alexander, Char, Edgar
And all of you that have kindly and generously donated to my
work.
And to my neighbors: Rubin, Luis 1 & 2, Jose, Alfonzo,
Felipe, Alexis, Samuel, Cesar, Juan Rubin, Vicente, Ishmael, Roberto, Herminia,
Diana, Luce, Jose Luis, Santiago, Javier, Ezekial, Valentina and to those whose
names I have forgotten.
To you all I owe your willingness to accept me for what I am
– thank you!
