Tuesday, September 25, 2012

drosophila melanogaster versus Sequoiadendron giganteum

Well, I learned something recently that is probably important to share with all you “huddled masses yearning to breathe free” – staying up drinking all of Sunday night doesn’t prevent Monday from coming. It only makes you wish it didn’t come, and gee, I can wish that any Monday morning without a hangover to go with it. The only good thing about doing something so stupid is that by the time Tuesday rolls around, Monday is pretty much a complete blur.

Monday really is the most hopeless day of the week. If I were a fruit fly and lived my entire lifespan in 24 hours, the days of the week probably wouldn’t matter much to me. I wonder if fruit flies even know their lives are shorter than other living things around them?

What if I were a sequoia tree and lived to be 2,000 years old? It must be a scary situation to be rooted in one spot for so long. A tree has zero control of its life; death is its only escape, and it probably can't really kill itself...or maybe it can somehow.  It’s unappealing to think about being a tree now, but when I was a young girl I wanted with all my heart to be a tree. It never happened though, obviously – here I am typing a weird post for my blog. Wishes like that just don’t come true no matter how much you want them to.



Playing in the woods among all those beautiful, tall trees was one of my favorite ways to pass time as a kid.  I oftentimes pretended to be an Indian, which of course justified the need to build small fires for survival. Maybe what I liked most about the woods was that the trees and brush provided plenty of cover for me and my contraband, but also hiding in the woods was just good fun.  When one or both of my brothers came looking for me, I liked to see how close I could get to them without being found.  I stalked them while they hunted for me.  It was much easier to hide from one than two boys, and my little brother was much better at finding me.  He still has eyes like an eagle.   


big brother and me playing in the creek bottom


2 comments:

linda said...

Monday is always very disappointing. It means I have four more work days ahead. No matter how much I like work, I like to not work more. However, there is this thing called money that requires I just suck it up and go to work.

The forest in the US is very different to here. The trees are such different species. I noticed the same in the UK. I think it is because they lose their leaves. Native trees here don't so you have a different feel.

The photo of you and your brother is so timeless. Being able to play somewhere like that when young is fantastic. We lived mostly in the suburbs so usually just a park to run around in.

I love trees. I loved climbing trees. Sitting under them. They ask nothing but give so much.

KYLady said...

Linda - I didn’t know the trees were so different in Australia, but perhaps it should be so because the animals are quite different too. I know you love trees – I remember when you got that nice tattoo!