Squirrels are the bane of those who love to feed the birds. If you aren’t careful about the type of feeder you purchase you could be hanging a “Free Eats” sign that every squirrel in the neighborhood will see. My feeders are a mixture of squirrel-proof and non-squirrel-proof so its no wonder that these varmints are hanging out at Alice’s. When things get too bad I take down the easy-access models and the squirrels eventually stop coming.
But here in Western North Carolina things are different. If you are over-run with squirrels here you simply get your 22 rifle and start ridding the world of squirrels one-by-one. That’s what my neighbor has been doing and the neighborhood has six fewer squirrels as a result. Maybe that’s why this fellow has his back to the post.
A part of me — the urban part — is a little squeamish about this practice. But no one is making me take up a rifle and shoot them. And I have to admit that the squirrel traffic has been considerably lighter at my feeders. ❧
There is a theoretical physics concept called string theory. I do not begin to understand it scientifically but in a spiritual sense it does resonate with me. Part of the lexicon of this theory is “fabric of the cosmos” and it puts forth that when we look into the “nothingness” of space we are really looking at a vast fabric that holds the the planets in orbit and the stars in the heaven. In short, this fabric holds the universe together.
When I learned about this theory I wondered why the “fabric” would not extend to everything, that ALL of it — including you and I — are bound together by this mesh, this fabric.
If you begin to think of the world in that way some things start to make sense. War, for example, especially world wars, always struck me as akin to some kind of global virus. What else could compel millions to think in a manner that could justify invasions? Well, perhaps it is some kind of message that is sent along this theoretical fabric that holds the universe together.
But mainly I think of this theory in smaller venues. And that brings me to the CBS show Sunday Morning. It has been on the air for decades. Originally hosted by Charles Kurault the helm is now ably handled by Charles Osgood. The show is like a comfy pair of slippers or a warm bathrobe into which you love to sink your weary bones. It has refused to go the way of the “morning zoo” but has stayed true to its course of providing good news and entertainment, all in a low-key, Sunday morning way.
A regular feature is the “Almanac” and Osgood will bring to our attention an historical event that happened on the particular date of the Sunday morning that you happen to be watching. It can be a news story, an invention or a remembrance. Today’s “Almanac” was the latter and its subject was Mary Martin who was born one hundred years ago on this day, December 1, 1913.
Mary Martin during a recording session.
Now frequent followers of this blog will, I hope, remember that just two days ago I posted a blog entitled “An Appreciation for Richard, Oscar and Mary.” The Mary in that title was Mary Martin. So I was enchanted this morning when Osgood began his small tribute to Ms. Martin. You can read it here.
Now, it is nice to think that Mr. Osgood read my blog two days ago and rushed to get the video piece together but that clearly didn’t happen. So, how does it happen that people — at least two of us — are suddenly thinking about a woman who has been dead for more than two decades? Well, there’s that fabric idea again. Some part of the cloth tugging at us to remember a person who was, by all accounts, as good-hearted and fun loving as her songs convey. As I said before, we could use a few more like her. So, Happy Birthday Mary Martin. So many of us enjoyed your time on this earth and, best of all, your spirit is still coursing through the fabric. ❧
Alice's WanderLand 