Fish for Friday

Edited by Morris Dean

[Anonymous selections from recent correspondence]

I am sitting here enjoying a beautiful rain and reflecting on Elizabeth Bishop's "Sestina," which I pull out every September on a rainy day. I was hoping it would rain this week, both for the cooling effect it brings, and so that I could experience reading the poem near the Equinox hearing the rain.
    I imagine this cold front will eventually make it to the Piedmont. Knowing how this was the sestina that partially inspired you to produce many sestinas of your own, I suggest you also read it anew on a rainy equinoctial day!

The writer got this right: The world has lost an amazing person in Joy Covey. It's incredible that what she accomplished with Amazon may not even make the "Top 5" of the most significant and important achievements of her life: "Former Amazon Star Exec Killed in Bike Accident." Excerpt:

Among the newcomers, Joy Covey has led the most unfettered life. Actually, her life has been a lot like her company, Amazon.com: unconventional, expansive, high risk, with a pitch that goes something like this: "It may not seem logical, but trust me. I know where I'm going. And it's far." Covey is the younger of two daughters of a Northern California doctor and nurse. They were frugal, self-reliant parents. "They had a complete and utter disregard for social expectations," says Covey, 36. She did too. Bored with school during her freshman year at San Mateo High, she dropped out.

Unless we believe in ghosts, most of us don't think the dead can speak to us. After watching the video in "Remembering one of skiing’s greatest icons" and thinking about what Shane McConkey was like in life, I wonder if maybe it is just a matter of shutting our mouths, opening our eyes, ears and mind, and seeking a translation we can understand.

Hey, a quote from the Bible that has some currency: "Pope Francis: Money is the root of all evil."

No one can ridicule better than Jon Stewart can: "Jon Stewart blasts Republicans over gun hypocrisy and the Constitution."

Comedian Bill Maher has coined a new term to describe Republicans who switch positions to oppose Obama.

This brings a certain timeliness to the Poacher storyline: "Terror at Nairobi Mall Leaves at Least 30 Dead." The character Keith in Poacher is on the front line battling terrorists coming from Somalia into Kenya...killing more would-be terrorists there than the U.S. was while spending $2 trillion in Iraq. More blurring of the line between fiction and fact, eh?

We don't have the problem described in "Zimbabwe poachers kill 80 elephants with cyanide" at the preserve we are involved with in Zimbabwe. Our poacher patrol is trained and led by a man who could well be the real-life model for the fictional Keith, in the novel-in-progress Poacher. Local villagers often claim they have a problem because so many of their family members disappear in the bush, but we explain that as just bad luck with lions and hyenas. I mean, what else could it be?

On the topic of black-and-white thinking...and acting...this is profound: "Utah coach suspends his entire team over poor discipline, cyberbullying."

The redoubtable Benjamin Franklin championed the wild turkey as this country's national bird, because he considered the bald eagle primarily a carrion eater and an opportunist who stole food from other birds after they made a kill. At that time, what is now the Western U.S. was known as Mexico, so Franklin didn't mention the golden eagle as a national bird option. Given what we now know of America's inclination to attack any perceived foe at almost any time, and what these photos show of the golden eagle's temperament and skill set, perhaps this bird is a more appropriate symbol for our country:

• "Golden eagle photographed attacking a deer for its meal—and winning"
• Bing search results for "eagle attacking dear"

This has to be a nominee for one of the greatest photos ever:

That's California's Mt. Shasta in the background

If you still believe that complex carbohydrates (starch) make you fat and you still subscribe to low-carb diet promoters like Dr. Atkins, then you should watch the video provided with "Low Carb vs. Plant-Based Diet." Excerpt:

Low-carbohydrate (low-carb) diets are fueling the destruction of human health and our planet Earth. “Low-carbohydrate” means a diet high in animal foods and low in plant foods. Only plants synthesize carbohydrates (sugars). The body parts of animals, including red meat, poultry, seafood, and fish, and eggs, contain no carbohydrates. Animal secretions (like mammalian milk) contain sugars synthesized by plants (the cow eats the grass that made the sugar). The original Atkins Diet is the ultimate in low-carb eating. This diet works by starving the human body of carbohydrates in order to induce a state of illness (ketosis), which can result in weight loss. People become too sick to eat too much.

When Bill Clinton invited me to lunch in May, I knew better than to expect fried catfish or barbecued ribs: "My Lunch with Bill."

Limerick of the Week:

Dr. Samuel Johnson didn't coin the word "gulosity,"
but Boswell wrote that Johnson ate with such velocity
    that this word for gluttony
    fit the man abundantly:
his strong sweat was visible, he ate with such ferocity.

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Copyright © 2013 by Morris Dean

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