This is an experiment, a first for me. It is Sunday, February 8th. It is around noon, at least when the Keep Out red light, neon sign started blinking on the door to my mind. I will tell you why this is unusual, before I get into the story itself. The most unusual thing is actually thinking that in a couple of hours, I can get a story down that makes any sense.
First, you need an explanation as to why I am even in this position, realizing you never asked. I have had a contract with the County to write stories that appear on their platform, Kui Kauai Stories. I have done about twenty so far and it has been a thrill. I have gotten paid for writing before, but it has been many years since, something I never thought possible again. Every one of these stories has been like a dance for me. I use a small tape recorder for my conversations and when they have been recorded, it sits on my desk. Every so often, I kind of dance around it in a semi-ritualistic fashion.
The above explanation has everything to do with why we are here now. The dance I referenced goes from my feet to my fingers when I’ve figured out the steps. Every time it happens, it is always preceded by a dose of doubt that I’ll get the handle I need. I am at a point with the current story, having completed the introduction, allowing me to take a breath and that’s what we’re doing right now.
This feels like a kind of mind explosion, when two seemingly, unrelated issues fit together very comfortably, the birth of an idea. In my ass backwards approach, let me start with the new revelation first. Everyday, you can read little fragments of information about scientists discovering that a huge variety of living entities have the ability to communicate with each other in much more sophisticated ways than we ever thought possible.
It’s funny, we think we are so fucken smart, when we know so very little about most everything. Here are some inaccurate numbers that help make the point: There are around 9 million species, incorporating most living entities on the planet. So far, around 2.5 million have been formally described. There are likely way more total species, but why split hairs to make the same point? It is like we have simply enjoyed being number one and spent so little time finding out about neighbors.
We know so very little about the world we live in. Before going any further, I am not one of those guys, who is going to demean the value of science, or even thinking for, that matter. I don’t think you could ever look back on our history and claim that knowledge was ever to our detriment. When I was growing up, the more you knew, the smarter you were and it seemed kind of obvious, still does. Looking around today, that certainly doesn’t seem to be the case.
What we have today is “The Clash of the Stupids”. The health of this planet and all its inhabitants are under threat as a result of the perverse definition of progress. Now, there is one of the most selfish words imaginable, when its consequences are deemed to be inconsequential. It has taken us thousands of years, but we finally have a hammer hold on our future here and we are our own victim. We are here, because of us.
This place we all inhabit is an infinite miracle and a delicate balancing act, because of the interconnectedness of everything, yes, everything. While we have perfected the ability to take, we have short changed caring. I am not sure who came up with the idea that we can do whatever we want, never having to pay for it. How about the millions of living creatures we know absolutely nothing about? I wonder what they think?
What we have today could be best described as a man made disorder threatening all life on this planet, including our own. It is not a hoax, just ask a tree, not an orange one!
LISTEN TO IT HERE:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/admin/1292459/episodes/18646203-hot-off-the-press