Field
Notes - Dispatch 37 – Palm Desert– California, USA
Sunday,
February 18, 2018
Greetings
Fellow Adventurers!
My
harsh life in the desert continues. I just stumbled in from outside
and feel very discombobulated. While enjoying my Sunday cup of coffee
out in the front yard sitting in the warm sun reading the newspaper,
I fell asleep. I kind of tipped over and ended up looking like a
snoring garden gnome for all the world to enjoy as they strolled by
on their morning walks. Also, the sun baked the left side of my face
so now I look like a croûton and I don’t feel very well. This is
the sort of risk that lurks at every turn for Old Trout.
In
addition to the physical peril, I am experiencing a crisis of faith.
Scout took me to a lecture (free cookies!) at the university last
week entitled, “Are We Alone in the Universe?" After teaching
in the public school system for years and looking at numerous
freshmen I had become certain there were aliens among us--maybe even
in my second-hour class. Anyway, the guest speaker, an eminent
scientist, explained that, statistically speaking, there is almost
certainly life on other planets but that it may only be at the
microbial level. After Scout explained to me what microbial meant, I
experienced an existential earthquake. My whole reality had been
based on the assumption that aliens would be big enough, and smart
enough, to have excellent and numerous bakeries, that they would
conquer humans, not with laser weapons, but with superior baking
technology, thereby save humankind from itself by pelting us with
excellent bread and cakes. When I heard that we only had tiny bugs to
look forward to, I felt the earth crumble from beneath my feet like a
peanut butter cookie, metaphorically speaking. I have been in a state
of angst ever since.
So
now I find myself sunburned, without faith, and the laughing stock of
the neighborhood-- a fried gnome without a spiritual home. That's me.
I
hope this Sunday is finding you in a more placid state of mind and
that your face has not suffered from the skin peeling rays of solar
radiation.
