Earth

Earth

The day started off a little shaky. I was worried because Kamaal woke up very concerned about Swine Flu which broke out in Mexico and has made its way to Queens over the past weekend.  He wanted to watch CNN in order to hear every detail and asked very pertinent questions about the spread of diseases and ways to prevent them. The instructions from my eight year old nephew boss best friend and over all know it all Kamaal: was to drop him off early so he could play foot ball before school, wait 3 minutes after the bell, then come to the classroom. He allowed me to go back up to get a book to read while I waited for the bell to ring but his instructions were very clear and to the letter accurate. The third grade was going to the Movie Earth produced by Disney, Narrated by James Earl Jones and starring the beauty and magnificence of the wilderness. How did they get a camera so close? It was fabulous. We got very intimate with a lynx who sauntered through the snowy forest looking for food. The mating dance of the male song bird had me chuckling. This took the edge off the anxiety I was feeling for the Polar Bear who had to swim so far that he was so exhausted. (Some days I feel that way~ so I was rooting for him to nail one of those Walruses ~ am I horrible?)The whole movie was breathtakingly beautiful from the cranes that had to turn back when the winds off the Himalayan Mountains got too strong.  They dared to try again and made it. Kamaal turned to see my face then because he knows how I feel about peaks. The seals were eaten by the Great White Shark with such definition, they seemed to be making some existential statement about One- ness . I hope you get a chance to see it. It was a perfect trip for this hiker, and lover of this planet. My nephew is an inspiration and an animal lover. I wonder if we can improve our ways to such a degree that we become a gift rather than a burden to this beautiful grace filled planet.