A Chorus Emerges from the Primordial Soup

Since the time that I first encountered the concept of evolution, I have managed the simple image of some reptilian slug oozing its way from of the primordial soup, out onto the sludge that must have been the strand, exposing itself to all varieties of toxi-genated "air", and dragging with it in that instant the genetic markers for all future mammalian life.

My conceptualization, virtually static for three decades now, was fertilized last night by my nine year old son. We walked the dogs at about 9 PM, and discussed the random things that fathers discuss with their nine year old sons. He was interested in the evolutionary branch that gave rise to wolves and dogs, and wondered if dogs evolved from the wolves. I offered that maybe they both evolved from the same third thing. He headed for the swamp.

He refers to the place from which that first creature emerged as "the swamp". We discussed that point at which that first creature shoved its face out of the wet. This creature has served for my thinking as the pivot point, the sole link between the future air breathers and their plant-like forebears, a singleton.

Michael cleanly shattered my simplistic concept by asking: "How do we know that more than one thing didn't crawl out, and evolve into the many different types of animals now on earth?"

If I have encountered a more parsimonious addition to my understanding of evolution, I cannot remember it now.

Thank you, my son.

My Horoscope

LEO - The Boss (July 23 - Aug 22) Very organized. Need order in their lives - like being in control. Like boundaries. Tend to take over everything. Bossy. Like to help others. Social and outgoing. Extroverted. Generous, warm-hearted. Sensitive. Creative energy. Full of themselves. Loving. Doing the right thing is important to Leos. Attractive. 13 years of bad luck if you do not forward.

Reading between the lines:

LEO - The Boss (July 23 - Aug 22) Like being in control. Like boundaries. Tend to take over everything. Bossy. Full of themselves.

Not sure what those other words were really for...

New Favorite Song

Theme song from Gran Torino.

gentle now a tender breeze blows
whispers through the Gran Torino
whistling another tired song
engines hum and bitter dreams grow
a heart locked in a Gran Torino
it beats a lonely rhythm all night long
(complete lyrics)
Wow.

Palms Stretched Skyward

Weary songs play the tired sentiment of middle aged men's tears
Strung out across the square where strangers wait on the perimeter
Palms stretched skyward
Looking for a missing God
Eye contact deflected by worn mattress springs
Away from the whispered reflection in broken tempered glass
Splashes of loss manage an escape in a sigh
Too tight girls in dirty sarcastic jeans rout a perfect blue
Nothing to buy, nothing worth selling, nothing to see
Home is as far as freedom, as close as death
Souls on display, hidden from view, and
Everywhere between
Prayers scrawled across the back of a burn victim's heart
Palms stretched skyward
Away
Palms stretched skyward