We were driving west down highway seven when the oldest girl
observed, “Look, there’s a cat sleeping in the middle of the road!” I paused my
stifled laughter to explain that it was a raccoon, and that he chose a very noisy
spot to nap. What I decided not to relate to her was that the raccoon’s
intestines appeared to be lying next to the bloated omnivore, and its head was
facing a direction that was not possible in its former life. I also didn’t
mention that all of the police vehicles we had passed just minutes ago in
Chanhassen were there because a couple cops shot a kid. There are just things
you don’t tell children yet.
The girls and I just got back from the Silver Lake public
pool. We were there for over two hours and I’m sure I’ve burned. There were
three lifeguards on duty, and both girls were wearing life jackets. Even with
all of that protection, I stood as a sentinel with my arms crossed, and my eyes
open for danger.
All of this got me thinking. How are we alive? Children are
not smart, and if we weren’t here to feed and protect them from birth until, I
don’t know, when they don’t need life jackets to swim anymore, could they
survive? How did early hominid survive and evolve into a much smarter and
developed being? So many stupid beings must have died in so many ways before we
invented external safety measures.
Most of us have a natural instinct to protect our own lives,
but I don’t think we’re born with it. I guess that makes it not an instinct. If
you put a baby that can crawl next to a cliff, it’s going to crawl over the
edge if it’s facing that direction. You might need to give it a little push,
but I think it would go over on its own if given enough time. So, babies are
definitely stupid, and we have no visceral need to protect our own lives. In
fact, it’s way more efficient to our species if more of us die.
Transition
I’m in the beginning stages of planning a trip overseas with
my girlfriend. I’m not going to reveal anything more than I have yet over
Facebook, but I will say that I am hopeful to see a musical icon that I have wanted
to see since the beginning of time. My guess is that it will be expensive, and
we won’t go unless we find the right flight. I will keep posting on this as
time passes.
It’s been a long week. I realize that this post may appear
to have no direction, and you may be right. The girls have not had daycare for
almost two weeks which means that Amanda and I have had a lot less of our own
time and fewer opportunities to get things done without distraction. Tomorrow
(Monday) is their last day without daycare, and we are going up to the cities
for a fun day of science and family.
I’m exhausted, and it usually isn’t a good idea for me to
write when I’m in this condition, so I will sign off here in just a tap. I do
think I’m funnier—or at least more sarcastic—when I’m tired, but as I review
this very post I see that the material is funny-ish at best. A baby falling off
of a cliff has nothing to do with recovery. And with that, I pass.
