Dac Crossley's Western Blog

The Christmas Gift of El Niño

A very pleasant December afternoon at my Cabin on the Ridge, sunshine after rain, light breeze. A sulfur butterfly flits back and forth. Sorry, no blossoms here. My daughter Mary points out the spiderlings that have ballooned and set up little webs among the dead aster branches. And the webs are catching little flies. You can see the aerial plankton revealed in the sunlight.

Back in Athens, Georgia, azaleas are beginning to blossom. Crocus blooms beside my driveway. In December.

January is coming. What will become of the spiderlings and the aerial planktors? El Niño promises rain (which came) and cool weather when the jet stream dips south (it hasn’t, not yet).

I just finished reading The Annihilation of Nature (Geraldo Ceballos, Anne Ehrlich and Paul Ehrlich) about the extinction of birds and mammals. I was surprised to read that some 500 new species of mammals have been discovered in the past few decades. Most are tropical and in remote habitats, but still…

Yes, we’re in the midst of a major extinction event and it’s human-caused. Habitat destruction is the major driver. Will climate change become another? What does extinction really mean for our own survival?

We argue the importance of “biodiversity,” without a clear understanding of it. In the protected remnants of the Eastern Deciduous Forest, we’ve lost the major plant species (American chestnut), a very influential bird (Passenger Pigeon), the woodlands buffalo. Are those areas still “natural?” The good news – beavers return to our eastern streams.

As we convert our landscapes to harvest solar and wind power, we pay an environmental cost of unknown magnitude. Hey, this is our life support system we are monkeying with. Isn’t it?

Dac Crossley
December 30, 2015

“The first rule of tinkering is, keep all the parts.” – Paul Ehrlich.

A Crossley Christmas!

For those of us of a certain age, Christmas is a mixed blessing at best. We know we must shove aside the aches and pains of both body and spirit. The challenge we face is connecting the good times of past holidays with the future we all acknowledge.

And sometimes, even with our best efforts, it takes a whacky turn.

The year my mother died, my father came to spend Christmas here in Athens. I had a better idea – let’s all go to Jekyll Island down on the Georgia coast. I packed up wife, father, and my mother-in-law (herself a recent widow) for a Christmas diversion.

All went well until Christmas noon, when everybody got hungry and no restaurants were open. I finally found one, “The Country Deli,” over on adjacent St. Simons Island. We helped ourselves to a table. No menus appeared, but dishes of food were set in front of us. What’s going on?

“We’ve feeding you homeless people,” said the waitress who bustled off.

Perhaps this wasn’t a good idea. I got up, but Mother had already tasted the food and pronounced it good. Okay, no real alternatives, let’s just eat.

And then the TV cameras came in! A local station documented this charitable event. I tried to dodge; they captured me anyway.

So, Christmas Night, on the six o’clock and eleven o’clock news, there I was, a homeless man feted at a local restaurant.

Indeed, a Christmas to remember.

Dac Crossley
December 14, 2015.

“Here is the test to find whether your mission on Earth is finished: if you’re alive, it isn’t.’ – Richard Bach.

Goodby Christmas?

I risk sounding like a grump here. Richard S. called me an “Old Frump.” I guess I’m just clinging onto things of my youth, my happy childhood. It’s sad to see them disappear. Christmas seems to be drifting away from us.

Our grandchildren won’t miss what they’ve not experienced, will they? Those common objects once in our lives, now missing forever. Such as typewriters. Kodak film. Modern replacements are better, aren’t they? But - what Christmas memories will they cherish?

For me, Christmas brings back my memories of joyful, exciting holidays. Remember selecting the family Christmas tree? Down to that acre-wide lot of electric lights and greenery. Shivering a little; it’s chilly. Your dad impatient while your mother ponders the perfect tree.

Not this year. No vacant lots of Christmas trees. Here in Athens I’ve found one tiny corner with real trees for sale. Want a Christmas tree? Go to the big Chinese tent and buy a plastic one, with lights ready to plug in. Is that better?

Trimming the tree was a dependable annual ritual. First, string the lights on the tree. Check the color scheme. Then the garlands, round and round, and the ornaments inherited from ages past. And last – fling the strands of tinsel, one at a time. All join in.

But there’s no more tinsel. Like the typewriter, tinsel is history. And the tree comes ready trimmed.

Don’t get me started on Christmas music!

Dac Crossley
December 4, 2015. Happy Birthday, Harriette A.

“Happiness always looks small while you hold it in your hands, but let it go, and you learn at once how big and precious it is.” – Maxim Gorky.