New Year's Plans
Other than Mass for the Solemnity of Mary, I've been thinking about ways to ring in the New Year on a very positive note. The following occurred to me:
A trip to the beach for New Year's day--maybe a little wading, perhaps some shark watching. Definitely watching the brown pelicans--striking figures, so much out of the Mesozoic, one thinks immediately of the glide of Pterodactylus. And away in the distance the VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building) for the Space shuttle, and the launch pad. Perhaps, as cool as it is, we will have more of a chance to see the alligators sunning themselves.
Or maybe trip up to Blue Springs to see the annual manatee retreat to the springs. Every year between fifty and a hundred seek refuge in the relatively warm waters of the springs. The are enormous grey, masses of flesh--the prime excitement of watching them comes when one pushes briefly to the surface to snort and breathe. Or perhaps one pushes her baby to the surface probably to make sure he breathes--these are not some of the great intelligences of the animal world.