[lit-ideas] Re: Nabokov vindicated!
- From: Paul Stone <pastone@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 27 Jan 2011 11:29:17 -0500
On Thu, Jan 27, 2011 at 10:13 AM, Veronica Caley <molleo1@xxxxxxxxxxx>wrote:
> "As cool as living 5 miles from Point Pelee (like me)... it's a small
> world. I used to play with monarch caterpillars all the time when I was a
> tyke and when I ride my bike through "the point" (it's a National Park for
> those who don't know) I still regularly pick one up and move him to the
> other side of the road (his/her destination) just so he doesn't get
> squashed. Not a lot of cars these days, but still they move quite slowly to
> cover the 20 feet or so."
>
> I am envious. You must be a very gentle person to pick them up to help
> them out of harm's way.
>
I do it for turtles as well -- nothing kills me more than seeing those great
little animals with cracked shells splattered -- well, okay, quite a few
things do urk me more, but it's sad. There are also a lot of "wooly bear"
caterpillars -- the precursor to the Isabella Tiger Moth -- which are very
fuzzy with black on the ends and a sort of orangy-red middle. They are very
cool to handle. My friend is a really big "bug" nut and we have gone to the
point at sun up in the late summer to search for insects. His penchant for
spotting things is incredible. I could have walked down the same path
without seeing ANYTHING and he's on his belly all of a sudden saying look at
this "insert name of insect/arachnid I've never heard of here" with the
enthusiasm of Steve Irwin.
I'm convinced that one reason that kids are so much more apt to find and
play with insects is (other than the fact they have lots of time and no
inhibitions about those kinds of things), they are simply nearer to the
ground and therefore have a literally different perspective from which to
view the minutiae to which we adults are completely oblivious.
> And very fortunate to live so near. What a great thing for your little
> son.
>
It's always a good solution to the question on a beautiful summer weekend
day "what should we do today?" -- plus there are swings and playground
equipment.
p
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