The Crickets and the Oak Tree

Let's start with the fact that I don't like bugs.  Particularly bugs in tropical and subtropical climates (like Florida and related environs). They tend to be oversized, fly, bite, eat structural parts of houses, or any combination thereof. Palmetto Bugs. Termites. No-see-ums. Mosquitoes. Ugh.  

Crickets would be no exception to my general dislike of bugs, were it not for the fact that I never actually see them:

Crickets are nocturnal, pleasantly heard but not seen.  As importantly, they aren't aggressive and they don't bite.  The males rub their wings ceaselessly together in an effort to attract females.  Their collective chirping is a familiar sound at night, growing ever louder as the temperatures rise.  Their collective sound is impressive given that each cricket only weighs about half a gram (about the same as a raisin).  Among all bugs, crickets are among the best.  

Also among the best of Florida's impressive variety of species is the Live Oak, The Live Oak is so named, because it doesn't lose its leaves in winter, thereby appearing to be alive when other deciduous trees appear to be the opposite. According to Smithsonian magazine, the Live Oak "embodies the American ideal of individual resilience."  Sturdy, strong, solitary, and sprawling, the Live Oak has historically provided a safe harbor to people and animals during hurricanes and itself is largely invulnerable to hurricane-force winds.  Recently, the latest claim to fame for the Live Oak is its exceptional ability to absorb carbon in the atmosphere, making it a friend to anyone who believes in and fights against climate change.  As a tree hugger, I love the Live Oaks in Florida as much as I love western Red Cedars in the Pacific Northwest.   

It's not much of a surprise, given my love for both crickets and live oak trees, that they were the first thing that came to mind when the following questions were posed at my book club:

Where do you find your best “quiet and still” time to facilitate heartfelt prayer?  Is that time static (are you physically still) or dynamic (are you doing something) or a combination of both?  How can you tell when your spirit is becoming still enough that you will be able to hear "the still small voice" of God?

One of my biggest challenges to regular prayer is finding a place to calm my schedule and mind long enough to pray with sincerity. I can say the words and use the language that I've heard others in the church use but in the end, I often stop midway through these futile efforts to force prayer.  I realize that I am not fully attentive to what I'm saying, that at some level I am just going through the motions. so I just stop.  

Yoga helps me to center.  Even while twisting my body into various forms of a pretzel, I can focus more on meditating -- quieting the million things running to and fro in my mind and body long enough to get within sight of intimacy with God. More often than not, though, yoga class ends and reality returns before I get there from where I started. Hubbub and conversation erupts in the room immediately after class ends. To me, conversation is the last thing that I'm thinking about after an hour of connecting mind, heart, body.  I guess that's an introvert thing.  And from the looks of it, I guess I am one of very few introverts doing yoga these days.  

And so the search continues -- to find a proper centering place for meaningful prayer. It's out there -- but in the strangest of places.

While in Florida, I sleep in a bed that is surrounded by windows on all sides except for one (unfortunately, I have to get out of bed in the morning somehow).  Late in the evening, when my neighborhood has calmed down and the neighbors are asleep (as are their lawn tools, vehicles, and other noisemakers), the sole remaining sounds in the night air are courtesy of a convention of crickets.  To hear them better, I often stick my head out the open window as far as it can go without pushing the screen out (hence why this blog is not called "The Cricket, the Mosquitoes, and the Oak Tree") to hear them more easily.  While the crickets chirp in song, the two large oak trees in my postage stamp size backyard reach their massive canopy into the night sky, dappling the ambient city light onto the lawn below.   And these are my moments -- centered and still.  On the luckiest of nights, I also hear the still small voice of God.  

In those moments, it's the easiest thing in the world to pray.   

Weird.

   

Conflicts of Interest at DOGE

This blog is part of my ongoing effort to maintain a record of my written communication expressing concern about the actions of the current presidential administration that lead to unnecessary (and in some cases cruel) harm to others, to the U.S., or to the global community. 

I wrote the following letter regarding concerns over the newly created Department of Government Efficiency.  Feel free to copy any or all of this letter for use in communicating with your own elected officials.  

How to reach your U.S. Senators:

https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm

How to reach your U.S. Representative:

https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

***************************************************

Dear Senator <Name>,

Dear Representative <Name>,

As one of your constituents, I am writing to ask that you work quickly to increase oversight and to eliminate the significant conflicts of interest that, at the present time, are clearly evident between the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the IRS, Treasury, Health and Human Services, and other government agencies to which DOGE has unacceptably broad access.  

I think we can all agree that DOGE must not illegally access, analyze, or misuse our private financial, medical, or personal records for political or other purposes that would give an unfair and disproportionate competitive advantage to any individual, corporation, or other entity in the United States.  Yet, by allowing Elon Musk to access this information without stringent oversight is the equivalent of giving the fox the keys to the henhouse.  And, we have enough problems with hens and eggs at the moment.  Let's not add to them.

Allowing Elon Musk access to the tax records of his competitors in the corporate/business world is the very definition of conflict of interest.  I have been a professor at a public university for over 25 years and every time I submit any kind of application for funding (grant, contract, or otherwise), I am required to sign a statement disclosing any financial conflict of interest (i.e.,  an investment in a business or other entity  that stands to benefit financially from subsequent funding).  Failure to disclose is grounds for immediate termination, despite the fact that I am tenured.   Yet, while I am held to such ethical standards by federal funding agencies (as well as by state government), a double standard seems to be in play now for Elon Musk. Why is it OK that he and his team can proceed with such obvious financial and other conflicts of interest while so many of us "ordinary Americans" engaged in public service and research are held to a tighter ethical standard?

I am deeply concerned that DOGE is likely to be forcing  its way into the government’s most tightly protected databases and systems, without consideration of the longstanding privacy safeguards mandated by the Privacy Act of 1974, the Internal Revenue Code, and other laws.  The lack of safeguards and transparency in combination with the speed that DOGE is moving forward all but guarantees that mistakes will be made and that information will be leaked, released, or abused.  

And if the OGE (Office of Government Ethics) is working to prevent these conflicts of interest as is its mission, it is time for more transparency in how such prevention is moving forward to keep pace with the conflicts of interest that are expanding every day in our current federal administration.  

As your constituent, I urge you to take strong action to ensure immediate and transparent oversight into DOGE’s actions and to do what ethically must be done -- prevent conflicts of interest that all but guarantee intrusive privacy invasions and misuse of information.  

Sincerely,

Roseate What?

While technically a subtropical rather than a true tropical climate, west central Florida (on the Gulf of Mexico) hosts a similarly impressive variety of species as tropical zones. According to the science, the high temperatures characteristic of tropical and subtropical zones cause metabolism, ecology, and evolution to move along at much higher rates than in temperate zones, leading to a step up in biodiversity compared to other climates.  

Of the many things that grow and thrive in my neck of the Florida woods (Clearwater, near Tampa), my favorites are the many different types of shorebirds that live along the ocean beaches, estuaries, and bays.   With the possible exception of the seagull (the oceanside relative of the camp robber), I like them all.  It seems impossible to pick a favorite shorebird.  Who doesn't feel awestruck by the sight of the solitary and majestic, great blue heron?

Or amused and amazed at the snowy egret with its bizarre mating plumage?

Or struck with cuteness at a gaggle of adorable little plovers motoring along the sand at a million miles an hour?

While all of these wonders of nature cause me to stop for a moment in this busy world and gawk, one shorebird in particular stimulates an exceptional case of the WOWs. The first time I saw this bird was in captivity at a spring about an hour north of Tampa Bay. Once a train station, then an exotic animal tourist attraction, and finally a state park, Homosassa  Springs State Park is perhaps best known for opportunities to view manatees who come to the springs in winter to escape the frigid Gulf waters.  But the park is also home to hundreds of birds who are no longer able to survive on their own in the wild.   And that is why and where I met my very first Roseate Spoonbill.  

A Roseate What???

Well, that's exactly what I said the first time I saw a few of these birds hanging out in the protected areas of Homosassa.  The Roseate Spoonbill is so named because it has a beak shaped like a spoon (that any sane person would tell you looks absolutely ridiculous). The utensil shaped bill is equipped with custom-made nerve endings that sense when prey has wandered too close and triggers the bird to snap its bill shut and swallow the prey whole.  Hence, a large number of hapless shrimp, crabs, and other crustaceans meet their demise while passing alongside a seemingly harmless utensil swaying back and forth in the ocean waters.  

After seeing a few of these odd birds at Homosassa, I assumed that I would never see one in the wild.   But, one day, while wandering down a trail along the bay in Clearwater, I looked up in the sky and what to my wondering eyes did appear?  A bird that I was fascinated by but for the life of me, could not remember what its full name was.  That glitch in memory didn't stop me from trying to draw my husband's attention to the pinkish flying spoon.   In the excitement of the moment, I couldn't recall the full name of this creature in flight over my head.  Instead, unable to control what was coming out of my mouth, I said:

"Look, Look!  Up there! It's a Roseate ... uh... umm.... oh, what is it... ugh... It's a Roseate Hootie Wooter"

From that moment, the poor Spoonbill earned a new nickname and on the rare occasion that I see one fishing or flying along the ocean shore, it remains a Roseate Hootie Wooter in my mind.  

The Roseate part of the Spoonbill's name comes from the fact that eating carotenoid-rich organisms (that is shrimp and related crustaceans, some algae) causes them to pink up. The more shrimp they eat, the pinker they get.  And they can get pretty high up there on the WOW! scale when they've had a sumptuous lunch replete with many shrimp.   The rich array of light pink, dark pink, and just pink colors on the wings of this odd bird is stunning.  

And unlike flamingos who also turn pink from what they eat, the Roseate Spoonbill is not a flying skunk (flamingoes have a nasty odor that derives from the fact that they urinate on their own legs to keep themselves cool in hot temperatures; thankfully, Spoonbills don't indulge in this practice). 

Every time I see a Roseate Spoonbill (or a Hootie Wooter, depending on how well my memory is working at any given moment), I have a WOW moment that adds a smile, laughter, and even joy to my day.  

The last time I enjoyed such a moment, I was watching the sun set over Clearwater Beach from the mainland side of old Clearwater Bay. I was lost in my own little world watching the last bit of sun disappear into the horizon. As I sat on my rock along the water, reluctant to get up even after the last light of sun had passed into the horizon, WOW came flying my way. Not one but THREE Roseate Spoonbills flew, north to south in the sky -- not a hundred feet from where I sat.  

This may sound like a weird WOW moment, but we all have our unique moments where our experiences on earth converge with God's presence, and we just stop where we are -- in silence and in awe. I may be weirder than most, but that's a topic for another day.   

Of course, I had to laugh first when I saw the flock of Spoonbills dashing across the sky, before settling into silence and awe.  

What was God thinking when He gave a bird a bill that looked just like a spoon?

Constitution over President

This blog is part of my ongoing effort to maintain a record of my written communication expressing concern about the actions of the current presidential administration that lead to unnecessary (and in some cases cruel) harm to others, to the U.S., or to the global community. 

I wrote the following letter for a friend in another state who wanted to communicate his concerns to his U.S. representative. I have since sent a modified version to the U.S. Senators in my state and my U.S. Representative.   Please feel free to copy any or all of this letter for use in communicating with your own elected officials.  

How to reach your U.S. Senators:

https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm

How to reach your U.S. Representative:

https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

***************************************************

Dear Senator <Name>,

I am writing to appeal to you to resist the efforts of the current presidential administration to expand the power of the executive branch while reducing or stonewalling the power of the legislative branch and ignoring the judicial branch.   While in the short term, supporting these efforts may further specific political agendas or avoid retribution from a retaliatory President, the threat to American democracy and the abandonment of constitutional principles will only do harm to a vast majority of the American people over the long run.   

I strongly encourage you to vote against installing or confirming individuals into government positions who are more loyal to President Trump than the U.S. Constitution (and to take action to remove them quickly when the actions of those confirmed into these positions demonstrate such misdirected loyalty). If President Trump (or any other U.S President for that matter) shifts the loyalty of individuals in the military, FBI, etc from the U.S. constitution to him, you and other members of Congress will become puppets, no longer able to advocate for and support laws that protect your constituents. As I am certain you are aware, your loyalty to the people of <my state> is something I as a <my state> resident count on for a stable and productive livelihood.   

It is highly disturbing to me that the Trump administration is now moving to directly control the government whereas in the previous Trump administration, most actions were focused on influencing it. Laws like the 2001 AUMF which provide the executive branch disproportionate power have become highly dangerous and are to be nullified. Additional laws that allocate even more power to the executive branch must be avoided at all costs.  Congress must put party politics aside and reassert and recover its function to create, change, and maintain laws of the land that support all Americans, not just a wealthy few.  

As an <your occupation> in <your state> and an active citizen committed to this country’s principles and ideals, I respectfully ask that you consider and prioritize the larger picture at play here.  Once lost, our adherence to the U.S. Constitution will be difficult to recover and will become not only a national tragedy but a major global disruption.

I encourage you to consider impeaching Trump again or at the very least, working quickly to dispense with political divides and build a coalition within the <Senate or House of Representatives> willing to take forceful and major action as needed to protect ordinary Americans from a looming autocracy.   

Thank you for your time and consideration. I beg you to protect ordinary American citizens and especially the people of <your state> whom you represent. 

Sincerely,

<your name>