Surf’s Up

"When you come to the place where the road and the sky collide, 

Throw me over the edge and let my spirit glide..."

Why is the sky blue? Everyone knows that it's because of blue scattering. The lower end of our visible spectrum of electromagnetic radiation is deflected more by the air molecules in the atmosphere as blue is shorter wavelengths. It might logically be purple, as violet is even shorter, and still visible to humans; but the sun emits far more energy in the blue wavelengths than purple due to its composition. AND our eyes are more sensitive to blue wavelengths than purple. La la la. We all know this. But, why is the sky blue?

Plankton, the original green stuff. The earth had mostly a methane atmosphere until two billion years of plankton, hard at work, made the air 21% oxygen. Lucky for us. Air is mostly nitrogen (78%), because the primordial rocks of the planet itself are chock full of the gas. Cracks in the crust and volcanoes top it up constantly. Also, the nitrogen cycle of plants and bacteria and algae are "fixating" nitrogen into usable compounds for the ongoing abundance of life. This ratio has been generally stable for 100 million years. There is a whole other topic here about fertilizers to feed the planet that involves bird shit, bat guano, cow manure... but we have heard enough in this arena of late. So thank you plankton. Full stop. 

But let's not confuse causation with correlation. Climate scientists are nearly unanimous in blaming the global temperature rise on the trillions of tons of carbon dioxide emitted since humans started burning things -- wood, then coal, then oil. And today, wildfires and deforestation, both intentional and incidental, make it worse. Greenland is melting, exposing more rock and dust which is not as reflective as white snow and so the temperature rise is accelerating. Should the ice dome of Greenland melt completely, global sea level will rise twenty feet. Weirdly, carbon dioxide is a trace gas in the atmosphere accounting for only .04 percent along with its pals, methane, ozone and nitrous oxide (laughing gas), and a handful of others. Scientists are also quick to point out that in the 450,000 centuries that the earth has been here, there have been massive fluctuations in its temperature and surface biology.  The last ice age that buried North America began around 120,000 years ago and peaked only 18,000 years ago. The planet warmed. The ice melted rapidly between 18,000 and 6,000 years ago. 

Moving on. Have you noticed all the old birds flying around of late? No?! Why not? You have to figure a lot of those birds are really old. They don't get grey hair. They don't stumble through the sky. They might hang out and grumble a ton with their friends on the shoreline, but that seems normal. 

Recently in the news there have been "bomb cyclones". Out West there was a "snowpocalypse" in the Sierras. Looking back was acid rain, sinkholes, red tides and the polar vortex. We had "killer bees" and now "murder hornets". "Supercells" are becoming common. "Fire tornados" are a thing, as are "snownadoes." "Derecho" flew by me recently and I looked it up to find that it is a "widespread, long-lived, straight-line wind storm known as a mesoscale convective system." Look up the periodic disaster called "zud." 

Not for a second is anyone to read this as an essay downplaying the emotional rollercoaster we have experienced. The ongoing ramifications of what is taking place in the government are widespread and potentially catastrophic for the culture we have come to know as our "home."  Or not. We can't know the outcomes. We can only operate as we should with love and kindness for every person we are in contact with in this little blip of time that is our lot in the galaxy. The media is LOUD. Enemies exist everywhere, according to them. Inanity and insanity abound. 

Play with the kids. Grow your garden. Ski. Sled ride. Coach hockey. Make art. Sing. Dance. Chef up a feast. The sky has been falling since I was told about Chicken Little. Send clothes to Ukraine. Support anyone or anything that is trying to feed and clothe those that need the help. 

I am supposed to be writing about art and I will next time. But all these words come from a three pound pink jello that is behind my eyes and a heart that is in the waning half of beating two and a half billion times. I feel fortunate every morning to awaken. We have a chance daily to lighten, to laugh, to care. Do it. 

Jackson Browne sang the above lines decades ago and followed with the lyric, "I could be just around the corner from heaven or a mile from hell." So today, " let my spirit glide". 
Like every bird you ever see. 

Got that out. 

Peace. And for real, hugs.

Bruce mac 

P.S. AND, as I was writing this missive after singing the above lines to myself for a couple days, I thought it best to check my memory of the lyrics and BOOM. This song, on Jackson Browne's album "Late For The Sky," was written by Danny O'Keefe, a dear friend of mine my entire adult life. In fact, Danny, a truly brilliant human, songwriter and guitarist extraordinaire, with a soulful singing voice that can bring tears, borrowed an image of one of my pieces for his last album. "Circular Turns" is available on Amazon.

P.P.S. The artwork above is named "Nazaré" for the surf spot in Portugal, home to the biggest waves ever ridden. Have a wander through the Youtube universe of the brave and crazy on hundred foot waves on a surfboard. My friends, this is the metaphor for the moment. Momento mori. Only thing to do is surf, whatever the wave height. 

P.P.S.S. Come see us at the Scope show in Miami Beach, Dec. 3rd through the 8th, Booth #B029. We can toast plankton and old birds. Keep on flying. And thanks Danny, for the poetry. 

P.P.S.S.S. Blue, violet, green, red, white, Browne...