Writer Trails: Tyrannosaurus Rex, Bradbury Flavor

As a sci-fi aficionado, my nose may occasionally be found welded inside an old, yellowed paperback copy of Isaac Asimov's "The Great SF Stories 14".  'Early' this morning, as I savored the taste of several of Asimov's better short story choices, "The Sound of Thunder" came to life in my old and tired brain.  For a few minutes, I wasn't quite so old and tired - thanks to Ray Bradbury's knack for pulling readers through his tall tales! Enjoy the excerpt below.

"It came on great, oiled, resilient striding legs. It towered thirty feet above half of the trees, a great evil god, folding its delicate watchmaker's claws close to its oily reptilian chest. Each lower leg was a piston, a thousand pounds of white bone, sunk in thick ropes of music, sheathed over in a gleam of pebbled skin like the mail of a terrible warrior. Each thigh was a ton of meat, ivory, and steel mesh. And from the great breathing cage of the upper body those  two delicate arms dangled out front, arms with hands from which might pick up and examine men like toys, while the snake neck coiled. And the head itself, a ton of sculptured stone, lifted easily upon the sky.  Its mouth gaped, exposing a fence of teeth like daggers. Its eyes rolled, ostrich eggs, empty of all expression save hunger. It closed its mouth in a death grin. It ran, its pelvic bones crushing aside trees and bushes, its taloned feet clawing damp earth, leaving prints six inches deep wherever it settled its weight. It ran with a gliding ballet step, far too poised and balanced for its ten tons. It moved into a sunlit arena warily, its beautifully reptillian hands feeling the air."

Oh but to be a fly on the geological wall as Pangaea was moving around on a malleable earth crust and  animals of sizes beyond our worst nightmares, roamed the planet. To be able to watch our planet as Nature took her through her different phases...asteroids landing in the arctic, the tropics and other places; ice ages growing and then melting as oceans ebbed and waned, swallowing up shorelines and then leaving bare continental shelves as the temperatures plummeted...for centuries!  Would we learn from such fantasian knowledge?  Would we build a better society?

Maybe these questions are better left to talented writers who roam through an easier world of make-believe...with realistic overtones. Today, we can instead, read National Geographic articles about the ancient geologic epochs and merely 'consider' this information.

I can attest to the fact that it WAS very comforting - at 2 AM, to know I could put my book on the night table, turn off the light and sleep safely through the  remaining hours of the dark-time.

Thank you Mr. Bradbury, for your talent, your vision and your imagination.

As always...Nature prevails, particularly, sixty-million years ago!

...Was that the sound of thunder?

NATURE PREVAILS

No matter how far you travel from home , nature prevails.

Whether you study the comeback of an endangered species or patrol your park on your morning run as a park ranger, keep up the grounds in your summer seasonal city park position, dig up fossils for your next book on Dinosaurs, head your scout troop on a trek through the high Sierras, film a documentary on volcanoes at Mauna Loa in Hawaii, take rafters down the Colorado River, pick up trash along the road, drive semis long haul, fly emergency supplies to a hurricane-struck New Orleans or serve on a search and rescue ski patrol, Nature is your guide, your worst enemy and your avenue of travel. There is no avoiding Nature in this Universe; she is everywhere, everytime, everyplace…so long as we continue to breathe her air.

Accepting Nature in her complete attire takes understanding of her pervasiveness, acceptance of her power and our minute position in that schematic, as well as preparedness for her more grand gestures such as frigid temps, high winds and tsunamis. Nature is high-maintenance; boating in the afternoon sunshine under gentle breezes may evolve into a powerful thunderstorm in a matter of minutes, packing tornadic winds and killer lightning. Skiing down an expensive, blemish-free slope in the high mountains may instantly turn into a life and death avalanche. Basking innocently on a beach in India may be your last vacation as you realize the ocean that just rose 100 feet in front of you leaves you no avenue of escape. Living at the base of a volcanoe may end your life.

Nature also warms us, quenches our thirst, provides our food, calms us with her breezes, protects us from the ravages of space, keeps our feet planted firmly on the ground we call home, and most certainly provides the profound air that keeps our lungs inflated and our heart pumping.

Nature watched over the microbes as they blossomed into life in our oceans four million years ago, she applied her creativity as she continually rearranged her continents into their ever-evolving shapes and positions, she cried over the millions of lives lost during the history of wars, she surely smiled with pride as her myriad forms of life rebounded on Earth after thousands of years of planetary disasters.

Nature surrounds us in the vegetables of our gardens, the butterflies on our flowers, the breezes in the trees under which we rest on a hot afternoon; she brings us peace and relaxation as we enjoy the tapping of a gentle summer rain on a tin roof; she certainly feeds our soul through the gentle hug of a friend as we mourn a Loved one.

Embrace Nature in your life. Help a turtle across the road; separate your recyclable items; plant a tree; leave your car parked once in awhile and walk. Look around occasionally and count your natural blessings. You’ll improve your blood pressure, slow down your heart rate, bring a little peace into your soul…bring joy into your life.

As always, Nature prevails.

daniellesimone@centurytel.net