Gulf tragedy 2

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Yesterday we learned that A) more oil is gushing from the gulf drill site than we were originally led to believe—the current revised estimate is 25,000 to 30,000 barrels a day, with 50,000 barrels a day being used by some media outlets—and b) photographers were only being given limited access to affected marsh and shorelines for fear (we assume) that the Internet would be flooded with photos of dead or oil-soaked wildlife.

What did Jack Nicholson say in the movie A Few Good Men? Something like, "Truth? You can't handle the truth! Son, we live in a world that has walls. And those walls have to be guarded by men with guns."

Local photographer Wayne Mallinger, a native of Florida, wanted to travel south with his camera, but learned his movements might be restricted.

In lieu of such, above is another one of Wayne's brown pelican pictures from last year. Like yesterday's, this bird is oil-free, drying itself in the sun.

Thanks for sharing, Wayne.

- Photo of oil-free brown pelican by Wayne Mallinger.

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ironweed?

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You may have to help me with this one but I’m not really sure if ironweed the plant has anything to do with Ironweed the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by William Kennedy. I have a copy of the book but have not read it because I saw Ironweed the movie with Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep and wasn’t thrilled. It's probably not their fault; I was just in a funny mood that night and didn’t want to see a motion picture about someone drinking his life away during the Great Depression.

Of course, living during the Great Depression might have been tinder enough for that fire.

On the other hand, ironweed the plant (Vernonia altissima)—the genus is named for English botanist William Vernon—is in bloom now at the nature center. As a medicinal herb, the Native Americans used ironweed to boost the blood for patients with anemia, i.e. lack of vitality, or whoever had recently lost a lot of blood and needed a shot of vitality.

Ironweed the plant tends to grow in wastelands, beside the road or empty lots and can reach heights of ten or twelve feet, so it can be a monumental wildflower.

Perhaps, I should rummage through my bookshelves and find Ironweed the novel and give it a go; it probably has an inner strength, i.e. vitality, like ironweed the plant.

Perhaps Kennedy was using ironweed the metaphor: iron for "strong" and weed for "unwanted."





Ironweed the novel. (He looks pretty grim on the cover, but in the movie he gets to kiss Meryl Streep.)










Ironweed the movie. (That's actually Streep on the left side.)








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