Shari Della Penna
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"Small acts of kindness can change and humanise our world."
   Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks 1948-2020
   ​Chief Rabbi of Great Britain, 1991-2020
                         Author, Advocate, Advisor

On Behalf of the Giraffe

4/30/2019

3 Comments

 
Edward, face it. Your neck is impressive.
It allows you to do amazing things.
                                                     from Giraffe Problems
                                                        written by Jory John
                                                    illustrated by Lane Smith
                                                          Random House, 2018
    The first time I saw a giraffe was on a field trip to the Cleveland Zoo. All us second-graders were amazed at its height. Its legs alone, are taller than most people I know. A giraffe is almost as tall as a two-story house. Male giraffes are 16 - 18 feet tall, and the females are only a little smaller. 
    What really fascinated me, though, was how it wrapped its long, black tongue around the leaves at the top of a thorny acacia tree and worked around the prickles. A giraffe’s long tongue (up to 20 inches long, but most are a mere 12-18 inches) is prehensile.
    And its tongue is long enough to clean its own ears!
    Giraffes eat about 100 pounds of leaves per day. That takes a lot of time. The pigment that make their tongues black also keeps them from burning in the hot African sun. 
    Most of the water they need comes from their food. Good thing, too. Their long legs make reaching ground water difficult.             
    Giraffes only sleep about 2 hours per day, but take lots of short naps. I know some people who do that, too!
    Late in 2016, the most current year statistics are available, about 97,000 giraffes lived in the wild, down about 30 per cent from 30 years ago. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature https://www.iucn.org consists of more than 8,000 scientists in 162 countries. That year, they moved the giraffe from a species of Least Concern to its list of Vulnerable Species. If humans don’t intervene, giraffes face extinction in the medium-term future. 
    Lost habitat is one reason the giraffes are vulnerable. Civil unrest and poaching also contribute to the giraffe’s decline. These are problems created by people.
    Here’s a bit of sort of good news. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said this past Thursday (April 25, 2019) that it is considering protecting the giraffe under the Endangered Species Act. This could lead to import restrictions on hunting trophies and body parts including hides and bones. Considering. . . We’ll wait and see. A letter to your congressman and representative could help sway their consideration to a “yes.” Finally. 
    As early as 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt called attention to the dwindling population of many species of birds by declaring the first National Refuge site on Pelican Island in Florida. https://www.fws.gov/refuge/pelican_island/ 
    Rachel Carson published Silent Spring in 1962, but it took ten years for the U. S. Government to ban DDT. 
    The following year The Endangered Species Act of 1973 provided a framework to conserve and protect endangered and threatened species and their habitats. https://www.fws.gov/international/laws-treaties-agreements/us-conservation-laws/endangered-species-act.html 
    Nearly 1,700 species (plants and animals) are currently listed under the act. The ESA has prevented the extinction of about 291 of those, according to a study published last week (April 22, 2019) in the journal PeerJ. That’s more than 99% of the species under its protection. https://peerj.com/articles/6803.pdf
    The easiest way to see a giraffe is at a zoo. In recent years, zoos have become much more humane places for animals. Their habitats try to mimic a natural environment. 
    Some zoos are interactive. Food is available for purchase (giraffes like Romaine lettuce) and feeding the animals is encouraged. 
    Recently, a tiger attacked a zoo worker. (April, 2019). And a horrible incident occurred at the Cincinnati Zoo in June, 2016.

    Here’s what I said in 2016 (6/14/16):
    I will continue to visit zoos. My connection with animals is fostered by being able to see exotic, endangered, even dangerous animals. And imagine interacting with them, respecting them, encouraging their ability to continue their earthly existence. 

    Animals who live in zoos do not do so by their own choice. They are wild animals, no matter how cute or tame or social they look. When we visit, we need to remember we are visiting in their home. Be aware, be courteous, be inquisitive.
                                                   Stay curious! (and careful)
         Next Tuesday is Primary Voting Day in Ohio. Please vote.


    
3 Comments

A Birthday and Earth Day

4/23/2019

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    “I found the magic flowers,” said Puck.
    “Well done,” said Oberon. “They are [a wild pansy] called Love in Idleness. I will use them to cast a midsummer spell on Queen Titania.”
                    from:  Ella Bella Ballerina: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
                                   written and illustrated by James Mayhew
                                               Orchard Books/Barron’s, 2015

    Today is William Shakespeare’s birthday (April 23, 1564). In the Bard’s day, the Thames River was so polluted that you could smell its stink for miles. In my day, the Cuyahoga River was so polluted that it caught fire.
    If it is true that all the world’s a stage and we are all merely players (adapted from As You Like It, Act II, Scene vii by William Shakespeare), then just like Puck in Midsummer Night’s Dream (sorta quoted above), we’ll need a little magic to make the world right. We don’t. We need information. We need encouragement. And we need determination. That combination IS magic.
    Myths and controversies surround both Shakespeare and Earth Day. (Always celebrated the day before, April 22) 
    Some say Shakespeare couldn’t have been the prolific poet and playwright he claimed he was. After all, the skeptics claim, he was the son of a glove-maker. He was poorly educated, he was not well-travelled, he did not have the time to have written the quantity (not to even mention the amazing quality) of work. He did not own a collection of books for reference. But admittedly, these theories are all based on a lack of evidence. Genius or not, William Shakespeare probably collaborated on at least some of his famous works. Most writers of his day did. So I have laid the controversy to rest, at least for myself. I recognize Shakespeare’s genius for what it was. He was smart enough to ask questions and savvy enough to take good advise.
    Genius scientists are pros at asking questions. They ask the questions they think they know answers to, just to discover if they actually could be wrong. After all, it’s really effective to learn from our mistakes. Scientists have shown us that we continue to make many, and many dangerous mistakes. They show us that we human beings have had a profound affect on our environment, especially in the days and years since the Industrial Revolution.
    So why is the earth filled with climate-change deniers?
    Of course, the concept of denial is well-understood, well-documented, and much written about. We can be in denial about our own mortality or that of a loved one. We can be in denial about the hot-fudge sundae we ate last night really affecting our weight-control efforts. We can be in denial about a drinking or drug habit. According to psychological research, the enormity of the problem does not allow our brains to process its reality. 
    Now imagine that the earth will suffocate/drown/blow away or burn up if we don’t acknowledge climate change and start working diligently toward solutions. 
    That fact of climate change is easy to deny. It is just too big to wrap our heads around and millions of people are climate deniers.
    So what is the solution? Just like any huge problem or project, we must break it into smaller, more achievable goals. 
    That’s where all those lists come from. 
    You know, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and ReFUSE (single-use plastic, gas guzzlers, styrofoam…)
    Denial comes from fear. We become “scared stiff.” But even a small, positive action will lessen our fear. Do enough and we can encourage others. Working in community is better, but of course a solution will ultimately take whole nations working together. Like the Paris Climate Accord.
    Hosts of activities; planned and sponteneous, boisterous and reverent, large and small, took place yesterday, all over the world to celebrate the 49th Earth Day. 
    Mother Nature is nothing if not fair. She responds harshly to abuse, but is abundantly forgiving when treated with love and generosity.
    
Here’s a list of some forward-thinking organizations you might want to learn more about.
The Official site for Earth Day  https://www.earthday.org    
The National Park Service  https://www.nps.gov 
Clean Water Action  https://www.cleanwateraction.org    
The National Audubon Society  https://www.audubon.org    
The National Wildlife Federation  https://www.nwf.org
The White Feather Foundation  whitefeatherfoundation.com  (founded by Julian Lennon)

https://myplasticfreelife.com/?s=Beth+terry Beth Terry’s website. Her TED talk is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JXWRVrFiKs&t=10s 
    Let’s promise Mother Earth to be more cautious, more care-full, and more aware of her gifts.
                                 Stay curious! (and in love with our Earth)    
     
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Happy Birthday, Margarita Engle!

4/16/2019

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…and even though 
I sing in a voice more froglike 
than winged,
I do dare to sing,
and that is what matters
on this island
of bravely dancing,
hardworking
old folks.
                           from: Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings
   written by Margarita Engle, Young People’s Poet Laureate, 2017-2019
                                               winner of Pura Belpre Award 
    (honors Latino authors and illustrators whose work best portrays,
     affirms and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in children’s
                                                                           books) 

                                                                 Atheneum, 2015

    In second grade, we each had to recite a poem for our class. The only requirement, the poem had to be at least four lines long. One boy memorized a very long poem. My friend, Janice said her same few beginning words over and over, in many false starts, until she got going and finished her four lines. At least I think she finished. 
    I memorized a poem by Christina Rossetti, “Who Has Seen the Wind.”
        Who has seen the wind?
        Neither I nor you:
        But when the leaves hang trembling,
        The wind is passing through.

        Who has seen the wind?
        Neither you nor I,
        But when the trees bow down their heads,
        The wind is passing by. 

    In high school, I learned a short poem by Emily Dickinson describing a sunset. I didn’t have to memorize it this time, but I did.
        Ships of purple gently toss
        On a sea of daffodil
        Fantastic sailors mingle,
        And then the wharf is still.
    And then I discovered Robert Frost. I still have my notebook full of copied-out verses.
    I’ve written my share of bad poetry. You know the angsty teenage stuff about not being loved, betrayals by friends, failed aspirations. The flowery, the angry, the disappointing.
    I’m not sure when I learned that words shape the sound around them. Maybe I always knew that. Think about it. Round sounds round. Sharp sounds sharp. I thought everyone knew that, but I found out recently, not everyone does. Not everyone even thinks about that!
    But the sounds of words, even their letters, smooth or snappy, add to the understanding and enjoyment of reading. And listening. I did a workshop several months ago where we were given a list of sounds that dogs make. Yip—Arf—Bow-wow—Grrr, you get the idea. There were about ten different sounds. We were asked to describe in a word or two what the dog looked like that made each sound. About twenty people sat around a large table doing that exercise and (almost) to a one, we agreed. 
    You probably already know that every April we celebrate National Poetry Month. Some libraries and other organizations have forums through their websites where anyone can be inspired to try out different formats and ideas and share them (or not).
    Right now on one of my writing shelves, I have six started poetry journals. Fallen starts, all. I also have seven (counting the almost full one in my purse) little spiral-bound ones full of “someday” ideas. I try to keep my stuff together, but it’s not. I have another shelf (in a whole other room) with ideas, too.
    I’ll give you just one from a(n incomplete) National Poetry Month journal
            Dear Daffodil,
        Entice me with your
            simple shape
            and primary color,
            your patterns of trumpet 
            and lace.
        Whisper in my mind’s ear,
            “Pick me!”
    OK, who is Margarita Engle, and what is a poet laureate?
    Margarita Engle is the current Young People’s Poet Laureate and will serve till the end of this month. She has written numerous award-winning novels in verse and an award-winning picture book.
    According to poetryfoundation.org, the Young People’s Poet Laureate “aims to raise awareness that young people have a natural receptivity to poetry and are its most appreciative audience, especially when poems are written specifically for them.” The YPPL is awarded by the Poetry Foundation for a two-year term. 
    A new YPPL will be announced in May.
    The American poet laureate acts as the Chair of Poetry for the Library of Congress. The current Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, appointed Tracy K. Smith as the Library’s 22nd Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry on June 14, 2017, and reappointed her to a second term on March 22, 2018. Ms. Smith published her memoir, Ordinary Light, in 2015. Her latest book of poetry is Wade in the Water which came out last year.
    Her birthday is today! She’s 47.    
    For those who claim to hate poetry, I say, “You haven’t heard it read well.” 
                                 -—stay curious! (and write—or read—a poem)
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Who’s an April Fool?

4/2/2019

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It’s not April Fools’ Day today,
but tomorrow!
    Then Grandpa turned red,
    and he gave out a roar.
    he sped through the kitchen 
    and dashed out the door!
Grandma just smiled
as she pulled up a stool.
She nibbled his toast 
and she called, . . . “April Fool!”
                                                        from April Foolishness
                                                            by Teresa Bateman
                                     Illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott
                                           Albert Whitman & Company, 2004

    We never did April Fools’ Day up big. Just the usual, “Your shoe’s untied!” or “You buttoned your shirt crooked.” Once, I tried to convince my mom we had a day off from school, teacher’s work day, or something. That didn’t go very far. Mom knew what day it was.
    Some of my friends got really into the practical jokes. The elaborate set-up, the delicate follow-through, and the sometimes hilarious result never seemed to pan out for me. I do like a good laugh, though. 
    No one knows for sure, but April Fools’ Day may have started loooong ago with the Roman tradition of Hilaria. It was celebrated the day after the vernal equinox, when the day is just a shade longer than the night (around March 20). But then there’s the Julian/Gregorian calendar correction, so lots of dates moved a little to the north. Games, plays, and masquerades were common during Hilaria..
    Then, in the late 1600s, so many fools traveled to the Tower of London to watch a made up ceremony they called “washing of the lions,” that the April 2, 1598, edition of a local newspaper had to debunk the hoax. They also publicly mocked those who fell for it.
    On the evening of April 1, 1957, thousands of British families tuned in to a current events show to watch a happy Swiss family harvesting their prized spaghetti trees. The spaghetti was a perfect al dente and hung loosely from the branches. Of course, the four-minute “news” segment was an intricate April Fools’ Day hoax. It was devised by a freelance cameraman and produced for a mere 100 pounds.
    These days it’s harder to tell news from foolishness. Lots of the news is foolish but, lots more is downright dangerous.
    First we get Mexico to pay for a border wall, now we don’t. 
    First we un-fund the Special Olympics. Then uproar ensues and reason prevails. Now we don’t. 
    First we un-ban drilling in vast areas of the Arctic and dozens of canyons in the Atlantic Ocean (sharp intake of breath). Then reason speaks to legal opinion (and common sense). Now the ban holds. No drilling (collective sigh of relief).
    Now we unilaterally recognize Jerusalem as the legitimate and diplomatic capital of Israel. Now we unilaterally declare the Golan Heights an area completely under Israeli control. Are we now encouraging antagonism and fear? Are we now de-stabilizing an already delicate part of the world? In the name of self-righteousness? Even if those events seem like the right thing to do, timing is everything. Consideration of our allies is everything else.
    I say “we” and “our” because we are all in this scary nightmare together. 
    Now we’re condemning The Affordable Care Act (because of its Obamacare nickname?) How many people will be hurt because of that senseless pandering to insurance companies? 
    Now we’re closing the border with Mexico. Really? How many companies will lose money and workers? How many people will be hurt, economically, physically, or otherwise?
    And ending foreign aid to Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador? Can he even do that? 
    I am not making light of these statements and developments. Some of them are true and probably lasting, with consequences, intended or not. Some will be reversed as the voices of justice, reason, and common sense speak up.
    Gullibility is aligned with ignorance. Foolishness is closely akin to vulnerability. We owe ourselves, our families, our nation, and our Mother Earth to learn as best as we can what is real, what is just a bunch of hot air, and what is truly dangerous. 
    Then we need to act.
                                                    -—stay curious! (and brave)
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         I'm a children's writer and poet intent on observing the world and nurturing those I find in my small space .

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