[Waterhouse] wanted to create such perfect models that anyone - a crowd of curious children, England’s leading scientists, even the Queen herself! - could gaze at his dinosaurs and see into the past.
                         from The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse
Hawkins: An Illuminating History of Mr. Waterhouse Hawkins,
Artist and Lecturer
                         written by Barbara Kerley
                         with drawings by Brian Selznick 
(many of which are based on the original sketches
of Mr. Hawkins)
                         Scholastic Press, 2001
                         Caldecott Honor
    I don’t remember being mesmerized by any one thing when I was growing up. My girls either.
    But in my work as a children’s librarian, I discovered fascinations with everything from sharks and spiders to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (remember those?). 
    And of course, dinosaurs. I hoped my own grandchildren or at least one or two would get hooked on dinosaurs, but no luck.
    One of the boys loved Thomas The Tank Engine. One was so into mushrooms that he had his own field guide at age three. One knew the names and workings of every construction vehicles, common and obscure.
    Fairies and princesses captured the imagination of both girls like nothing else.
    But no dinosaurs.
    I indulged my own fascination by providing dinosaur storytimes. We made paper-plate stegosauruses, and tyrannous masks and claws. We read lots of books and learned about lots of dinosaurs. I usually ended by (hopefully?) inspiring the kids, telling them that I might be looking at the person who solves the mystery of how and why the dinosaurs all became extinct. Now we have consensus, but then there was still controversy.
    Since time began, scientists have recorded five major mass extinctions. Lots of questions remain, but much has been learned. Actually in all that time, five is a pretty low number. According to https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-timeline-of-the-mass-extinction-events-on-earth.html the big five are:
Ordovician–Silurian Extinction
    About 439 million years ago, the combination of glaciation and the formation of the Appalachian Mountains resulted in falling sea levels.Since the majority of the animal life lived in the ocean, trilobites, brachiopods, and graptolites died off in large numbers    . Plant life was left high and dry.

Devonian Extinction, Late
    About 100 million years later, giant land plants are thought to have caused the next extinction. Their deep roots released nutrients changing the composition of the oceans themselves. This resulted in mass amounts of algal blooms and depleted the seas of oxygen and therefore, animal life. Many scientists consider this mass extinction to have taken place over over hundreds of thousands of years. 

Permian–Triassic Extinction
    This extinction event is called “The Great Dying.” About 96% of life perished in a huge volcanic eruption 251 million years ago. It filled the air with carbon dioxide which fed different kinds of bacteria. Large amounts of methane emissions warmed the Earth and the oceans became acidic. Ancient coral species were totally lost.

Triassic–Jurassic Extinction
    Like the other mass extinctions, it is believed that this one was also a gradual phenomenon. The blame has been placed on an asteroid impact, the resulting basalt eruptions, and climate change. Mammals were the dominant species and then they weren’t. Dinosaurs had room and time to flourish. That was about 200 million years ago. Dinosaurs evolved and thrived for 135 million years.
    
Cretaceous–Paleogene Extinction
    Sixty-five or six million years ago, so the theory goes, a huge asteroid (about six miles in diameter) traveling at 10 to 20 miles per second, smashed into Earth and left a crater 110 miles across, about as wide as the whole state of Delaware is long! The crash was bad. Very bad. The dust it threw off was full of sulfur, which is particularly adept at blocking out sunlight and resulted in an “impact winter.” The dust snuffed out the sun. That’s when we lost the dinosaurs. It was dark for so long plants could not photosynthesize. Then ferns grew almost rampant.
    It took millions of years for life to recover its former level of diversity.
    We may well ask, “What’s next?” 
    Nearly 150 authors from 50 nations worked for three years to compile a report by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. The panel is composed of 132 member nations including the United States.. Find them here: https://ipbes.net/members-observers
    Representatives of each member nation signed off on the findings. You can find the report, released on May 6, 2019, here: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/nature-decline-unprecedented-report/ 
    Overwhelming evidence paints a dire future for our planet. Species loss is speeding up. More than half a million land animals are at great risk of extinction in the coming decades. The oceans are no better off.
    This time, no 6-mile-wide asteroid crashed into earth. No giant plants upset the chemical balance of the soil or water. No new mountain ranges have formed.
    This time, humanity is both perpetrator and victim of our current condition. Maybe it’s human nature to choose convenience over longterm sustainability. Maybe it’s human nature to live in the moment without giving much thought to the future. Maybe it’s human nature to “make do” in a dangerous situation rather than try to change it for the better.
    It is easy to become overwhelmed, scared stiff. But it only takes one idea, one thought, communicated widely, lived loudly, believed strongly, to head confidently into the future. A bright one. For our kids. And grandkids. And theirs, too.

(2021) One of President Biden’s first acts as president was rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement. The biggest climate meeting since Paris begins this Sunday (10/31/21) and will continue for almost two weeks. As President Biden heads to Glasgow, Scotland, his and our country’s credibility is on the line. No one doubts Biden’s sincerity. Whether Congress will pass his appropriations remains the question. It’s a good time to write to your Senator.
                              -—stay curious! (and say no to plastic!!)

In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart. I simply can’t build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery, and death. I see the world gradually being turned into a wilderness, I hear the ever approaching thunder, which will destroy us too. I can feel the sufferings of millions and yet, if I look up into the heavens, I think that it will all come right, that this cruelty too will end, and that peace and tranquility will return again.
                                   From:The Diary of a Young Girl
                                             Written by Anne Frank
                                    Doubleday/Bantam Books, 1967
                                               first published in 1947
                                                first US edition, 1952
    One of the most famous Holocaust poems of all time, "First They Came for the Jews," was written by a Lutheran pastor and theologian, Martin Niemöller (1892–1984).
    After recanting his support for Hitler and Nazism, Niemöller was arrested and confined to the Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps from 1938 to 1945. He narrowly avoided execution and was liberated by the Allies. He stayed in Germany and worked as a clergyman, pacifist, and anti-war activist. In his 1946 book, Niemöller talked publicly of Germany’s guilt for what had happened to the Jews. He was one of the first Germans to do so.
Here's his poem:

                     First They Came For The Jews
                              by Martin Niemöller
First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.
   
    I found the text of the poem and information about Niemöller on this page at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum site.
    Accessed on October 29, 2018. (verified October 19, 2021)

    Here is a modern adaptation:
When they came for the Jews and the blacks, I turned away
When they came for the writers and the thinkers and the radicals and the protestors, I turned away
When they came for the gays, and the minorities, and the utopians, and the dancers, I turned away
And when they came for me, I turned around and around, and there was nobody left...
(published in Hue and Cry, 1991)

You can find more adaptations here:
http://webweaversworld.blogspot.com/2006/10/first-they-came-for-jews-variations-on.html

    Or write your own. 
    Please share!
    Shooting and killing praying people in a synagogue . . . because they were Jewish. I never thought that could *really* happen. But it did. In 2018. In the city next door to mine. 
    I’m (still) struggling with how to turn my anger, fear, pessimism, and grief into action. I signed up to make phone calls for Everytown for Gun Safety. https://everytown.org  You can, too.

(10/19/21)    On October 8, 2021, the director of curriculum and instruction for the Carroll Independent School District in Southlake, Texas, told a fourth grade teacher to “make sure that if you have a book on the Holocaust, that you have one that has an opposing … perspective.” Find the article here.
                                           -—stay curious! (and caring)

GUYS
JUST CHECKING IN TO MAKE SURE
EVERYONE HAS THE LATEST INFO
INCOMING FRESHMAN TED YOUNGBLOOD IS IN THE 
HOSPITAL FROM THAT HIT HE TOOK AT CAMP TODAY.
IT’S PRETTY BAD, NOT SURE HOW BAD YET
BUT I HEARD HE’S STILL UNCONSCIOUS.
                                                 from Game Changer
                                       written by Tommy Greenwald
                                                 Abrams/Amulet, 2018

    The closest I’ve ever been to a football was my job at the Wilson football factory in Ada, Ohio. I laced rubber footballs and sewed leather ones back in the mid 1970s. I finished my days there working on soccer balls. I also don’t follow soccer, which is football everywhere else in the world.
    My mom played clarinet in her high school marching band during football games. So did my girls. That must be a trait that skips a generation.
    Both of my sons-in-law like football, and the girls know quite a lot more than I ever did. I never got interested in the game. Boys (or 300-pound grown men) running at each other trying to throw, catch, or prevent someone else from throwing and/or catching a crazy-shaped “ball” is just dangerous. Does a ball even have to be round to be called a ball? I guess not!
    And the complicated rules!
    Football, American football, is dangerous. When a person’s brain slams into the inside of the skull, the result is a concussion. The harder the hit, the more severe the concussion. But brain injury occurs over time, too. There is a cumulative effect on the brain when it is concussed over and over again. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is the term used to describe this serious brain condition.
    Have you seen the movie Concussion (starring Will Smith, 2015)? It’s the true story of a Nigerian doctor who discovered the alarming connection between head injuries sustained in playing football and brain damage (CTE) in older, retired players.
    Even though leather helmets have been available since 1893, according to NFL.com, football helmets were not even required until 1943. Energy absorbing helmets were introduced in the 1970s. Full face masks were, too. In 2011, an impact indicator on the helmet’s chin strap was devised. It’s used to identify head injuries. But, really, isn’t it too late if the injury has already occurred?
    Football, American football, is a violent sport. It attracts and condones violence on the football field, and elevates winning to a crowning achievement. It is whether you win or lose, not how you play the game. Not all refs stop aggression. There’s the problem of proving intent. Did a player really ram into another one on purpose. Well, yes. To get the ball, to complete the play, to score.
    Part of the attraction for the players is probably money. Professional football players are paid millions of dollars each season. In 2018, the minimum NFL salary for a rookie was $480,000, not quite half a million. Fame is an incentive for some, no doubt. And the ability to sway public sentiment to a cause worked (in a way) for Colin Kaepernick. He was noticed. He still is being talked about. He is not playing football. He recently did an ad for Nike, whose CEO reinforced standing up (or taking a knee) for what you believe in. So Colin is working.
    But the young kids. Why should a dangerous sport still be allowed, even encouraged? Since Concussion came out in 2015, more and more parents are thinking twice about letting their kids play. 
    In fall/winter of 2015/16, 1,083,308 boys played high school football. For the 2018/19 school year, 1,006,013 boys are signed up. Girls play, too: 1,565 in 2014/15 and 2,404 in 2018/19. A much smaller number than the boys, but why are more girls choosing to play? 
    Aggression must be learned. It is a goal in developing young football players according to YouthFootballOnline. Although they are encouraged to keep safety as a first priority, the first bullet-point in a list for coaches states:
“Each act should be with aggression as soon as child hits the practice field. If he puts his helmet on, have him do it aggressively. When he drinks a cup of water, have him do it with aggression. No meek actions.” (emphasis included on webpage.)
    Their premise is that aggressive actions on the field will lead to a confident attitude off the field. “It’s the attitude of if you want something bad enough, you have to go out and get it.”
    In other words, take what you want from whoever has it. No asking nicely, no compromising, no patiently waiting. No wonder so many people love the game!    
    Not all team names are angry and aggressive sounding, but a lot are. I don’t think cheese factory workers in Green Bay are dangerous, but their team is the Packers. Besides the birds, lots of teams chose animal names. I’ll save Native American tribal names for another post.
    Among the non-violent names, the Dolphins come to mind.
    Bluejays are an aggressive bird, but they play baseball. We have Cardinals, Falcons and Eagles, and Seahawks in the bird category. And Ravens.
    Of course the other side of the argument is the character-building, teammate-building, responsibility-building aspect of any group sport.
    I still choose to quote Edgar Allen Poe’s Raven (from Baltimore, just like him).
    “Nevermore.”
                                                -—stay curious! (and safe)    

    After Joey leaves, Mary Ann and I go back to pushing coins into my piggy bank. When we’re done, I pick it up and shake it. It’s so  full, it barely makes a noise. It’s heavy too.
    I hand it to Mary Anne so she can feel it. “I can’t believe how much you have,” she says.
                                      from: In Business with Mallory
                                         written by Laurie Friedman
                                        illustrated by Barbara Pollak
                                            Carolrhoda Books, 2006
    In high school I worked as a sales clerk for The May Company, a national department store chain with a local outlet. The store was close to home and I usually walked there and back. I had my driver’s license, but I didn’t have a car. Not too many of my friends (and none of the girls) had one, and that was okay. 
    I earned $1.60/hour. When I started working, most people paid with cash. Some used a Charge-a-Plate to buy on credit. I think their bank issued it. I approached my mom with the idea for my own credit card, but she didn’t think much of it. I’m not sure how I convinced her I would buy something only when I already had enough money in the bank to pay for it. That seemed counter-intuitive to me, but I played by Mom’s rules. I opened up a checking account so I could pay off my new Charge-a-Plate as soon as I received my bill.
    The card was a small silver-colored rectangle, embossed with my name and a number. It was about half the size of the Visa Card and the Discover Card I have in my wallet today. I wish I could remember what my first purchase was.
    People spoke about a cashless society and I wondered what that would look like. Well, it looks like now. I know people who buy their morning coffee on credit, and charge restaurant meals and groceries, too. 
    Here’s the thing about buying groceries on credit. Before they’re paid for, I’d have cooked, eaten, and eliminated (or more likely, stored as fat!!) most of what I bought. That feels strange to me.
    I understand the necessity for credit. Not everyone can save up for a car, or a home remodel, or even a washer or dryer or new fridge. I expect to pay interest to the bank for the convenience of having what I want (or need) immediately. Sometimes, it’s an emergency.    
    When I asked them, my parents explained the National Debt in familiar terms. People pay taxes to the government, then the government pays the senators, congressmen, and judges. The government pays to run the national parks and federal agents to solve crimes and the CIA to keep us safe. And the government funds Social Security and Medicare. Aid goes to people who don’t make enough money or who don’t make any money for whatever reasons, some good, some bad. And the government buys electricity to keep their buildings open.
    When the government spends more money than it has and needs to borrow, it is called deficit spending. It’s what my mom cautioned me not to do. 
    If the government’s bills are not paid in full each month, the bank or other lending institution applies interest that is added to the total. The National Debt increases, but without the benefit of getting more goods.  
    Besides receiving money from the tax-paying population, the government can issue bonds. Private citizens and corporations can buy them. The government can borrow money from other programs (or really our kids) by tapping into Social Security and Medicare. And they can borrow on the world market. Our government borrows from other countries, too.
    About 66% of the National Debt is money the government owes the public, businesses, and foreign governments that bought investments is the US. The rest is what the Federal government owes itself for loans it took from Social Security and Medicare and other trusts. 
    The US debt is over 22 trillion dollars. That’s a 22 with 12 zeros (22,000,000,000,000). (2021: over 28 trillion) Only four trillion one-dollar bills laid end to end will reach all the way from Earth to the moon.
    As of May, 2019, the United States government owes China $1.11 trillion (one trillion, eleven billion). That’s 27% of the debt held by foreign countries. 

2021 update: According to a paper called Foreign Holdings of Federal Debt (Updated July 9, 2021) and published by the Congressional Research Service:
    Based on their estimates, Japan holds approximately 17.7% of all foreign investment in U.S. publicly held federal debt, China holds approximately 15.2%, and the United Kingdom holds approximately 6.2%. The other (approximately 60% is domestically held, what the government owes itself and its citizens.) https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/RS22331.pdf 
    And, since the government can only use reconciliation a limited number of times, if they raise the debt ceiling before December, 2021, they will not be able to use it to pass any or all of the Infrastructure Bill. 
    Meanwhile the Freedom to Vote Act languishes, at the peril of our free and fair elections.

    Why does all this even matter? If the US keeps borrowing and increasing the amount of the debt, world markets could lose confidence in our government. Obligating ourselves to other countries is a risky business.
    Raising taxes and reducing spending is one way to borrow less. That’s pretty uncomfortable, too. 
    I don’t know the answer to this very complicated problem, but I’ll keep reading and listening. Stay tuned.

2021:The Deficit Myth by Stephanie Kelton (PublicAffairs, 2020) is an interesting book (well the introduction is, anyway). In it she discusses Modern Monetary Theory and claims governments should not be run like households. That is, tax revenues do not fund the government since the Treasury is controlled by the government and can provide printed money in an endless supply. Now if someone could just explain that to Mitch McConnell and the rest of his Republicans…
    Maybe I’ll look for a class in Chinese.
                 -—stay curious! (and take a deep breath, or two)