Amnesiac Memoirs |

Nature vs. Technology
by Ted L Glines

The year is 1815, almost 200 years ago. An event on a small Indonesian peninsula is about to create global cooling across the entire northern hemisphere. The effects from this event are going to be bad. We will talk about worse devestating results if such an event were to happen today.

“Tambora is a stratovolcano, forming the Sanggar peninsula of Sumbawa Island. The diameter of the volcano at sea-level is about 38 miles (60 km). Prior to the 1815 eruption, the volcano may have been as tall as 13,000 feet (4,000 m). The 1815 eruption formed a caldera about 4 miles (6 km) in diameter. The caldera is 3,640 feet (1,110 m) deep.”
(http://volcano.und.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/southeast_asia/indonesia/tambora.html)

This eruption of Tamora caused wide-spread death and panic. We did not have telecommunications nor Internet in 1815, so the panic spread slower than the death.

“The 1815 eruption of Tambora was the largest eruption in historic time. About 150 cubic kilometers of ash were erupted (about 150 times more than the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens). Ash fell as far as 800 miles (1,300 km) from the volcano. In central Java and Kalimantan, 550 miles (900 km) from the eruption, one centimeter of ash fell. The Volcanic Explosivity of the eruption was 7. The eruption column reached a height of about 28 miles (44 km). The collapse of the eruption column produced numerous pyroclastic flows. As these hot pyroclastic flows reached the ocean where they caused additional explosions. During these explosions, most of the fine-fraction of the ash was removed. The eruption formed a caldera. An estimated 92,000 people were killed by the eruption. About 10,000 direct deaths were caused by bomb impacts, tephra fall, and pyroclastic flows. An estimated 82,000 were killed indirectly by the eruption by starvation, disease, and hunger.”
(http://volcano.und.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/southeast_asia/indonesia/tambora.html)

Records indicate that, in the area surrounding this eruption, crops failed and fishing was all but eliminated. People vied with each other to catch rats for food and competed for such roots as were available. Widespread starvation produced disease epidemics in the populace.

I was about 35 miles from Mount St. Helens when that mountain exploded. The daytime sky turned black as deepest night. Our gutters filled with ash (which, by the way, made a superb glaze for pottery). I remember trying to navigate the I-5 freeway south of Vancouver, Washington, with afternoon visibility so low that you could not see the red tail-lights of vehicles only a few feet ahead of your own car. A resident (Harry Truman) had his house and himself buried under 200 feet of this ash.

“The 1815 eruption of Tambora caused the "Year without a Summer." Daily minimum temperatures were abnormally low in the northern hemisphere from late spring to early autumn. Famine was widespread because of crop failures.”
(http://volcano.und.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/southeast_asia/indonesia/tambora.html)

Gases expelled during the Tambora eruption created an atmospheric mantle composed of tiny droplets of sulpheric acid. These droplets acted like tiny mirrors in the stratosphere, reflecting back the warming rays of the sun. Result - global cooling. The worst effects of this event lasted for more than one year, according to research reports.

Deep arctic ice contains layers, like the rings of very ancient trees, which have recorded cataclismac world events. Arctic core samples, at the 1815 level, show a layer of sulpheric acid particles.

If such an event were to happen today, what would happen? The world is very different now from the technologically primitive world of 1815. We would see the same colder summer temperatures, certainly, but our advanced technology would cause problems. Much of our telecommunications capability would fail. Our Internet capability would largely fail. Everything from small business to the World Bank now depends upon data base acquisition via satellite communication. Remember that mantle of sulpheric acid droplets? Those “tiny mirrors” will destroy satellite communications capability around the planet. Your cell phone will not work. Your Instant Message access will be gone. Your access to Websites will be denied. Services like Hotmail, Yahoo, AOL, and Google, will be corrupted and useless. Your Dish TV will be a piece of useless junk. Law enforcement people will have no access to the warrant capability of the NCIC. Pentagon officials will lose their access to war-room operations. Intelligence agencies will have no contact with their field operatives. Our State Department global communications will meet an environment of silence and static. Around the world, computer screens will show error messages. Criminals, terrorists, and radicals will have a field day. This blanketing chaos will continue for a year or more. There is a bright side. Nigerian scammers will be out of business! But there is a dark side as well. Telemarketing idiots will still be able to call your land-line phone.

Suppose you have just awakened. You go onto your computer but Internet Explorer is not working. No big problem, it will be up and running in a while. And your cell phone has no signal. Oh, well, your regular land-line phone is working, except for long distance. And your local dialing cuts out from time to time. You dial “O” for Operator but there is no dial tone. “911” works but it is hard to get through. “411” does not work at all. You have an interactive Website and there are a number of ongoing discussions which require your interested participation, but you are unable to get online. On your way to work, you stop to get gasoline at a convenience store, but you cannot use your debit card because their Internet connection is down. You pay cash. When you get to work, chaos reigns because all of the computers are down. People no longer know how to operate a business on paper. You have gotten out of the habit of carrying cash and you are wondering if you will be able to buy groceries on your way home.

I could go on and ever onward with this. It is not my intention to add my own “doomsday” prediction to your mellow world. I am confident that we could figure out some way to solve the above problems. I am such a cockeyed optimist ...

Perfect
by Ted L Glines

There's nothing makes me madder
than a flat chromosome ladder,
no coil to its shape,
can't be fixed with tape,
just makes me madder and sadder.

How else should I react
when you fail to make it exact,
the way it should be
necessarily,
to keep ideals intact.

No laces in my shoes
will make me sing the blues,
nothing to tie,
this will not fly,
you may expect boo hoos.

Poor rabbit with two noses,
embarrassed to strike poses,
you fell on your pratt,
made him like that,
he will not send you roses.

I like my snow all white
for that is my delight,
and when some fellow
makes it yellow,
he's going to get a fight.

I suffer deep dejection
at all this imperfection,
you really might
just get it right,
and I demand correction.

I guess my metronome
needs perfect beats to roam,
to suit my taste,
no time to waste
on a flattened chromosome.

Author's Notes: So, you want to change the world -- make everything perfect. Beware what you ask for -- you might get it. Imagine a planet where everything is perfect -- pristine -- symmetrical -- no flaws. Everyone gets along because they all think perfectly (the same) . They live in perfect houses -- all the same -- endless rows of sameness. Perfect cars -- perfect kids -- perfect lives. Clones of perfection. No different races because they all look the same. Maybe they all look like George W. Bush (even the women -- what a horror that would be) . Who picked the perfect model? Does it matter? It's perfect -- after all.

Bentley
by Ted L Glines

Bentley was a scary bat
as some would say - and that was that
ignorance builds mighty towers
and bats are full of evil powers
"blind as a bat" - so say those folks
whose "knowledge" base is full of jokes
but may we take a moment here
to make the air a bit more clear.

Sub-Saharan flying fox
lives in trees or caves in rocks
known to live for twenty years
in spite of traps and guns and spears
eyes far better than yours or mine
the smallest things they can define
the juice from fruit is what they gulp
lapping juice - discarding pulp
nocturnal hunters nightly roam
and dawn will find them safe at home
cacophony of gossip squeaking
mothers/dads/babies speaking
thousands there all pressed together
sheltered safe from greed or weather
if we could know the things they're saying
of loves and fears - maybe praying
we might feel a kinship growing
with perhaps compassion showing.

Never meant for zoos nor cages
flying free through all the ages
thirty inches span of wings
strong to fly above all things
soaring straight and oh so high
miles of forest passing by
sixteen miles of hunting range
where all is known - nothing strange
straw-colored hair on neck and spine
brown chest and belly fur so fine.

In 1981 - born in a zoo
rejected by his mother too
Bentley never knew the wild
enslaved unhappy misplaced child
imprisoned where no freedom plays
and that's where Bentley spent his days
no appeal - no bargain gains
encaged for life "where freedom reigns"
but prisoned beasties cause abuse
and injured creatures have no u$e
zoos would rather put to sleep
those creatures they could cure and keep
it's like big bu$ine$$ everywhere
the profit motive shows no care.

Thanks to gods or thanks to fate
Bentley was rescued - not too late
by Bat World folks of Mineral Springs
Texas folks - where love still sings
and Bentley spent his last four years
being nurtured - no more fears
until the day he passed away
to fly with angels - laughing play
where there's always fruit enough
no bully beasts or zoos and stuff
no need to hide in fear or roam
at last dear Bentley flew on home.

Author's Notes: "Bentley was born in a zoo in 1981 and hand-reared after his mother rejected him. He spent 19 years on display in various zoos, where he was picked on by more aggressive males and received various injuries that included the loss of his lower lip. Bentley was consequently confined to a cage by himself for over 12 years, where he became malnourished and developed psychological problems from being alone. Bentley found refuge at Bat World Sanctuary in June of 2000, shortly after we learned of his condition and that he was scheduled to be euthanized. Although Bentley was only with us for four short years, we are thankful we were able to give him the rich life he so deserved, and he seemed truly happy in his final years. Watermelon was among his favorite foods. He loved to chow down on it; whether on a kabob or being held." ~Bat World, Mineral Springs, Texas USA http://www.batworld.org/in_memory/bentley.html This poem is a brief requiem for Bentley, a salute to the caregiving volunteers at Bat World, and it attempts to share a bit of information about his kind. My thanks to Julia Truelove (Oregon) who suggested the effort, for I learned much.

Home
by Ted L Glines

That little birdhouse standing there
feeling lonesome grey and bare
its perch has long since worn away
no birdies ever come to play
no cheeping baby birds at rest
just a mournful empty nest
remembering olden days so blessed
(a lack which leaves me sorely pressed)
a little dowel - mayhap a stick
would make a perch - that's the trick
and add some bright and cheery paint
golden trim to make it quaint
let's scatter seeds upon the ground
so the birds will come around
to make their happy tweety sound
in this "new place" they have found.

Author's Notes: Drat, now that I have immortalized that old dilapidated birdhouse (I drive by it every day), I'll have to go fix it. Grump, mutter mutter, gripe and grump (sneaky secret grin 'cause no one's looking).

Knights in White Satin
by Ted L Glines

I love our Mother,
Don't you?
She's worth fighting for,
So are you.

All hail the ladies
Who fight the good fight
To save our dear Gaia
From poison and blight.
All hail the ladies
Whose voices are clear,
"Stop the destruction
Of Gaia, so dear."

Our rivers run oily
With toxic waste,
Killed by greed
And corporate haste.
Our oceans are shiny
With chemical spills.
Dolphins are dying
In fishery kills.

Sea-cows are slaughtered,
Run over for sport
By boats of the wealthy
Who do not fear court.
Oil-coated birds
Lay dead on our shore,
Victims of men
Who don't care anymore.

But, out on the Front,
Petitions in hand,
Our "Knights in White Satin"
Are saving our land.
Hail to the ladies
Whose voices ring clear,
"Stop the destruction
Of Gaia, you hear???!!!"

And where you saw forests,
There's nothing but slash,
Cut clear to make paper
Which goes to make trash.
And eagles fly over,
No nests anymore.
Whole species are dying;
No homes like before.

The Red Men took care
To nurture their land,
They knew that their lives
Were in Gaia's hand.
Along came the White Eyes
To claim a fat prize
Leaving just chaos
In spite of our cries.

In halls of our Congress,
Petitions in hand,
With millions of names
From all over this land,
Our "Knights in White Satin"
Are taking their stand.
We stride beside them;
We go hand in hand.

This war is for Gaia,
Our Mother, so dear,
So lift up your voices
And give a great cheer.
We all march together
And we won't be halted
'Til Gaia is smiling
And life is exalted

Author's Notes: Thanks to the Moody Blues, whose "Nights in white satin" gave me this title, and to Annalegra's homeless eagle in "Lament."

Osio by Ted L Glines Osio, old woman of my People, our ages live long in your eyes. We've survived so many hard battles and we've said far too many "goodbyes." In your face are the valleys we came from, where we hunted and loved and fought, where the rain was a gift of Katsinas and we blessed every boon that we got. The white in your hair is the snow and the streams where we frolicked and fished, where the forests and plains were our friends, who provided all life that we wished. Osio, old woman of my People, your beauty and pride is our goal. In this life of greed and contention, smile, for we dance in your soul.

Amnesiac Memoirs

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