Blue Planet Journey

Covid-19 continued its march across Utah, the US, and the world. We relaxed in Logan, gardening, reading, running, and (Caroline) playing ukulele. I retired officially from USU on 1 July, after 29 years. That milestone certainly was a casualty of the novel coronavirus. No goodbyes, no celebration, no congratulations. No mingling with colleagues, and no opportunity to reminisce. Not even a card!  Luckily, I have a thoughtful family, who brought balloons, chocolate cake, and a bottle of wine. Then, we went to feed the ducks! It gave me a better sense of what was being missed across the world... graduations, marriage celebrations, reunions, and even funerals attended by more than close family. In my case, there will be no "make-up" retirement party. At USU, I was there one day, and not the ne xt. Close out the lab and the office, and my 29-year history passed into oblivion. Remember the adage, nobody on his deathbed ever said, "I wish I had spent more time at the office....

“The basic science is not physics or mathematics but biology--the study of life. We must learn to think both logically and bio-logically.”  — Edward Abbey ••• There are a number of significant events in every person’s life.  Finding and touching your first wiggly worm, learning to ride a bike, and going on an overnight fishing trip with your best friends and running out of food and beer before midnight come to mind. Significant events act as milestones in our life.  You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Do you remember where you were (or what you were doing) when _____________?”  Depending on your age, the question might relate to the first landing of people on the moon, or JFK’s assassination, or, more recently and catastrophically, the destruction of the north and south towers of the World Trade Center complex.  No one asks when you had THE Roger Tory Peterson ask what bird you were watching (my response? “I don’t know, but it has eye rings”), or whe...