One day this past week, I sat on the ledge of the footbridge while the sun was setting, with my feet hanging over the water. There was a little old lady watching the sunset next to me (she was not on the ledge), and I thought to myself, Oh, that's the kind of little old lady I want to be someday, the kind who comes out to watch the sunset. I was wearing a long blue dress and tall black boots. Suddenly she came over and told me that if I were to fall in, my boots would present a serious problem. I laughed and said, "That's a good point," but then I looked at her closer and realized she was Not Joking. She was a very sour person and she seemed certain that I was going to fall into the river and my boots would drag me straight down to the bottom and I would drown while she stood above me triumphantly yelling, "I told you so!" We had a brief conversation (*cough* argument), during which I remained pleasant, even though she was essentially telling me I was a young fool. Then she said, "Well, you be careful!" and stomped away. Be careful? Why is it necessary to be careful? Never once in my life have I fallen off the seat I'm sitting on. People don't do that, they don't just fall out of their seats. I'm not going to fall in!! When I told my friend Jess this story, she said she would've been worried that the old lady was going to push her in. This is, in fact, one of the few scenarios in which I can imagine falling in. Someone pushes me in; I lose consciousness and topple in; I lose my sanity and jump in; or, the ledge of the footbridge itself breaks off, falls in, and I fall in with it. I am willing to risk all of these unlikely possibilities. And anyway, that little old lady couldn't have pushed me in. I would've beaned her. Yes, you heard it here, I would knock a little old lady on the head, if she were trying to push me into the river.
I… didn't actually mean to tell that story, I just meant to post some videos from a recent trip to the
New England Aquarium down at the wharf in Boston. If you hear the occasional screech, that would be a penguin.
If you can't see the videos, please visit my
Blog Actual.
A few seconds of jellyfish. Did you know that jellyfish have lived in our seas for hundreds of millions of years?
More jellies -- these are called umbrella jellyfish.
Sea turtle!
This little cuttlefish was my favorite thing ever.
He had intense powers of concentration.
And can you see the way he is (electrically!)
changing the color of his skin?
Finally, a few more jellies.