The Last Ant
The Extinction of Cook’s Bi-Articulated Hairy-Legged Carpenter Ant Edward must have known he was the last of his kind. As Dr. Peterson, head of the Moore Labs, was fond of saying, “Dying is easy; lifting 32 times your own weight is difficult.” Nonetheless, no ant has ever been as pampered as this remnant of an obscure subspecies, his handling due entirely to the unusual circumstances of his life and death. We learned from Peterson that normally males die immediately after fertilizing a queen, and many do not make it to sexual maturity in an endangered colony, as...
Read MoreThe Mobile Classroom
Ten minutes into the first lesson I see one of our cars on the road. I’m not sure who is instructing, but it’s probably Thomas. I abandon my route for the moment and have my student turn each time Thomas does. Five minutes into this tailing, my driver asks, “Are we following that car?” “Yup,” I say, “it’s one of ours. You two want to have some fun?” “Sure,” the driver says. Her sister in the back keeps quiet. Thomas’s car turns left and we follow, maintaining our distance. “Now,” I say as we stalk our prey,...
Read MoreOut of Kentucky
My grandmother raised five kids herself. My mother is the little girl on the left, and she is the only one left living from this photo. My grandmother is the one seated in the chair. The little girl on the right is my aunt, who passed away a few years ago. The little boy is my uncle, who was killed by a train many years ago. My mother says the little bows in their hair were made from bread ties. The little outfits were hand sewn by my grandmother. To me, this is a most beautiful photo. It captures a proud mother who was also poor. It captures innocence. It captures simplicity. It...
Read MoreThe Palm Tree Goddess
The Palm Tree Goddess is a name I have given to what is known from antiquities as the Ephesian Artemis. Copies of this image show a standing goddess, well-dressed and adorned, with the peculiar characteristic of what is called multiple breasts: i.e., a quantity of oval objects hanging around the upper part of her body, as if she has not two but many breasts. The fact that each of these objects do not look particularly like a breast, and having no nipples, did not disturb the initiator of this appellation. Other scholars must have noticed this discrepancy and decided to call these objects...
Read MoreSardinian Sunshine: The Most Undiscovered Part of Italy
Omu Axiu I’m at the Convent of San Giuseppe, devouring a sinfully delicious meal, candlelight flickering upon castle-like marble and stone and beams. This is Sardinia, Italy, and today is my 50th birthday. It’s a luminous starry night in late April, and smells of simmering seafood, fresh bread, wine, garlic, and juniper...
Read More