This is a repeat of my post in March, 2011. There is NOTHING MORE VITAL that I have ever published than this. HINT: the kicker is in the last story of this blog and if you don't care about that, then there will be nothing else left to care about for tomorrow.

Things that amaze me most: Part VIII

As I told you before, there are a number of things/events/emotions that absolutely blow-my-mind because they are so introspectively amazing and give me a deeper sense of awe. So I made a list of the things that amaze me most... some big, some small, some acts, some things... but all, in my mind, amazing.  So far:

Part I:    THE PACIFIC OCEAN
Part II:   BIG NUMBERS
Part III: THE YOUNG: Babies, toddlers and teens
Part IV:  LAUGHTER: A peek into the soul
Part V:   NATURE: Her splendor and fury
PART VI: THE POWER OF 1
PART VII: THE NATURAL LAWS OF PHYSICS


PART VIII: US HUMANS

Big, small, short, tall-- from a single cell embryo to Troy Jackson... who just died at 38. Troy was a basketball player... a 'classic' big man who could handle the ball--and look at how he could handle it. He was 6'10" tall and weighed as much as 500 lbs... or Shaq O'Neil who wears a size 23 shoe.

 Or... the World's Tallest man - Bao Xishun (7ft 7") or... the World's smallest adult, He Pingping (2ft 4").  How the heck did that all happen?

Funny thing is, we all started (with few exceptions-- in vitro fertilization, donor sperm or egg, Mary, mother of God, etc.) the same way. And if you don't know what that way is, then you'd better finally have that talk with mom and dad.

In any case, this is what the initial courtship  looks like... and yes, it is worth a few seconds to watch it.

Aww...The new baby. He/she has mom's eyes... and grandpa's sloping forehead, and cousin Ernie's long, tapered, pool-playing fingers... er, no fingers yet... but just you wait.

It is absolutely mind-blowing INCREDIBLE! From a single cell to... you and me, with all of our complexities, foibles and personalities. And the reason Baby Blue... or Pink, will look like us is that he/she has our genetic imprint... the heredity coding that says if your second toe is longer than your big toe, so will your baby's be... and if that big nose comes from grandpa's side of the family, baby's will look Italian too. The hair, the intelligence, the health, both good and bad, will all come from mom and dad and beyond.

As if that isn't enough, just imagine what we have learned to help us through life... all the technical, medical, psychological and social advances (and detractions) that build from generation to generation. Heck, our great-grandparents could have easily died in childbirth, or from appendicitis, or a bad tooth-ache, as many did! We even watched television in black and white, for God's sake. And we have, for better or worse, adapted to it all. 

Whether we are born here of there, of this race or that, big or small, male or female, we have a commonality to our heirs and one another:

If you are an Adam and Eve fan, then hello brother, hello sister.
If you go more for evolution, then shake hands with me, you big ape.
If you feel there is a place for both, I'm your man, just like him, her, it.


OK... are you ready for the moral of this story? We are all linked and dependent on one another... we just all haven't come to the point of accepting that as a human race. We still hate, show envy and prejudice. We still ignore the human rights and needs of others. We still kill and mistreat. The Golden Rule has nothing on us.

We can do better. We have to, because every moment of every day, there are more of us than ever before--5 times more people now than in 1900-- and we are all living in the same house as we always have... the one we call earth.


One last thought about that "house:" A mom tells of the conversation she had with her daughter... and the simple wisdom of a child that we often forget as we age.

Today, in the cutest voice, my 8-year-old daughter asked me to start recycling.  I chuckled and asked, “Why?”

She replied, “So you can help me save the planet.”
  
I chuckled again and asked, “And why do you want to save the planet?”
  
 “Because that’s where I keep all my stuff.”

(Thanks to Marc and Angel Hack Life website.)

YOU MAY ALREADY BE A WIENER!

Did you win the $1 billion lottery yet? Or maybe the consolation $500 million lottery and are feeling cheated because it was only $500 million? Well, congratulations anyhow. $500 million is still enough to keep going until the money runs out.

Were you one of those who stood in line for over 3 hours at some locations just to buy a ticket or two? Hope it was worth it.

Odds are 1 in 300 million (or about one of the people in the United States) to win. Great odds... and somebody has to win, right? Wrong actually, because no one has won this lottery since last summer... that's how it got so lucrative... and so impossible.

Odds of winning both of these jackpots is 1 in 88 quadrillion (population of earth 293333333 times, but good luck.

Actually, here's my point. If you stood in line for up to 3 hours or more for the opportunity to buy one or more tickets at $2 a pop, would you stand in line for 3 hours to vote this November? Probably most in the lottery line would not, but that's just my guess. Less than half of us vote in almost any election and this is one of the most important.

However, where there is the will, there is a statistical possibility it could be you. Here's my favorite scene from one of my favorite movies, Dumb and Dumber with Jim Carey and Dave Daniels on how hope and a positive attitude actually keep you in play. Odds, schmads, you can do it.

BUT CAN YOU... AND WILL YOU VOTE THIS NOVEMBER? JUST DO IT AND KEEP OUR HOPES UP THAT WE, AS A PEOPLE, WIN!

Where is Jiminy Cricket, our one time national conscience, when we need him most: A dedication to every woman, man or child who has ever been abused in any way.

Crikey!, it's Jiminy Cricket.

This is an interesting story. Jiminy, which is his real-fake first name, sould become a symbol, with a more personal message so appropriate today.



Jiminy first appeared in Carlo Colodi's 1883 children's book, The Adventures of Pinocchio, from which Walt Disney's Pinocchio was born in 1940, and he co-starred with "you know who." He is Pinocchio's friend and conscience, as appointed by The Blue Fairy after she has given Geppetto's puppet life. Jiminy narrates the story, sings,some songs, mentors and guides, clicks his heels and most importantly, whistles. He is admirable. He could/should be President.

Pinocchio lying.

And when Pinocchio lied, his nose grew longer and longer so everyone knew he was lying. I've noticed a a lot of long noses lately.

Jiminy's name came from an old, polite euphemism for Jesus Christ, spoken earlier in film by of the dwarfs in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. So '"Jiminy Cricket!," can't we all be better than that?

And you can't convince me Australia's Crikey! wasn't just another derivation of the same expression.

But mostly, Jiminy became an 'everybody conscience' as World War II was at our doorstep and the morality of Pinocchio was what we watched as right prevailed over wrong in a satisfying, tearful way.

Here are the memorable songs in the movie (if you're old enough to remember):

1.  When you Wish Upon a Star
2. Jiminy Cricket Theme
3. The Blue Fairy Theme
4. Give A Little Whistle
5. Pinocchio Goes To School
6. Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee (An Actor's Life For Me)
7. I've Got No Strings
8. Coach To Pleasure Island
9. The Whale Chase
10. Turn On The Old Music Box

All the songs are listenable if you Google Pinocchio songs and they are fun, but I took Give A Little Whistle to heart:

When you get in trouble
And you don't know right from wrong
Give a little whistle, give a little whistle

When you meet temptation
And the urge is very strong
Give a little whistle, give a little whistle

Not just a little squeak, pucker up and blow
And if you're whistle is weak, yell

(Pinnochio)

Jiminy Cricket!

(Jiminy Cricket)

Right!

Take the strait and narrow path
And if you start to slide
Give a little whistle, give a little whistle
And always let your conscience be your guide
Take the strait and narrow path
And if you start to slide
Give a little whistle (yoo-hoo)
Give a little whistle (yoo-HOO!)
And always let your conscience be your guide

We need you Blue Fairy

(Pinnocchio)

And always let your conscience be your guide!

Jiminy Cricket, can't we be better than we are?