What Stuff Are

“Why are you up so early, before everyone else in the family?” A young mom says to her 3 year old.

The 3 year old replies: “To See What Stuff Are!”

This was told to me by my mother many times throughout my life. I was a curious child and continued wanting to know what was going on around me. What were mommy and daddy doing when I was not around? I can remember sneaking out of bed and watching t.v. with them ( I was undetected behind a chair!). Maybe it was/is a sort of “fear of being left out.”

When I was 8 my maternal grandparents gave me a transistor radio. I listened to music and news and talk radio. I remember being at a sleepover at a friend’s. We were in a tent in her backyard and she was sleeping and I was listening to my little radio with an earpiece. I found the Christian radio programs being broadcast from over the border in Mexico. Hell fire and damnation sermons that fascinated me and were so different from my Unitarian church services. Hey, I could even send in some money and buy a piece of the cross Jesus was crucified on…not sure I am remembering that correctly.

As I grew older I wanted to know what was going on in other places. My brother and I got walkie talkies. I was excited to learn that not only could we talk to each other from the next street, we could pick up some police radio chatter! This is how I learned that someone was shooting people from the University of Texas tower. I went into the house and told my mother and some visiting friends what was happening. We turned on the t.v. and watched a live photo of the tower.

A year or two later we were visiting some friends of friends. The dad of the family introduced us kids to a shortwave radio. So cool! We could hear people talking all over the world. I wanted one and finally got one at Christmas or on a birthday. I would spend an hour or two tuning the dial. I would hear ham operators chatting with each other, morse code…which I briefly attempted to learn…and broadcast channels like the Voice Of America, Radio HCJB from Ecuador, and Radio Havana, Cuba. I listened to all sorts of languages, often having no clue to what language it was.

I got rid of my last shortwave radio about the time it could be accessed over the internet. And then only checked out the stations a few times. I have no idea how to do that now. Instead, I have discovered live streaming on You Tube! Lately, I have spent a lot of time checking out a few regular feeds to watch the anti ICE protests in U. S. cities. One or two of the reporters seem to be unbiased journalists. Others are pretty open on their point of view. I mostly watch the liberal leaning ones, but sometimes check out the right wing feeds.

Imagine a bear in a cave, supposedly hibernating, but actually watching You Tube on her Ipad…that is me. Last night I was up late watching a fire someone had set near a detention center in Los Angeles. But, I can only stand so much of people chanting and yelling F*** ICE and watching people being dragged from cars or houses and being shot.

So, I tune into live bird and animal feeder streams from all over the world. I have watched live (and sometimes old clips) views of jackals and gnus at a watering hole in Namibia; hummingbirds in Costa Rica; Pandas in China (in captivity); badgers in Denmark; and birds coming to snow covered feeders in upstate New York and Canada.

A recent discovery is live feeders in South Texas and in South Carolina.

I have seen some tussling (usually within the same species) and growling and other threatening behavior between species. But, mostly they are feeding right next to each other…aware of their differences…but tolerating each other as they eat. I know these feeders do not replicate their lives in the wild…but it does make me think that maybe different people can get along better and even be kind to each other and share resources…?

Meanwhile, I will go check out videos of the venerable Monks and their Walk for Peace day 98.

*photos taken off You Tube from my Ipad

*Teenager with head down taken by Barbara Downes

Youtube.com

South Carolina Crittervision Critter Cam: Do a search for this on Youtube…I think this is going 24/7

Blue Indigo Trails Camera in South Texas-do a search on Youtube.com…they may only be streaming at night