Happy
Post-Holidays!
Dolphin Sculpture
Aquarium of the Pacific,
Long Beach, California
Our little girl, O, is
one furry critter. Her undercoat is thick and prone to
tangles. Looking for her dog comb, last night, I came across two tickets
to the aquarium in Long Beach. They were given to us by a
friend that we had met at the E Hula Mau competition in Long Beach
in 2000 and again in 2001.
His name is Rennie, a
retired professional photographer who volunteered as a docent at the
aquarium. On the last day of the competition, he gifted us with
these tickets to thank us for twice driving him back to the
Aquarium.
"Oh-oh," I
said to DH as I pulled them from my purse, "these are
going to expire on the 31st!"
So, this morning,
instead of driving up to the mountains, we drove
down to the coastline. Hoping he'd be there to show us around, we asked for Rennie as we went
through the turnstiles of the aquarium.
"Rennie no longer
volunteers here," said the ticket attendant. "He lost his
sight."
Ohh, we knew it was
coming. I'd written about his inevitable vision loss in
2000 when we'd first met him: E
Hula Mau 2000. But the
dreadful news still surprised us.
I said a prayer for
Rennie and resolved to see his beloved aquarium through his
eyes. What I saw was inspiring, mind-boggling, and beyond
anything I have ever seen.
The Aquarium of the
Pacific is magnificent.
>> An
excellent website of the Aquarium of the Pacific
We were thoroughly
impressed with its breadth and presentation. I snapped these
photos, and although photos can never fully capture Nature's full
beauty, I think these got close and Rennie would be pleased.
Ironically, looking for a comb,
I end up finding the Comb Jellyfish.
They are Nature's marvels with streaming iridescence.
Click here
for an enlargement
This may look like strands of straggly
sargasso seaweed.
Look closer.
It's a sea dragon with fantastic camouflage.
Click here
for an enlargement
Dancing Jellyfish
Pretty darn otherworldly,
but there they were, before our very eyes.
Click here
for an enlargement
The beauty was beyond
words, and I was comforted that Rennie had spent his last days of
sight seeing these incredible visual treats. Thank you,
friend.
God bless Rennie.
"Life is a Gift."
Sincerely,
Author
Unknown
P.S. If you would
like to share a portion of yourself with words, in response to
this journal entry, you may do it here.
|
"The
only gift is a portion of thyself..."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
|
past
the
present
future
who
| what | archives
| comments
| photos
|
