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479293

a baker’s Dozen

twelve, or so, excerpts from

the book, these are the words

and ideas that impressed

me...

1340057

1032565

what this is...

a baker’s dozen from the

book. these were the words

or ideas that struck me

as particularly well put,

or especially intriguing.

gratefully, a well-written

book, like this one, can send

your mind wandering to

interesting new places, and,

when it does, you want to

tell everyone, “You just gotta’

read this!”

so, this is my own unique

way of doing just that. hope

you enjoy...

The photos are by terrific

people who freely share their

beautiful work at www.sxc.hu.

the number below is the

reference number for the

photo on that page.

the second number is the

page number where you

can find the quote (in the

hardback).

sxc number > 220233

1026752

all statements on the

following pages that are not

attributed are quoted word-

for-word from the book, and

the author...

Elisabeth Tova Bailey

[ image from dust jacket ]

917984 : 5

when the body is rendered

useless, the mind still runs

like a bloodhound along

well-worn trails of neurons,

tracking the echoing

questions: the confused

family of whys, whats, and

whens, and their impossibly

distant kin how.

whereas the future had

once beckoned with many

intriguing paths, now there

was just one impossible route.

so it was into the past, with its

rich sedimentary layers, that

my mind would go instead.

1239412 : 11

i was a reminder of all they

feared: chance, uncertainty,

loss, and the sharp edge of

mortality. those of us with

illnesses are the holders of

the silent fears of those with

good health.

1209370 : 39

there are times when

i wished my viral invader

had claimed me completely.

how much better to live an

exhuberant life and then

leave as one exits a party,

simply opening a door and

stepping out.

1075815:131

1211855 : 9

the snail gets up

and goes to bed

with very little fuss

kobayashi issa

1761-1828

one evening i put some of

the withered blossoms in

the dish beneath the pot of

violets. the snail was awake.

it made its way down the side

of the pot and investigated

the offering with great interest

and then began to eat one of

the blossoms. a petal started

to disappear at a barely

discernible rate. i listened

carefully. i could hear it

eating.

781810 : 12

each evening the snail

awoke and, with an

astonishing amount of poise,

moved gracefully to the

rim of the pot and peered

over, surveying, once again,

the strange country that

lay ahead. Pondering its

circumstances with a regal

air, as if from the turret of a

castle, it waved its tentacles

first this way and then that,

as though responding to a

distant melody.

1085851

in the fourth century bc,

in the History of Animals,

aristotle noted that snail teeth

are “sharp and small, and

delicate.” My snail possessed

around 2,640 teeth, so i’d

add the word plentiful to

aristotle’s description.

1087055 : 49

while homo sapiens have

internal mucus, and more

of it than we realize, it’s the

extravagant nature of the

gastropod to be completely

coated externally.

1147461 : 69

1070190:90

if we homo sapiens thought

we were in charge of the

planet, here was clear

evidence to the contrary.

the humble snail and its clan

have a far older, and stickier,

foothold on the earth than we

more recent creatures.

the sentence that best

expresses a snail’s way

of life: “the right thing to

do is to do nothing, the

place to do it in a place

of concealment, and the

time to do it is as often as

possible.”

Tony Cook,

The Biology

of Terrestrial

Molluscs

1192999:116

what majesty is in a creeping

snail, what reflection, what

earnestness, what timidity,

and yet at the same time

what firm confidence! Surely

a snail is an exalted symbol

of mind slumbering deeply

within itself.

Lorenz Oken,

late 19th century

German naturalist

1026752

humanity is exalted

not because we are

so far above other

living creatures, but

because knowing them

well elevates the very

concept of life.

Edward O. Wilson,

1984, Biophilia

1034598:159

The End

more info >

1265717

all background images from www.sxc.hu

1026752

finD Me here...

http://about.me/don.nissen

Don nissen

columbus, indiana

447581