to be faster than an angry elephant

Fear is that little darkroom where negatives are developed.                - Michael Pritchard

 












- and from Rules of the Wild, Francesca Marciano:

It was as if the silence of wilderness had seeped into me and had quietened the useless noise of my fear.

The incredible thing was that the more we ran, the more we laughed. We kept holding on to each other, laughing hysterically, like children playing a game. We burst into camp panting and shaking with laughter."

"Huyu, anaweza kukimbia sana," said Lenjo to Adam and the other guys, pointing at me and shaking his head with a smile.

"Of course I can run, what did you think?" I replied jokingly, wiping the sweat from my forehead.

And suddenly I felt victorious. It was fun, after all, to be faster than an angry elephant.

 
































 Train Window: Lura Astor Art

Woman with Baby Elephant: credit unknown
Elephant Reading: credit unknown

Vision

The strange thing is that now,
as my vision is less good,
my visions are getting clearer.

-Katharine Hepburn

from I Know Where I'm Going
by Charlotte Chandler





illustration: Visionary? lastor

We Are Exploding Stars

Every atom in your body came from a star that exploded. And the atoms in your left hand probably came from a different star than your right hand. It really is the most poetic thing I know about physics. You are all stardust. You couldn’t be here if stars hadn’t exploded. Because the elements, the carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, iron, all the things that matter for evolution weren’t created at the beginning of time. They were created in the nuclear furnaces of stars. And the only way they could get into your body is if the stars were kind enough to explode. So forget Jesus. The stars died so you could be here today.

~ Lawrence Krauss


Star Light Star Bright I Make a Wish Tonight

illustration: Thread Stars Lura Astor
assemblage detail Startle Lura Astor