What Are You Listening To?

Some sounds make us pause and reflect. Growing up, I often heard a train’s whistle in the wee hours of the night. It always had a melancholy, Midnight-Train-to-Georgia feeling, echoing a traveler’s reluctant good-bye. Earlier this week, I heard the train whistle from the neighborhood station and got that melancholy feeling again. As if there aren’t enough sounds here, there’s this:

                   

                                     https://youtu.be/k3eNVD_h5b0

We spend tons of time and money trying to understand what’s happening in other places, especially in space. Most alien movies feature space creatures bent on destroying us and taking over Earth. While Hollywood urges us locate and crush hostile outer space creatures, scientists continue looking skyward, wondering if we’re all alone. Do you think we’re alone in the universe?  

Unsteady But Still Standing

After hearing my complaints about how the face of my watch twisted and how my cell phone flips to weather forecasts for places I’ve visited instead of where I am, someone suggested that I might be an alien. I’m not convinced that’s the reason for what’s happening because topsy-turvy things are happening elsewhere, too. Take a look:

                                         https://youtu.be/Zv4CUzIX5yY

In one study, published in Nature World News, scientists discovered that the disappearance of "informed elder" fish disrupted the group’s regular migration route. Their absence left the group unschooled. A surprising finding, and yet, not really. Traditionally, we’ve looked to our knowledgeable elders to do the mentoring, but what happens when they don’t or can’t? Sometimes, it feels like we’re poised at a crossroad. Despite terrorism, Brexit, and social unrest, what assures you that all’s well?