Hailey, too, has an enchanted forest

On September 30^th, a young couple suddenly found themselves in a crunch to move to a new house before the harsh Idaho Winter set in. They heard about one down by the river in Hailey, with a nice big yard and within easy walking distance to town. They visited the potential house, and remarked that the surrounding neighborhood felt like it held a good vibe. Soon after saying this, a wild rabbit in the yard let them walk up to it and pet it! There, at the edge of the woods, the rabbit almost fell asleep, while they gently stroked its soft white fur.

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The young couple stood outside talking, with the people currently renting the house. While doing so, the rabbit rebounded from the far side of the yard, and started performing an elaborate little dance. It spun and sprinted in little counter-clockwise circles, while playfully kicking up its spiffy heels. They had never seen before such a happy bunny, with characteristics and personality bordering that of a loyal dog.

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The young couple conveyed the story to a handful of friends, wondering if this was a good sign, for them to move into the new house. One of the friends noticed that the cheerful event had occurred at the end of the month, which, while involving a rabbit clearly held strong connections to mystery and myth. Folks from many cultures believe that if you encounter a rabbit when the calendar is turning, or recite “Rabbit, Rabbit!” as your first spoken words of the new month, then this will bring you good fortune.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_rabbit

Perhaps the fact that the young couple is closely connected to the earth was something sensed by the excitable bunny. Regardless, The couple decided to move into the new house, and I’m looking forward to hearing more about their future encounters with the swift acrobatic lucky rabbit.

This remarkable nature encounter reminded me of another anomalous event that occurred in the same neck of woods a few years before, which is the tale of:

The Owl and the money clip

At their old Hailey place, Robin and Tonia had lived together with their children, and a single mother and her kids. This arrangement worked well in some respects, but it was also a bit cramped, which tends to get worse during long Idaho winters. Both families had traveled down to the Bellevue Triangle a few times to look at a prospective house that was larger. All four kids loved it, as did Tonia and her single mother friend. Robin wasn’t so sure though. After all, they had already moved earlier that same year. His hesitation was understandable, as the new house cost more and he is the main breadwinner.

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With the deadline looming to give notice, Robin was feeling the pressure to decide soon; and on the last day of the month, he vociferously announced that evening that he was “going off fishing.” He hiked down to The Draper Preserve, specifically to spend some time alone and reflect on the difficult decision. After casting some nice lines, the evening progressed into twilight, when suddenly an enormous great horned owl, swooped down 40 feet over the river and dropped something shiny in the water. Robin waded out carefully to where the owl dropped the item and discovered that it was an empty money clip. Examining it closer, he discovered that the silver was emblazoned with his very own initials!

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Robin took the owl’s message as a powerful sign, which helped him decide that his family would be better off if they made the big move, which they did and are still happy about today. Something else interesting about this story is that most people that we’ve shared it with agree that they probably would have made the same progressive decision to move, even though the owl had dropped an empty money clip. One friend even opined that it’s healthy to get out to explore nature when we’re faced with such huge life-changing decisions. And it’s certainly nice to be given powerful bird and rabbit auguries to help guide those choices. While our money clips may start out empty; sometimes with enough fortitude, stick-to-it-ness, and a developed sense of listening closely to what nature is trying to tell us, miraculous pennies from heaven will shine, rewarding us plentifully in due time.

Nuclear satire fallout

Nuclear satire fallout

Last month, The Times-News was kind enough to print a letter I submitted suggesting that we dig deeper for more viable nuclear waste solutions. (Link) http://magicvalley.com/news/opinion/mailbag/letter-to-the-editor-an-idea-for-storing-nuclear-waste/article_fb339e1a-eb04-11e0-b8cc-001cc4c002e0.html

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Soon after, the same letter was brought up in a local discussion board, where a blogger named ‘Nukeworker’ tried to ridicule me, saying “I recently saw a "science show" that had 3 people going from a volcano in Iceland to the center of the earth where there are dinosaurs and they came out another volcano... Journey to the Center of the Earth... This nice tale has more scientific facts than anything in your letter.”

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‘Nukeworker’s’ terse response motivated me to explain: “My piece was meant to be read mostly as satire, although it also contained some radioactive elements of truth. Here in Idaho though, satire is often misunderstood, probably because there is not much need for it in such a beautiful paradise. However, if we don't soon come up with more feasible solutions to our severe nuclear waste disposal issues, there are strong chances that our whole region will revert back to a "hellish environment."
*On a related note, I find it interesting that our Congress now has a bill before them, which will make it a crime to poke fun at or satirize the TSA in any way. What will evolve next? Dehumanizing, joke-proof conditions for all nukes?”

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After diagramming the satire, it was refreshing to hear again from ‘Nukeworker’ who said he missed it at first, but now appreciates the humor. Now I imagine him gazing with new light, deeper into the idea of Mel’s bottomless pit; which after all is a faultless fit, for nuclear waste radiating comfortably in the center of the earth, as well as putrid plutonium propheteers, blowing their mad tops about volcanoes, while caught in tight blogging snits.