Tycho Brahe was a Danish noble, but also a brilliant mathematician, Astronomer, and Theorist. He is credited as one of the first to accurately plot the skies. He was born on December 14, 1546.

Mr. Brahe was not an easy person to work with, though his king granted him a place on a small island between Sweden and Denmark (see star), on which he built an observatory and kept records. Brahe’s work helped launch Johannes Kepler’s studies.

What Intrigues Rhinos is that when his cousin cut off part of his nose in a 1566 duel, Brahe got a prosthetic, which he wore from then to his death in 1601. Nasal Misfortunes hold our Rhino Attention.

It’s not easy to tell when Rhinos are in a State of Aggitation. We keep cool, We cruise along, seemingly serene. Meanwhile We are contemplating Demonstrations and Objections and Peevishness, behind the mask of normalcy.

This is a skill set that is hard to teach to the young, who are more Spontaneous. It is easy to see when they are thwarted; they object and roll on the ground.

Nature seems to have a way of aggravating the noisy ones in the Wild. The moral is the same every time: nothing noteworthy is accomplished.

Rhinos think of ourselves as cohesive, perceptive critters, at home in the Wild. A comforting stance to adopt: I’m OK, you’re OK.

But under our rugged exteriors, We have many Personalities, happily squabbling, vying for attention. Rhinos are not split, We are fragmented. Each of Us houses a small crowd.

Next We snack, which helps. After our nap, We press on, feeling We have done our duty.

Rhinos are accomplished Dreamers. We are never sure what determines the nature of our dreams. Some dreams are great, others, not so much so.

What We Rhinos would like to know is, where do those dreams go when We wake up? They must go somewhere, right? So many Rhinos, so many dreams! Who is keeping track?

But most of the time when We wake up, the dream is gone for good. We feel a certain way, but the details are a big blur. Frustratin’.

Well, possibly that’s so. Indian Rhinos are the 3rd or 4th largest land mammals on Earth.

Now you know. But ultimately, so what?

Rhinos entertain a lot of ideas, balancing them, one against another in the hopes that We will figure things out. The system works all right. But We are not so arrogant as to think We know it all.

The Rhino Rule of Thumb: Don’t believe everything We think; who knows where it’s been?

As We mention all the time, Rhinos do not count. We trundle along, from one day to the next, unburdened by ‘Keeping Track”. For Us, a year is as full of meaning as a week, or vice versa.

Thus, when We’ve had about as much as We need, We can just declare a new year! The term has no meaning, so why not? Our RYears have neither names nor numbers, so We embrace that abstract quality for our own benefit.

Please understand, this does not mean We can’t have another New Year next week or whenever. Rhinos honor our Whims.

Rhinos aren’t interested in When a good idea showed up. Some ideas are new, some old, and some Really-Really Olde. Rhinos are introduced to a giant hodge-podge of thoughts and concepts, convictions, and warnings, starting in the womb, if not earlier.

The difficulty is how to evaluate these precepts and discard the no-good ones. Old ideas always feel sacred; if they’re so meaningless, why are they still around? And many new ideas are appealing, though We feel suspicious of the attraction.

Is it any wonder some RhinoThinking is a 3-D mess? We hear a lot more about Wisdom than We experience on the hoof.

Smiling is a major force in many cultures, expressing cheery well-being. Watch TV commercials or political rallies; a lot of teeth. But We Rhinos are not easily fooled. We have too keen a sense of smell.

The presentation of the mouth is what defines an Eccedentesiast, one who presents a smile no matter how dismal the situation. You may not know what’s wrong, but there is definitely a disconnect between the good cheer and that grin.

Rhinos like long words, even if We find them hard to recall in conversation.

In fact, yesterday December 4, was National Cookie Day. YIR’s staff, in a group decision, decided not to drive the Readership into a Cookie Frenzy, and give y’all a day to cool down before offering this tribute.

We are indebted to both Jim Henson and Sesame Street for the knock-off of Cookie Monster’s ensemble.