Given enough time there really will be The Final Word, the very last thing anybody says before All is Said and Done. What that word will be is a question which We Rhinos sometimes debate between more commanding topics.
We expect that Final Word may well be “woops”.
No worries, Your Inner Rhino will continue on its merry way, musing on Cosmic Questions for our foreseeable future.
Edwin Budding invented the lawnmower, and partnered up with John Ferrabee to manufacture them on this date, in England.
Before 1830, people mowed their grass with scythes, which are pretty demanding utensils. Why people didn’t just ask Us to help with the mowing is a riddle. We White Rhinos could have grazed those lawns in jig time. Munchin’ Luncheon.
Pip Pip!
Rhinos are enthusiastic Conjecturalists. We like to take situations and debate the contrasting virtues of one position or the other, usually both. Exercise is good for our minds, at least We think so.
Is it better to live in a hot air balloon or in a small sporty boat? Obviously question #1 is ‘what will I eat?’ Then, what is the weather like? Who is going with me? Are the calla lilies in bloom again? So much to contemplate!
We can ponder these puzzles for days, though in Sumatra there are other demands on our attention. As you can imagine.
Occasionally a Rhino will innocently ask for Advice- while in a Group. And sometimes this Occasion turns into something like a party game. A lot of Advice is delivered all at once, some useful, much of it irrelevant, and bits distressing. Or debates develop, pitting one idea against another.
Having asked for Advice, the poor Rhino in question cannot object to it. But in the effort to assimilate the data, the edges of one’s sanity begin to get blurry. One idea disconnects from another. Understanding fragments.
Is it any wonder that Rhinos seldom request Advice?
Today is Mr. L. Frank Baum’s birthday. Rhinos all thank him for his The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, written in 1900. It is a favorite story of Rhinoid fortitude and collaboration.
Rhinos are not usually into Scarecrows. In a cornfield We would be more the problem than the solution, assuming you eventually wanted to harvest the corn yourself. Rhinos like our meals now, not later.
In case you were unaware, The Wizard of Oz was made into a movie, but with people in it. Any RTot can hum all the songs for hours and hours and hours. Ask any RMom.
Today is Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit’s birthday. In 1714 he invented the Thermometer, which tells Everybody how hot it is. Rhinos would say how hot it is outdoors, for where else do Rhinos live?
Rhinos all reside where it is toasty. What is peculiar is that We don’t actually sweat in the usual sense, whatever this picture may imply. We keep cool by careful attention to Conditions, and ingenious use of shade, times of day, and energy conservation.
By the way, Anders Celsius made his thermometer 28 years later. We still don’t understand why he did it, but that is true of so much that goes on…
The issue with Education is that We Rhinos can’t be sure We are attending to the right topics in the right order or depth or proportion. The range of topics is daunting. It is one lifelong tinkering with Awareness.
And up to the Very Last Minute, We can’t be certain We got it right, right?
It could make you nervous, were it not for the reassurance and stabilizing influence of your inner Rhino.
Catastrophes offer Learning Opportunities, once We heal sufficiently to grasp them.
Comforting thought, right?
Nobody likes a Wise Guy, or at least almost Nobody. That said, there is a genetic glitch in Rhino composition; it gives rise to the occasional Smart Alec.
Everybody is making nice, and then, a Zinger lets loose and things get exciting.
Not easy to control, Wise Guys. Cards must be dealt with.
Home is where the Food is. Rhinos are as sentimental as the next critter about locations, but when it comes down to it, without something to eat, it’s just chatter.
Food has always been Nature’s way of shifting Us about the world, moving the plants, and Us following along with a salt-shaker, figuratively speaking.
The Rhino clans that decide to stay behind are often left behind, historically.
Follow the Alfalfa, that’s what We say.
Your Inner Rhino 