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designed for hauling dirty laundry
Monday, April 21 2003
Ray and Nancy went on another hike with Gretchen and Sally and again I stayed home with Suzy, whose injured foot continued to keep her out of commission. Later I met the others on the Rondout for a rather pricey lunch. After my South African experience, American restaurant tabs will never seem reasonable again.
On the way home I bought a wheelbarrow, a pick, and some hose at Lowes. It was their standard wheelbarrow, but back at home, once I put the it together, I was disappointed by how light-duty it was. It was as if it had been designed for hauling dirty laundry.
In the evening, Gretchen and I watched the Britney Spears movie Crossroads. Britney, a human sampling of things from the 1980s she never experienced, isn't exactly my kind of girl, but she's a much better dramatic actor than Dan Ackroyd. Watching the movie and listening to its occasionally cloying soundtrack gave me the inspiration for the following:
When I was a kid, I fetishized Peterson Field Guides as detailed sources of biological wisdom. In retrospect I've come to realize that their information tended to be of a superficial nature, more helpful for someone wishing to check off items in a list than for someone hoping to truly understand an organism. The series does vary widely, however, with some guides (Animal Tracks, Birds' Nests and Ferns) providing much more information than others (Birds and Atlantic Seashore). I experienced something of a walk down memory lane the other day in Rhinebeck when I bought Peterson Guides for Mushrooms and Medicinal Plants and Herbs. In retrospect, though, it was foolish to have trusted the Peterson brand. Having looked at the mushroom book in detail, I'm disappointed. It's very poorly organized, with a central plate section separate from the text. Worse still, the illustrations are labeled with common names. Common names might make sense in a bird or mammal book, but nobody who knows anything about mushrooms knows, let alone uses, common names. With mushrooms, it's all about Latin. The kicker, though, for why I hate my new mushroom book is its attitude towards psychedelics. This attitude can best be described as antiquated. What modern writer would ever use the following copy to describe Psilocybe cubensis?
Remarks: The blue-staining Psilocybes are widely used for "recreational" purposes by the drug cult. Their possession is illegal. Species are very difficult to identify without a microscope.
Interestingly, Medicinal Plants and Herbs has a far more enlightened view of the value of marijuana:
Much maligned, but potentially a very useful medicinal plant. We are jointly convinced that the whole leaf is better than the sum of its parts - that whole marijuana is, through synergy, safer, more effective, and cheaper than its isolated silver bullet active compound, THC. Further, we believe that legalized marijuana would generate more funds for the government and less organized crime. Considered pain-relieving, anticonvulsant; relieves nausea. A legitimate fiber (hemp) and oil-seed plant in many other countries. WARNING: Not accepted socially or legally.
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