Golden Threads in the Darkness

GOLDEN THREADS IN THE DARKNESS

One time during a spa therapy session
A reiki master told me something like
I had a golden thread coming out of my crown
It sure sounded interesting and unusual
Rather like a colorful radiating thread perhaps, making some
Sort of cosmic connection I figure.
Must have been in a state of enlightenment or deep tranquility at that point.
Seems now that the golden thread-feeling is not as
Strong as it was then or recently;
Something perhaps about big city living
With its discourteous people, hard and harsh and uncaring people around
With its hard surfaces and jostling mass transit rides
With delays, constant noise, irregularities in the day and in the schedules of others;
Bickering and complaining and pests inside and outside…
Worldliness can tarnish the natural good inside of us;
Making us prone to sickness and vulnerable to troubles of all sorts and from all sides;
The world and where you work can indeed make you sick;
Just the getting there can make anyone rattled and unsettled.
That does not mean we can be rude or stop caring.
We can be even more civil and caring and disciplined and gracious-
The more people who are so, the better everyone will be.
Golden threads connecting us all, inside and outside and with each other,
Radiating rainbow colors and light, life and vibrant energy to others and within us.

Divi Logan, Chicago. 2013.

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Seasonal Solitude: On Observation of the Cooper’s Hawk

ON OBSERVATIONS OF A COOPER’S HAWK IN NASHVILLE

Inspired by reading Walt Whitman and William Wordsworth in an hour of peaceful solitude… in downtown Chicago… in winter.
________________________________________________________________________________________

When the weather was neither hot nor cold;

When in our at that time unmanicured back yard… that quiet back forty

Where we have wildlife and birds that come and go with the seasons;

There chanced oneo day when I was strolling

Out in that back forty plainly loafing

And thinking of nothing in particular, with mind wandering,

There came into my vision from the left, over the low tree and bush level

A gray gliding form, a spectacular bird,

And perched it upon a tree trunk

Sheared of many of its limbs due to this and that condition but left

For the birds to use and in this case

That majestic nearly mature Cooper’s Hawk certainly did.

It swooped silently in and landed in the top third of the trunk where some sturdy limbs remained;

And in silence I watched to see what it would do.

All details of the bird were plainly visible, so close it was to me;

Its beak, eyes, coloring and stripes, its mottling and size… a female most likely and on the hunt.

For as later observations proved, there were plenty of fat mourning doves in that part of our yard,

That chanced to gather near the back door.

But the many times the hawk came round, it followed a particular pattern as it circled the yard.

It would go to the same trees at about the same height, and thus had a splendid view

Of our yard and the surrounding yards as well, to spot its evening meal.

I silently tracked it as it branch – hopped, going to the perimeter, the front, the other side and then back to its starting place.

Then after a time it would fly away, heading south at almost the same angle and height and over the same yard.

Naturally the doves began to disappear; the hawk probably had a family somewhere around the neighborhood.

How majestic and beautiful a sight;

To commune in peace with this wild, silent, graceful creature

In peace and solitude in our backyard.

Divi Logan, Nashville and Chicago, 2013.

** I have since thought that since we get so many different types of birds and wildlife, some migratory birds as well, that our yard might be part of a flyway or passing point for animals such as red foxes, Cape May Warblers, some species of owls such as the Screech and the Barred, the Cedar Waxwing, the Black and White Warbler, the Rose-Breasted Grosbeak, and some species of Kinglet and Tanager. We have a wealth of nature’s offerings, and it is marvelous to see and be around them. **

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In Memorial: For My Brother

During this time every year I remember my late brother, Guy William Logan, M.D. Tomorrow would be his birthday.

In paraphrase of the eulogy, given during the funeral in a mausoleum, my father recalled him as akin to a road flare, or a meteor, bright but short -lived, stellar and visible and worthy of attention, but not long in duration.

The medical community of east Tennessee no doubt still misses him, and the people of UT no doubt have their special feelings as well. If you see this and want to, share them with me.

We did not get to close some loose ends, but now is the time to forgive, remember, and move on with the good memories enhancing action and thought.

Taken too soon but not forgotten; he lives on in me, his parents, and in his family.

For him, this short thought:

Doctors have depression too,
And we must recall that through and through,
Those who care for us need our understanding too;
That they may press on every day,
Giving and sharing their caring ways.
Let us thank them heart and soul,
For learning so they can heal us all.

For Guy, 1968 to 2004.

Divi Logan, Nashville and Chicago, 2013.

 

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THE WILTING FLOWERS OF OUR NATION

A TRIBUTE AND A CALL TO ACTION FOR OUR PRECIOUS YOUTH IN THE UNITED STATES

Where did all our wondrous flowers go;
In the seasons past so many gone from our midst:
When actions from us their faces did take…
And shook our communities head to foot.

Abused, abandoned, and all full of questions;

Bullied and beaten about by people and their environment;

Caught in the crossfire and chased from their homes;

Death and destruction follow them daily.

Evicted from home with families in the cold and existing in poverty or not, they grow old;

Fraught with troubles and problems overt and bold,

Groping in the dark on Gang turf and vacant grass.

Hiding in their own homes when mobs they do pass;

Injured by stray bullets and flying shards of glass,

Junk in their bodies by pushers stuck in,

Kill and kill more and more potent the cartels move in to kill again.

Loss of love and no one to support them when they must speak of the loss of a loved one;

Murder and massacre muddle their minds,

Never a quiet night in their neighborhoods when nuisance gangs bring their drugs out to sell.

Out, out foulness so disgraceful, that causes our children to be out and out scared;

Pride of those greedy and arrogant and foolin’, has taken the childhood out of those children;

Quickly they must rush home and back, to the bus and to the store;

Running in fear when the shouting and shooting begin and hoping they will not be struck;

Summer is a season of fear for them; they cannot go out on their own lawns alone.

Turf wars the reason, they hide in their bedrooms, and try not to think about the troubles outside.

Until a car drives by and someone begins shooting and shouting and flashing those signs.

When the victim is one of your family, and then you hear the news in the ER:

“X-rays reveal no exit wound,

Your child was critical when brought in and now, there is

Zero chance of survival.”

…Wandering about in the deep silence of night, those sorrowing parents will talk about that which they could have done… might have done…

“… should have bought them those drums, perhaps….”

*****************************************************

To the memory of all victims of gun violence in this nation in the past decade, especially for the people of Chicago, Newtown, Aurora, and the United States, and for their families and their communities.

Divi Logan, Nashville and Chicago, 2013.

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Education: A Closer Look at the United States Education System, Part 1.

Teachers’ strikes, dropouts, standardized test scores as a criteria for judging achievement… funding or underfunding for certain school districts or in certain areas; we are hearing so much related to the education system that it seems a step back and a look from other angles is warranted.

In this case the sooner the better. The education system is experiencing waste of billions of dollars a year and so many hot -button issues that there are obviously flaws, shortcomings and corrupted elements in the system as it now is.

I thought it a challenge to take one of those different angles, one which is skipped around in the news these days in the face of talk of competitiveness, longer school days or more hours added to every day, “learning” goals, test score goals and the like. If the United States education system is of sorts a laboratory to try and get people “standardized”, “normalized”, and put them in the state of losing their individuality and their uniqueness and their special gifts and talents in order to make everyone follow a sort of herd mentality, then I suspect that these failures are part of the grand experiment. There is control and observation in any experiment; there is learning from what goes into the experiment, and then there is how the results are disseminated and whether or not everyone who needs to know the facts is let in on said facts. As observed, the hot -button topics are just that, methods to quickly incite people to strike, to cause other forms of trouble in talking about funding, resources, hazing, bullying, vandalism of campuses, etc. There are part of the problem… and if there is one thing then there is its opposite, there is a solution.

It seemed best to begin at the head, at the top of the mountain, at the crown of the ruling body, naturally, and that is the federal level, the United States Department of Education, and what its goals are. One can gauge a goal from the mission or objective statement, and in this case that of the USDOE is as follows:

(The department’s) mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access. Among its other goals are:

Establishing policies on federal financial aid for education, and distributing as well as monitoring those funds.
Collecting data on America‘s schools and disseminating research.
Focusing national attention on key educational issues.
Prohibiting discrimination and ensuring equal access to education.

****************************************************

Now perhaps to some these goals are well and good and sound complete enough, promoting achievement, preparing the students for the worldly workplace, fostering excellence and ensuring that everyone has equal access… but to what, we must ask. There can be equal access to the lane of a highway, but those who are using those lanes must cooperate to ensure that safety comes first, that it is all right to merge and that there is nothing going on that blocks one’s clear passage down the road. Thus there can be equal access to any resource that deals with providing students with the proper education: paper, school buildings, proper lunches, energy, water, science equipment, books, school nurses, music instruments, band uniforms, bus transport, sports uniforms, etc.

And what are the “key educational issues” spoken to in the goals of the USDOE? Why also are they talking in language that speaks to past failures, such as adding the words equal access, discrimination, financial aid, monitoring funds? Have we not yet become civilized enough to ensure that such issues can be as everyday as breathing and eating, things that can be taken care of without worry and concern clouding every move someone makes when money is an issue or when the idea of proper funding or the right kind of research is brought to the front?

What are we researching, as well; what sort of data are we collecting and for what purpose are the data being collected? The Census collects data regarding national demographics and then what happens with that data? When you gather information on something, what is the intention for which you do that research? Is it to talk up some sort of “diversity” issue and fund or not fund businesses based on the kind of people they are hiring and what neighborhood they are in and what they sell; is it to use the categories we use to separate people (race, religion, marital status, economics, education level, ethnicity) and then give a company or organization funds based on those divisive aspects?

We talk about preparing students to be “competitive”, but what comes before learning to fight someone or get into competition with somebody? Well, before you can get onto the plane that takes you to the battlefield you first have to learn to work with the people you will be in the same unit with. Take the basics from the classic TV show, “Gomer Pyle, USMC“. Before the recruits have any access to weapons or to battle, they must first learn to be a platoon, to drill properly and in step, and follow the clear commands of the leader. They must learn and practice military courtesy, a requisite for working together in a disciplined, civilzed, and respectful atmosphere. They must learn to dress appropriately, to do things at a certain time in the right time of day or night, and to be in the correct place at the ordained time. The point is the recruits must learn to work together and cooperate first. They tackle the obstacle course, take other training, and play the occasional joke on each other, but in the end they cooperate and become an honor platoon.

In later eposides the recruits learn to spar with the pugil sticks, they learn how to clean and handle their rifles, and they do other things to get them in combat readiness. But this process takes weeks, months, even years to achieve. The marksman’s medals do not come overnight; and neither does a proper education come in a week, even to the most aspiring student. Shakespeare, in the play Henry IV, may have touted the battle -ready Prince Hal as one endowed with the spirit of “teaching and of learning instantly”, but that is in an idealized moment when the prince, who in previous scenes was wanton in his ways, carousing, exploiting his rank and having less interest to the affairs of state than his younger brother, shows on the field in shining armor, his cloak flying, his weapons at the ready, his mind and eye set to victory. It takes years to get to such a level of accomplishment. This cannot be done by over -eager parents and officials gathering around the young children and telling them their life history in a matter of seconds, the “please your teachers, please your parents, get good grades, grow up, go to a great university, pass the tests, and get a job and maybe become president, and start a family and get a home and pay your taxes…”

That’s enough to make even the hardiest soul want to reverse course and go to another part of the battlefield to get another view, and that is what this series of articles is going to be about, that view of our education system that takes a challenge to the talk about competitiveness, business, global this and that, and such, and get to what could be considered the heart, the center, the cornerstone, the foundation of the matter.

This is the goal of preparing students in an atmosphere of teamwork and cooperation, that they may become productive and good citizens. Thus what is needed is to explore what it is to be a good citizen and what the USDOE is or is not doing to foster this essential element of what it means to live in any country and practice the duties that come with being a good citizen. Just as it is the duty of a recruit to learn to drill properly, to listen closely to the commands of the drill instructor, to learn to clean a rifle properly, and to learn the general orders, so it is the duty of every good citizen to learn how to get along with others, to follow the law, to keep up property in orderly appearance, to keep up with community issues and participate in improving one’s city/town/village, and other important aspects of being a proud citizen… a proud participant, that is, in one’s national happenings. It is, simply, having what is known as patriotism, or national pride.

Let us get started with a look at what the aspects or principles of GOOD CITIZENSHIP are. I consider that I and my best friends are good citizens, and we:

Are community -minded and work to improve the areas we live in;
Do not use violence against others;
Keep up our properties in neat and orderly appearances;
Follow the law for the safety of ourselves and others;
Do not cause trouble for others;
Behave respectfully in public (in transit, while shopping, at worship, dining out, just walking in the park);
Keep up with current events in order to stay informed on important issues;
Exercising the right to vote;
Respect others;
Follow the principles of trust, accountability, and decency.

We endeavor to live quiet, humble lives, do our work well/ perform our jobs in a timely and orderly fashion, keep up with national events in order that we know what to discuss when an issue of importance arises or when natural disasters threaten our fellow citizens, and we are concerned for the safety of others, and that we respect others. This means the best of what it is to be ‘civil’ and ‘honorable’ and ‘duty -minded’.

You could also tie these facets of behavior, thought, and action into the principles followed by the folks of NASA’s Mission Control. Good behavior is vital the completion and success of any plan and the satisfaction of the participants. The goals of the Moon Program at the outset were twofold: to put man on the moon AND return him safely back to Earth. Had that second part of the plan been lacking, what would have been the point of the first? There is so much tied into ensuring the goals of our education system are proper and thoughtful, so that no more resources are wasted – no more time, money, hours, paper, energy, diesel fuel, food, anything.

Failure is not acceptable (read Gene Kranz’s book, Failure is not an Option). If we are talking up a system that has more holes than a Swiss cheese, more flaws than the worst – quality diamond, and more ruts than the surface of Mercury, a system that plainly has so many cracks that anyone could fall through them, we need to take a reverse course and go to doing the whole system all over again. After all, it would be rather silly to build the roof before you build the foundation of the house. And even then, it would not make sense to start on the house before the ground is prepared to receive the building materials… and naturally one must make a budget before even one order to the builder’s supply shop is placed.

SOURCES: WEBSITES ACCESSED

1. United States Department of Education. Overview and Mission Statementhttp://www2.ed.gov/about/landing.jhtml. Accessed December 4, 2012. Page 1.
2. An interesting site came up during my research: Citizenship Counts, at http://citizenshipcounts.org/index.php/about/vision-statement/.

Divi Logan for EDUSHIRTS, Nashville and Chicago, ©2012.

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Nashville Nature: Naturally Every Day

Dateline Nashville, Tennessee: Featuring a fine listing of the good things that are natural in Nashville.

White-breasted Nuthatch in Algonquin Provincia...

White-breasted Nuthatch in Algonquin Provincial Park, Canada. This image is not upside-down. Français : Sittelle à poitrine blanche dans le parc provincial Algonquin, dans l’Ontario. Cette image est à l’endroit. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Just in our yard alone, for bird species we have had the following birds of prey: Peregrine Falcon, Northern Goshawk,
Cooper’s Hawk, Screech Owl, Great Horned Owl,  Red-tailed Hawk, and Barred Owl.

We have seen the following smaller birds that love to hang out in the berry-bearing shrubs, trees, and plants: Cedar Waxwing,
Black and White Warbler, Cape May Warbler,  Black-Capped Chickadee, Titmouse, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak.Our usual visitors include the American Robin, Blue Jay, Cardinal, American Crow. We have also been visited by the Pileated Woodpecker, “Yellow-shafted” Flicker, Downy Woodpecker, Brown Thrasher, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker,  Mourning Dove, White-throated Sparrow, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, the House Finch, Common Grackle, Dark-eyed JuncoRuby-crowned Kinglet,  Great Crested Flycatcher, and the White-breasted Nuthatch.

The loud songs of the Carolina Wren and the movements of the House Wren; the odd call of the Common Nighthawk, the stunning colors and calls of the American Goldfinch, the melodious trilling of the elusive Wood Thrush, and the call to tea of the Rufus-sided (Eastern) Towhee have also graced our landscape.

Unusual visitors include the Great Blue Heron, which one day landed on our roof. There have been possible sightings of Summer Tanager, Prothonotary Warbler, and American Redstart. Also a possible hearing of the call of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker- the sound described is so distinctive and it was in the Woodmont- Hillsboro area of Nashville. The call sounds like a toy trumpet, a high-pitched nasal yank, like a loud version of the eastern White-breasted Nuthatch, and that is exactly the sound I detected. A single note but very loud and close by one day many years ago. There are many tall, old trees in the area so it is a fine place for a large woodpecker to reside and find food. One sighting of Whooping Crane; possible sighting of Ivory Gull and also a Little Blue Heron. In the area are reports of other hummingbird species off course every so often (birds that probably should be at that time in California or other places west of Tennessee turn up in middle Tennessee!).

In the Nashville area, aside from the usual city birds of Mockingbird, European Starling, Pigeon (European Rock Dove), Turkey Vulture, Catbird and Canada Geese, you can also see the Green Herons (a family of them hung out in a tree in Centennial Park one year), the Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron (with their magnificent plumage), Kingfishers, Rough-legged Hawk, and the American Kestrel. You also see the Red-winged Blackbird, Ovenbird, Eastern Bluebird, Barn Swallow, Killdeer, American Coot, Merlin, Broad-winged Hawk, Northern Harrier, and Mallard Duck.

Also seen are coyotes, deer, red foxes, and raccoons. We also have an abundance of dragonflies. Species you might find in the Nashville area include the Gray Petaltail, the Common Green Darner, Comet Darner, Swamp Darner and Fawn Darner. You might also see the Shadow Darner, Ashy Clubtail, Cobra Clubtail, Eastern Ringtail, and the stunning Royal River Cruiser. Possibilities include as well the Widow Skimmer, the Twelve-spotted Skimmer, and the strikingly colored Spangled Skimmer and Eastern Amberwing.

English: Common Green Darner (Anax junius), bl...

English: Common Green Darner (Anax junius), blue form female, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Yellow-crowned Night Heron flying over water.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron flying over water. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Isn’t nature wonderful? Let’s all work together to keep our environment safe, clean, healthy, good and beautiful!

English: A female ruby-throated hummingbird (A...

English: A female ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) sipping nectar from scarlet beebalm (Monarda didyma). Français : Un Colibri à gorge rubis (Archilochus colubris) femelle butinant une fleur de Monarde (Monarda didyma). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Divi Logan, Nashville and Chicago, 2012.

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Illinois Prays for Rain

A Dust Bowl storm approaches Stratford, Texas ...

A Dust Bowl storm approaches Stratford, Texas in 1935. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We in the dust bowl listen
Listen for the patter of nourishing rain;

We look to the skies for those gray-black lines
Heralding the approach of precipitation again.

The rolling thunder we await;
The darkening and humid veils of moisture
To give relief to the farmers again.

In this monotonous lack of rain,
In the days of partly cloudy, mostly sunny and
“A chance of rain”…

We look to those skies for that precious water
To bring us, parched in mind, arid in spirit,
We who look day by day
Skyward at the slightest mention of rain,
We who hope for rain
Pray it shall come soon.

The forecasters say we really need
Nine to fifteen inches just to bring
Even the slightest relief to the drought.
What extra must we have
For the crops to prosper?
Is there even a chance for any of the farms to green again?
Is there a chance for so great an amount of rain?

O let the rolling storms come again,
And bring relief to this dry land.

raining sheets

raining sheets (Photo credit: mytimemachine)

Divi Logan, Nashville and Chicago, 2012.

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Poem: MEMORIAL FOR THE INNOCENT

A MEMORIAL AND PLEA FOR THE INNOCENT

A sign warning to yield to the crosswalk.

A sign warning to yield to the crosswalk. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Child deprived of loving parent
Of mother or father run down on a street;
Parent left without son or daughter,
A similar fate did they meet.

Two tons of moving metal along a city street
Thousands of them we see
From them we move our feet
When through the crosswalks so blatantly they go
Paying no attention to the street signs put there so they know
People are trying safely there to cross
Oh, have we all respect and dignity lost?

Condolences to all who have lost loved ones this way-
In hit-and-run incidents that make our news these days;
Oh those who have done such deeds take heed-
You someday will answer to another!
Let us decent folks hope that it is the law
Who catches you in your crawling cowardice-
Unable to admit that you did something wrong-
And took a life.

Murderer, homicidal maniac, arrogant fool and cruel demons
Are people such as you
Who steal lives and keep on going;
Who murder and rob and shoot and torture…
You KNOW you have done something terrible and then-
What do you do? You stop and look… and go your way again?

Mourn then for the children;
Mourn for the grieving parents and relatives.
Pray now for the friends who must now cope with
Losing the presence of a fine and loving person.

What can we do
To preserve innocent lives?
Oh you who act and think not…
When will you take the few seconds to think with due care and consideration?

Seconds.

Mourning

Mourning (Photo credit: Sister72)

Divi Logan, Nashville and Chicago, 2012.

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Transit of Venus “Generates” Energy

Sharing my experience of the Transit of Venus with everyone…

"Images from photographic plates of the T...

“Images from photographic plates of the Transit of Venus” Deutsch: Venustransit am 6. Dezember 1882 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In Chicago, as in many parts of the country, many people were not treated to a complete experience of the annular eclipse last month. Thus when the day came for the Venus transit event, I thought to myself, “If we have good weather and I am feeling up to it, I’ll try to get in that experience!”

Fortunately our weather cooperated perfectly and the Adler Planetarium held a viewing event… and offered free general admission, which was a pleasant perk for the day. Getting to the Adler is so easy on the #146 bus- takes you straight to the Planetarium and a stunning view of one of America’s best lakefronts. Well, on that day I took my binoculars just to catch a good view of the area, some blank paper, snacks, and the happiness of being able to see the special event.

Around 5 P.M. the transit began, and that while I was standing in a long line of people waiting to use one of the telescopes, a very nice Coronado SolarMax model fitted with one of the excellent H-alpha filters that turns the image orange-red but provides fine viewing conditions. That is when I put my binoculars to use, turned the small end toward the paper and focused in order to get a reverse image of Venus just starting to cross the sun. Now I do not have to look directly into the lenses in order to know the image is projecting properly onto the paper. The bright image comes into view when the lenses are at the correct angle, and a dot of light shows up in the lens area. All you have to do is maneuver the binoculars until the image projects on the paper, and cover one of the lenses so a single image shows up.

As I waited, Venus edged into view and then I was able to look at it through the SolarMax.

After that I and hundreds of others went inside to see the live feed from Mauna Kea observatory, courtesy of NASA, which provided views in three colors of filter: purple, white, and the orange-red.

It was very nice of the Adler team and some other observers who made telescopes available for the thousands who came to share the event. People of all ages showed up, from the elderly to the young family out to witness something unique to share with the kids. Being around all those fine people made the event even more special. Astronomy has not lost its romance, nor has it lost its magnetic attraction. Science and technology, society and the draw of the marvelous and the beautiful in nature…certainly everything came out for the best on June 5.

Sunspots were also visible (and in fact are today, with a fine cluster visible even with the reverse-binocular method of projecting the image on white paper). An observer at the transit event brought along one of the “sun-spotter” instruments which projected the white light onto the center of the instrument.

Sadly such an event will not be visible for another 105 years, so everyone there had the chance to mutually benefit from something to talk about, dream about, share around, write about, photograph, and research for decades. People in Chicago shared that event with people the world over, with folks atop a mountain and folks at sea level (or at least at lake level). We learned, we stood in silence and reverence, we shared and laughed, we witnesses, and we took home vivid memories.

Thanks again to the staff at the Adler Planetarium, the keepers of the stellar Chicago lakefront, the CTA, the drivers for that day on the #146 route who kept everyone safe and got us there in time, the Chicago Park District, and everyone who brought out their telescopes.

Venus over Witton Lakes

Venus over Witton Lakes (Photo credit: ringsofsaturnrock)

Divi Logan and ®EDUSHIRTS, Nashville and Chicago, ©2012.

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Agent Orange Corn: A Little 2,4-D in Your Sauce?

Hello Chicago and Good Day, World!

English: Image from MolInspiration's 3-D struc...

English: Image from MolInspiration’s 3-D structure of 2,4-Dichlorophenoaceric acid. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Listening to local radio station NewsRadio 780 WBBM in Chicago this morning, I heard the introduction to a story that seemed curious and serious at the same time. It referred to something called “agent orange corn”, and the reality of the “super-weed“. Certainly the super – weed concept has been known for decades, if some documents are accurate, and the use of extremely toxic herbicides has also been known for decades. Also known is the excellent book, Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson. I am presently reading that scientific treatise, and by coincidence a page I just finished mentioned the extremely potent compound known as 2,4-D. What exactly is 2,4-D? According to a book titled The Science of 2,4,5-T and associated phenoxy herbicides, which I found in the reference section of the Harold Washington Library in the Chicago Loop, the full name of the chemical is 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid. That’s a mouthful, and wow what it can do to you or to anything it gets into!

In fact, on page 213 of Silent Spring, is the following quote:

The herbicide 2,4-D has also produced tumorlike swellings in treated plants. Chromosomes become short, thick, clumped together. Cell division is seriously retarded. The general effect is said to parallel closely that produced by X-rays.

Other quotes or sections in Silent Spring where 2,4-D are mentioned are page 43, with a curious case of the discovery of that weed – killer compound; and pp. 75 – 79

Threaten MY soybeans and corn, will you, eh? Yecchh.

As I later learned in the news article, the substance 2,4-D is also a compound of the demon chemical used in the Vietnam War and known as Agent Orange. A rather graphic photo of a man exposed to that chemical is at the end of this article.

Think about synthesizing a strain of corn that is resistant to pests that are resisting such potent herbicides as 2,4-D. Now those researchers would have to be exposed to the compound in order to test the effectiveness of the experiment; and that also means mention of the people who must safely – and emphasize the word SAFELY- transport the hazard to the lab.

The article seemed rather confusing as it went on, seeming to imply also that the corn must also resist the potency of the 2,4-D that is meant to kill off the invading superweeds. Thus the compound might also impact the environment wherein it is being tested, getting into the air, the groundwater, the wells, and onto other plants.

Well, I’d rather have my corn without any 2,4-D sauce, thanks.

Related Vocabulary:

* Phytotoxic; hydrocarbon

* Oxidation; cell division

* Lindane, malathion, parathion, chlordane, dieldrin, heptachlor

* Carbon tetrachloride, DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloro-ethane), toxaphene, benzene hexachloride, methoxychlor, phenothiazine, dinitro compounds

Suggested Sources:

1. Carson, Rachel. Silent Spring. The Classic that Launched the Environmental Movement. Boston: Houghton Mifflin/ Mariner, 1962.

2. Bovey, Rodney W. The Science of 2,4,5-T and associated phenoxy herbicides. New York: Wiley Interscience, 1980.

Major Tự Đức Phang was exposed to dioxin-conta...

Major Tự Đức Phang was exposed to dioxin-contaminated Agent Orange (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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