Well, I wish our younger selves would have gotten that memo, ha. It certainly stuck with me enough that I either missed Crichton’s disavowal of it, or completely forgot!
I remember there also later coming to light a controversy in the scientific community around whether the T-rex was actually a major predator or a scavenger, so that was fun to reckon with for awhile-- although I think in recent years the “T-rex solely as scavenger” theory was disproven. More likely it was both.
Wow! I'm bookmarking this one. It is, like you, intense and breathtaking. The line about trees and trauma literally made me gasp, thus took my breath away. I didn't know where you going with this and at every turn I was drawn deeper in, and coaxed to slow down. Such lyricism too. You're a stellar writer and a stellar personal storyteller - thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much for the kind words, Trilety, your comment completely made my day! I’m honored that this piece drew you in in such a way, it means a lot to me xx
Thank you, Stephanie! There’s so much that is absolutely fascinating about article. I particularly love Simard’s referring to “veteran” or “mother trees” as sending “messages of wisdom on to the next generation of seedlings”— yes, yes, yes! I’ve ordered a copy of her book, looking forward to reading it 💚
I was also a "stay poker still and the monster won't eat me" kid that deals with fear or surprise by freezing in place as an adult.
Only as I wrote that did I recognize Jurassic Park's canny push of that button: "Don't move. The T-Rex's vision is based on movement."
(Crichton in Lost World joyfully tosses that ridiculous notion)
Well, I wish our younger selves would have gotten that memo, ha. It certainly stuck with me enough that I either missed Crichton’s disavowal of it, or completely forgot!
I remember there also later coming to light a controversy in the scientific community around whether the T-rex was actually a major predator or a scavenger, so that was fun to reckon with for awhile-- although I think in recent years the “T-rex solely as scavenger” theory was disproven. More likely it was both.
Wow! I'm bookmarking this one. It is, like you, intense and breathtaking. The line about trees and trauma literally made me gasp, thus took my breath away. I didn't know where you going with this and at every turn I was drawn deeper in, and coaxed to slow down. Such lyricism too. You're a stellar writer and a stellar personal storyteller - thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much for the kind words, Trilety, your comment completely made my day! I’m honored that this piece drew you in in such a way, it means a lot to me xx
Beautiful remembrance. I do think trees have memory, just not how we think of memory. You may enjoy reading about Suzanne Simard, who fought the scientific establishment to re-think how trees communicate and cooperate: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/12/02/magazine/tree-communication-mycorrhiza.html
Thank you, Stephanie! There’s so much that is absolutely fascinating about article. I particularly love Simard’s referring to “veteran” or “mother trees” as sending “messages of wisdom on to the next generation of seedlings”— yes, yes, yes! I’ve ordered a copy of her book, looking forward to reading it 💚