'Then out to the pier, to the edge of the pier, to wait and see if any of those glorious, misshapen lumps of sea creature would show up.
"I really hope the manatees come today" Mom said.
It had been, I realised then, a year and a half filled with many odd superstitions that would come over me suddenly - what Joan Didion would call "magical thinking". All I could focus on was the following nonsensical equation: If the manatees came, it would be a good day, Mom would feel "better"....... I stared deep into the water, hoping to see one.
Then I saw one manatee and then another, and then one more. The harbor was filled with a jumble of powerboats, the hulls of which were linen-crisp against the murky water and the bright blue of the sky. The boats were still unmanned. The manatees moved slowly around and between them. But in the distance were boats at full power, churning the water. And when you stared at the backs of the manatees, you could see great gashes that had scabbed over.'
From the amazingly moving The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Scwalbe, which is mostly not about manatees but about books and illness, grief and dying, and which I review here, on my Shapeshifting Green blog.
As ever, red text contains hyperlinks that take you other pages where you can find out more.
When will we learn to share the earth?
ReplyDeleteI've been wondering whether to get that book. Now I think I will! Thanks for the nice post!
ReplyDeleteHi Kay, yes do read it, it's amazing!
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite spots at Merritt Island National Seashore near Cape Canaveral has a spot for watching manatees. So many have awful gashes from boat propellers. So sad.
ReplyDeleteI need to get that book. Thanks.
It is sad that the manatees have to share their space with the power boats. I think they should be banned from the manatee habitat. Great review, I would like to read this book too.
ReplyDeleteI would love to read this, as the plight of the manatees is important to all of us animal lovers.
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