Science Circle :Fire and Rain

Oh, I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain
I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought I’d see you again.”

When James Taylor wrote those words in 1970, he was thinking wistfully about a childhood friend who had committed suicide. Sadly, those words ring true for what we are seeing today in climate weirding as well. “I always thought that I’d see you again.” How many thousands and thousands of people around the world whose homes have been destroyed by fire or by rain had that same thought? This is also the thought some of us are having when thinking about what we had come to know, to expect, as normal climate – wherever we live. While we may wish it, we cannot return to an old normal of climate any more than we can return to a past pattern on a kaleidoscope.In 2019, too many places on Earth suffered extreme drought and
horrible wildfires while other places were deluged by severe rainstorms and floods.  We all hope that none of us ever experiences a fire maelstrom for real, or intense rainstorms that damp them. Yet having at least a touch of a visceral sense of what these would be gives more meaning and understanding to data such as those that Dr. Keith Grant shared with us in his excellent presentation a few weeks ago.
One of the unique qualities of Second Life is that we can construct immersive spaces that provoke a sense of being there, of experiencing. For this purpose we have build a fire burnout. Dramatic experiences inform thinking and conversation. Please join me on Saturday, February 15, don some fire fighting equipment and let’s get started.

Linda Morris Kelley (Delia Lake in SL)