What Happens Inside of Us Affects the Whole Planet
t's a challenge to summarize how I feel the day before the 2016 election. The stress of the moment, the anxiousness of the world and the extreme differences in desires, weigh heavy on my soul.
I could talk about the exciting (bear) Cubs win. Or the ship (USS Bear), a famous 68 year old wooden sailing vessel that carried men safely to Antarctica and back. Or the Arctic polar bears endangered because the sea ice is melting. What does Bear medicine have to tell us?
Be in silence, nurture your receptive side, seek and find your own answers, take action on your creative projects and tear down the illusions of this physical world.
Here's my reflection.
It's election day 1916. George Washington Gibbs, Sr. votes for his Presidential candidate, Charles Evan Hughes. Hughes is a middle of the road Republican. As governor of New York, Hughes was a champion of progressive causes. GWGibbs Sr. is disappointed that a Democrat, Woodrow Wilson, wins the election. So, on 11/7/1916, he changes his new son's name from Charles E. Hughes to George Washington Gibbs, Jr.
GWGibbs Jr., goes on to have an extraordinary life in the military, politics, corporate management, community leadership, entrepreneurship and family. At his birthday party (election day 11/7/2000),
George happily passes away thinking his candidate, Al Gore, wins the election. A political animal until death.
As I publicly acknowledge my father's 100th birthday, I wonder:
What history will we make on election day 2016?
How will our fate change?
What dreams wake, regardless of who wins?
And what is the golden thread that continues 100 years from now, in spite of our human drama?
What happens tomorrow affects the entire human race. What happens on Antarctica is the result of our actions. We are All Antarctica.
Leilani Henry at Holy Trinity Church (Russian: Церковь Святой Троицы), a small Russian Orthodox church on King George Island © Leilani Henry
George W. Gibbs Jr. aboard the USS Bear 1940 © Leilani Henry
Food Patterns in Antarctica - Count Down Day 3
Near King George Island, Antarctica 2012 © Leilani Henry
No where in the world is food more important than during Polar expeditions.
Even though my father was part of the mess or kitchen crew on the USS Bear, I never thought this type of position had much to offer history. Probably because of my less than enthusiastic relationship with cooking. See my guest blog post in The Antarctic Book of Cooking and Cleaning. This book is a fantastic account of two women, Wendy Trusler and Carol Devine, who were a part of an environmental cleanup project on Bellinghausen station, King George Island.
I happened to be in the same location in 2012, and had no idea of their expedition six years prior.
The blog, Green with Renvy, published beautiful book review of Trusler and Devine's book. It inspired me to pull a menu from Byrd's III expedition that my father, George W. Gibbs, JR., had a hand in making aboard their 68 year old wooden barkentine sailing vessel-USS Bear.
From Byrd Polar Research Center, Ohio State University Archives:
Planned on August 1, 1939 for the first week at sea ( 11/22/1939)
Breakfast: stewed prunes, hominy grits, condensed milk, chipped beef on toast, fig perserves, buttered toast, coffee
Lunch: local fish stew, local fried fish fillets, french fried potato shreds, cucumber pickles, bread and butter, vitaminized cherry gelatine, and cocoa
Dinner: Rice, rye bread and butter, stuffed olives, bohemian tea, crab apple jelly
You know that chocolate, cocoa, chocolate malt- any way you can make and eat cacao is present in ALL of the polar expeditions. High fat, high calories and good for your intuition. (according to Yogi J. Oliver Black as reported to me by Dr. Aaron Flickstein)
Finally, the photo is from my 2012 Antarctic trip. We visited an abandoned hut and found what... chocolate! Still edible from years past. ( I don't have a date)
Nature Rules OK? New Antarctica Musical in Hobart Australia
Today, I'm hyperaware of the line between life and death in Antarctica. Some have said it's not life and death any more on the Ice. Not true!
Gordon Hamilton, a prominent climate scientist, died from a snow mobile accident, in late October. He fell into a 100 ft deep crevasse. Crevasses are one of the primary hazards on the continent. You can be super skillful and still fall prey to the landscape.
and Yes, Nature does Rule. Antarctic scientist, Dana Bergstrom, an Australian survivor of a fatal sewer gas leak, wrote and produced a New Antarctica Musical. She vowed, if she survived, to share in a more dramatic way, why Antarctica is the 'canary in the coal mine' on our planet. If you live near Hobart, it's playing until 11/12/16.
I hope these posts help you be more engaged with our precious bottom of the world.
I know I need to do more, many people are waiting for me to finish my writing project. Thanks for your support!
Leilani Henry speaking to students at a CO Middle school ©Leilani Henry
Antarctica-Past, Present and Future: Count Down to Gibbs 100th Birthday
One week to go to 11/7/16- This would be George W. Gibbs, Jr's 100th Birthday.
Best news this year for Antarctica: The most pristine waters in the world are now protected! http://bbc.in/2f6d1G3
Gibbs sailed to the Ross Ice Shelf with Admiral Richard E. Byrd's III expedition to the South Pole, in 1940. Where icebergs look like castles and penguins love to play. Thankfully, after 76 years, we still have these sights. For the next 35 years, the protections remain. Antarctica is melting. We're more aware of what that might mean for the planet.
We need to save the world's last frontier. This is a perfect step.
The World's Last Pristine Ocean
The Antarctic Toothfish is sought after and it lives in the Ross Sea. The name is disguised as Chilean Sea Bass. Yes, when we eat this fish, we risk over fishing and polluting an important ocean ecosystem in Antarctica. Krill oil is popular now. Whales and other sea life depend on an abundance of krill in the ocean. Here's a report on the facts. Please avoid using krill oil for a supplement and eating Chilean Sea Bass!
"Protecting Krill protects the Antarctic Wilderness"
https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.sumofus.org/images/Krill_report_SumOfUs_2015.pdf
Here's a petition to sign
http://action.sumofus.org/a/walgreens-boots-krill/2/6/?akid=16543.9138827.gfGmBp&rd=1&sub=fwd&t=3
The Perceived Value of the Poles
What solutions might emerge to balance our need to mine, with a balance of protection for all life on the planet?
Current reality at the Poles--great summary slide show. http://bit.ly/1hT6UBT
AND today, George W. Gibbs, Jr, made history by landing on Antarctica in 1940. He was the first man off the ship and became the first person of African descent, in the world, to land on the continent.