I wanted to tell you about the Harpy eagle. It is one of the largest and most powerful raptors on earth. It is native to the rainforests of Central and South American. It is named after the harpies of Greek mythology, evil wind spirits with the face of a woman and the body of a vulture. The eagle is described as an “apex predator”, it can fly almost straight up and easily navigates the area under the forest canopy. The bird is very unusual looking and can carry up to half it body weight. It can capture an 8-10 pound monkey, sloth, or bird in its curved black talons. The talons can exert great pressure, basically they crush their prey. The eagle is “bold, beautiful, and sadly under threat”—with a status of ‘vulnerable’, largely due to destruction of its habitat and poaching.
In Greek and Roman mythology, a harpy or harpies, is a half human and half bird personification of storm winds. Usually, it is the beautiful face of a maiden, with sharp talons and wings. The name means “snatchers” or “swift robbers”. The creatures were said to steal food from their victims as they ate and carry evildoers to Erinyes ( I think this is hell) The harpies were called the “hounds of mighty Zeus” and later as the guardians of the underworld. So unfair to put our beautiful and endanger eagle in this same category.
This all brings me around to the Ex President being indicted by the New York District Attorney. He has assured us that he would never have anything to do with Stormy because she is not sufficiently attractive to deserve his attention. Like the orange guy with the bouffant hairstyle is a regular Adonis. Oh my, I can only hope the mythical harpies do the work of the Zeus and carry the evildoer off to his well deserved reward.
We spent part of spring break in Utah. So many things to do in a bigger city. We stayed at EVO in the Granary District. This is a very cool old building transformed into a hotel, with climbing walls, indoor skate board park, original concrete floors and nice rooms. The kids were welcome to ride their skate boards or scooters in the halls and creatures are welcome. The vibe is definitely for younger skiers, snow boarders, boulder climbers but the atmosphere is most welcoming.
I have told you about the planetarium before, but well worth the time for young and old. We went to a Dark Side of the Moon light show in the IMAX theatre, Margie loved the lights and Pink Floyd music, Clio took a nap. Different strokes. Hank got to watch Giannis as the Milwaukee Bucks soundly defeated the Jazz.
The Natural History Museum on the campus of University of Utah was amazing for all ages. The mammoth, giant sloth, saber tooth cat and a massive bear pictured all lived in the Salt Lake Valley around the Great Lake Bonneville era. Visit the museum and see these and so much more about our not so distant past.
There is so much to learn from understanding our history. I do not feel guilty about the way we have treated people of color, Native Americans, the Mormon settlers, the Japanese and Chinese to name a few groups, as our country grew. Enlightened humans can learn from the past. I think it is ok to be ashamed and commit to fulfilling the
American ideal, “freedom and justice for all.”
I hope you can think of something clever for April fools day. I will celebrate Clio Thomas Haga’s sixth birthday. Take good care. Mike