39th and 72nd Birthdays

Monday, May 26th, the day of Alex's and my shared birthday, Frank, Alex, and I visited the Discovery Museum in San Jose, the purple building with the huge yellow duck on the roof. The last time we'd been there was August of 2022. There are many more extensive photos in that blog post even though it had been during times of COVID and a modified visit. This post just hits some highlights. To commemorate this birthday occasion, Alex and I posed for a selfie inside a full size Wells Fargo Stage Coach.

Having been to the museum several times before, we knew what Alex's favorite spots were and were sure to visit those. Shortly after entering there is an air-powered air maze which when loaded with fluffy pompoms whizzes them all around before spitting them out to do a repeat. Alex loved loading the yarn balls and laughing when they shoot out in a random location on the floor or when they actually clobber him upon ejection.

I think Alex's most favorite spot of all is the water play area. He tossed balls into the vortex and watched them spiral down, then shoot out to do again.

There are several activities he likes to do with Frank. Building with huge foam blocks is one. Walking across a bumpy moving bridge is another. Alex will go back and enjoy jumping solo on the bridge, as well.

Upstairs there are stacking and building manipulative activities in which Alex can become very engrossed. The tower stacking station has a button to press to shake, simulating an earthquake and knocking down the newly built creations. Alex liked that part, also.

Wheels vs. no wheels? Frank and Alex race in the friction test by pulling on a rope to drag a sled weighed down with a cinder block. Frank let Alex have the sled with wheels but Alex did not always win. He was too distracted gleefully pointing out to Frank what a good job he was doing pulling the rope.

The pin sensory board was also a big hit.

Outdoors, the occasional big bubble, in the rare instance when I could succeed in forming one, was good for a laugh and a pop. The notable point of this photo is that Frank took it with his new iPhone 16 Pro Max. My birthday present was that Frank finally — yes, finally — gave in, and we got the same iPhones, so doing and learning actions on the phone would be the same for both of us.

Once back home at St Denis, Alex blew out some candles on his doughnut and opened a few gifts. He is holding two more Squishy Dogs like those we got him and that had been such a hit when we went to the Stunt Dog Show two weeks earlier.

Alex did enjoy his birthday. Sometimes repeating an activity known to be a sure winner is the way to go.

Ponder: Migrations

Last month I went to my third meeting of a book club I recently joined.  The assigned book for discussion was Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy ©2020. Migrations is about Franny, a woman who sets out to follow the migratory path of the Arctic Tern from the north pole to the south pole. My initial reaction was, "Really? This sounds like a dull book with loads of scenery ad nauseam and very little plot. And, come on, how much character development can birds have?" But, I was determined to give this every-other-month book club a fair chance, and so I soldiered on. 

An additional impetus to not give up on this novel was a convincing action initiated by the group leader, Carol. She emailed out a list of 19 discussion questions a week before the meeting. I scurried to finished the book, re-inspired by my curiosity. Here are two of the questions.

Question #2: Discuss the novel’s first lines: "The animals are dying. Soon we will be alone here." How does the disappearance of wildlife in mass extinctions shape the characters and plot? What are the similarities and differences between Franny’s world and our own? Would you describe this novel as dystopian? Why or why not?

Question #6: Franny says: "It isn’t fair to be the kind of creature who is able to love but unable to stay." Why does she have so much trouble staying, even with the people she most loves? Did you find that aspect of her character sympathetic? Right before their car accident, Niall tells Franny, "There’s a difference between wandering and leaving. In truth, you’ve never once left me." Do you agree?

What? All the animals are gone? Why can't Franny stay with someone she loves? What car accident? Who is Niall? (I later learned that Niall is a Scottish name that stands for champion and does fit this character). How do wander and leave compare? There must be something more to this book than ice and snow vistas as far as the eye can see. Besides, I might learn something about this Arctic Tern, which I did.

Per a Wikipedia article on the Artic Tern: 

The Arctic tern is famous for its migration; it flies from its Arctic breeding grounds to the Antarctic and back again each year. The shortest distance between these areas is 19,000 km (12,000 mi). The long journey ensures that this bird sees two summers per year and more daylight than any other creature on the planet. ... It migrates along a convoluted route from its northern breeding grounds to the Antarctic coast for the southern summer and back again about six months later. The birds follow a somewhat convoluted course in order to take advantage of prevailing winds.... The average Arctic tern lives about 30 years and will ... travel some 2.4 million km (1.5 million mi) during its lifetime, the equivalent of a roundtrip from Earth to the Moon more than three times.

As well as interesting things about the bird, I learned interesting things about myself reading this book and participating in a book club. When a book is selected, the library does not normally have enough hard copies to supply all the members. Some members have Kindles and others listen to the book on tape, borrowing an audio version from the library. I downloaded the app Libby and tried listening to the story. I was too distracted. My mind would wander and I would suddenly realize I had missed a large portion of what had been said. I am very much a visual, not audio learner. I bought the book from Amazon, used and inexpensive. It came without a dust cover, just a solid navy blue front and back cover. Oddly enough, I needed that visual enticement, encouraging me to read the book. I found find an image of the cover on my computer, printed it, and wrapped it around the book making it much more appealing and palatable to read. Weird, huh?

Migrations is not a book I would have chosen to read on my own but I am pleased that this book club selection pushed me beyond my comfort zone. The story does go beyond my stereotyping image of a nerdy birdwatcher sitting for hours quietly out in nature in hopes of catching a glimpse of some rare feathery creature. Fanny, in order to follow the migratory path of the tern needs to become a crew member on a fishing vessel.  Some of the experiences and dangers she faces reminded me of the reality TV shoe Deadliest Catch. Per the Wikipedia post on Deadliest Catch:

The show emphasizes the dangers on deck to the fishermen and camera crews as they duck heavy crab pots swinging into position, maneuver hundreds of pounds of crab across a deck strewn with hazards, and lean over the rails to position pots for launch or retrieval, while gale-force winds and high waves lash the deck constantly.

Finally, I am getting to my review of the book. Migrations is slow to start but picks up speed and had me very engaged. It gave me great pause for thought about a wanderlust. Franny wanders from her mom and from Niall but this does not mean she does not love them. I thought of a particular parallel to this as a woman who loves her husband and children dearly but still desires the draw of a career thats take her away from them. The suffering and drama in this book is real and well conveyed. There is a whole cast of characters, a subset of which is on the fishing boat, that are intriguing with hints of an undiscovered depth. There was a human and animal pathos throughout the novel that pierced my heart. Although Migrations is not a selection I would have chose for myself, reading it enabled me to fully experience one of the strengths of participating in a book club, both for the choice of book and discussions about it. I rate this book four stars based on its thoughtful theme, wide range of fascinating characters, and unique topic. I found the plot only weakly relatable to me personally, but do acknowledge that I did not need to be an animal enthusiast to gain enjoyment and growth from this book.

★★★★☆ Really good; maybe only one weak aspect or limited audience