Exploration and Adventure

At the end of the Pleistocene, up to 11,700 years ago, Asia and North America were joined by a “bridge” 1000 miles wide.  How people moved from Siberia, to Alaska, then the rest of North and South America, probably by boat, is the adventure he imagines.  Childs makes this tale so alive by trekking across the ice himself and ruminating on how things would have been done differently in the Pleistocene.  One time he travelled with his mother.  (I am very impressed with Mom.) 

To tell the story of the first people who landed in the East, he chose a site in Florida with Iberian-like relics and explored the idea of people following the ice from Europe to New York and travelling down the east coast.  Once again, he lives the adventure as, minimally equipped, he travels with snakes and alligators through the swamps.  The second half is more information filled but we thought “Atlas” a misnomer as there is a disappointing lack of maps.

I love how Childs shows the truths hidden in myths passed down throughout the ages.  Raven was originally white (the color of animals who live on the ice).  He was naughty (of course) and punished by being held over a fire.  When he escaped, he was scorched black (a more suitable color after the ice receded).   I can see how Childs, a storyteller himself, would feel a kinship towards these oral traditions.

He also wonders why ancient people living in Alaska might have thought about trying to get around all that ice in the first place.  What made them think there would be something on the other side?  He posits that they watched the noisy cranes and flocks of migratory birds come in the spring and leave in the fall.  Where were they going?  Wouldn’t it be an adventure to find out?   And they might have gotten their answer relatively quickly.   Childs tells a story about someone in current times who travelled by kayak from Alaska to South America in two years.  Maybe a hardy ice age explorer was sent in his umiak to do the same thing.

I was intrigued and found a fuller version of the myth in “Tales of the Menehune” published by Kamehameha Schools Press.  Hawaiian people knew about the benefits of fire for cooking because they saw what happened along the burning edges of lava.  Breadfruit and bananas were roasted and delicious.  But they didn’t know how to make fire by themselves.  One day Maui and his brothers were fishing and from the boat saw a column of smoke rising.  When they got back to shore, they saw that birds, the moorhens, had started a fire, stolen their bananas and roasted them.  The myth goes into some detail about Maui’s negotiating tactics, but eventually he gets one of the moorhens to teach him how to start a fire.  As the bird is leaving, Maui takes a blazing stick and makes a mark on the little hen.   And so, as often happens in real life, it was the little hen in the background who knew what was really going on.

He explores our present bad habits, such as mouth breathing, and their history.  He examines ancient practices of restorative breathing plus extreme breathing techniques for warming and calming.  He reminds us that disciplines such as singing and athletics make excellent use of the old methods of controlled breathing.

With acute observation, Nestor finds unexpected similarities in the number of syllables in Asian and North American chants and Western prayers, all designed to promote the ideal of 5.5 breaths per minute.   Looking at things from a different perspective, he doesn’t see carbon dioxide only as a waste product but potentially a benefit in the regulation of anxiety.  Yes, this is a far-ranging book that puts a scientific spin on ancient ideas and overlooked research– -plus an appendix of breathing practices

After this familiar beginning, Guest List goes in its own modern direction with a very strong plot.  Main characters get their own chapters and tell the story from their points of view.  Creation of atmosphere worked the least.  I felt that Foley was following a template for murder mysteries:   storm, wind, crashing waves, jagged cliffs, the bog, ill-omened birds, cemetery.  Nothing was left out.   Nonetheless, this is a good story, a page turner, and distraction from the real-life tension of the times.

I applaud its attitude toward old age.  Ulysses, the adventurer, is home now after a lifetime of war and travels and is expected to act the part of old wise counsellor.  But sitting home acting his age is not for him.  He does not want to be “an idle king.”  He does not want to “rust unburnish’d, not to shine in use!” He dreams of setting out again…

There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail,                                                                          'T is not too late to seek a newer world….                                                                               To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths                                                                                Of all the western stars…                                                                                                           To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.