Did you know that December 10th is Curiosity Day? No, you didn’t miss a national holiday; this one is a unique celebration for Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
I only subscribe to a few newsletters, ones I think reliably contribute to my emotional, spiritual, and intellectual life, and theirs does. Thought I’d pass it along to you.
Curiosity – use it or lose it
From their website: “Britannica’s Curiosity Day, celebrated on December 10, invites you to ask questions, uncover stories, and share them with the world. This year, one of change and challenges for families across the globe, we invite you to use this day to connect with your families, be curious together, let your kids take the lead, and discover something new about the world, yourselves, and each other.”
One way to stir curiosity
I was a curious kid—still am at this ripe old age of NOT SAYIN’. If you were anything like me growing up, remember asking “Why?” or “How?” regarding even the most obvious thing, like “Why is the sky blue?” or “Why do I have to take a nap?” Now I love naps! On a family trip to Niagara Falls when I was little, while peering down at the spectacular waterfalls, my dad said I asked him, “Do they ever stop?”
During Spring and Summer, I spent hour after hour outdoors playing in the neighborhood, riding my bike, swinging on a tire swing hung from a huge pine tree, exploring in the woods or down by the river. That river was the Wicomico River in Salisbury, MD, my hometown. Loved it.
When I arrived by bike at the riverbank, I’d lean my bike against a tree and sit down by the water’s edge. At least once, I remember, I held my little Brownie instamatic camera and took pictures of anything that looked interesting: minnows down in the water grass, a fallen log, light rippling across the water. Most intriguing was a sunken ship partly sticking out of the water. We kids made up pirate stories about that!
Curiosity didn’t kill us cats
Later in life, in 2004, I brought Hoyt, my husband, to Salisbury to show him the spots where good trouble really happened. A first stop was the public library (BIG trouble there), where my mother had worked for a time and where I hung out whenever I could.
Hoyt and I climbed stairs to the main floor, and I headed to the reference desk. One of my goals: to find microfilm of the 1968 newspaper that carried my mother’s obituary.
At the reference desk, I stopped short. Unimaginably, the woman looked familiar. I knew I knew her from long ago. “Hi, are you Mary Beth_____?” [Not her real name.] After she said yes, as if answering a stranger, I told her my name, adding that I thought she and my older sister had been friends.
“Holy mother of God!” she cried out, right there in the silent library. (We were raised Catholic.) “I wondered what happened to you!”
In the following remarkable minutes, we caught up on some highpoints and low points of more than 40 years of our lives. Then she not only guided me to the microfilm area but easily located what I wanted. And she showed me books about the history of Salisbury, ones I’d never seen or knew existed. What treasures curiosity had given me: the woman, the synchronistic moment, and gifts of information that sated my curiosity. They continue.
Curious about that “pirate” ship
After I returned to Florida, Mary Beth sent me an email responding to a question I’d left with her. She wrote:
“I found a newspaper article from August, 1969, which has a photo of the [Jenny D.] Bell almost sunk in the river where you remember it. The boat was just left to rot there. The photo shows the masts and deck house collapsed and much of the hull under water. The point of the article was that a friend of the last captain had salvaged some of the wood from the boat and made souvenirs and furniture from it while it was still safe to walk on the deck. Sad news isn’t it.”
Getting out and about during COVID-19
This winter is extraordinarily bad. Sad news about people getting hit with and dying from COVID-19 besets us everyday. We aren’t going out and about yet, not even to the library, not until we’re vaccinated. Even then we’ll go with caution and continue wearing masks. But for now, we try and find other places to let our curiosity lead us. A simple walk around the block gets us fresh air and a bit of exercise and glimpses of the neighbors’ home improvement projects.
Indoors, we can always ask a question of life and go after an answer, an insight. About anything. Enjoy the interior adventure, whatever you find, reap its benefits for you.
Thanks for reading.
Your writer on the wing,
Charlene
Rob Ruff
Very much enjoyed your trip back in time and home! Mine was notable for observing the apparent change in slope of Glenrose Street. I’m sure it was steep back then. From the perspective of a four-foot bike riding child Glenrose resembled a Rocky Mountain! Much later, standing at the bottom and looking “up,” the 6-foot adult was confused as he observed a street that was…practically flat!