And the award for a book signed in the strangest place goes to ...

from Jacqueline

I’ve been asked to sign books in various places outside the accepted milieu of the bookstore, but I think I took the prize for most original signing location this week. You think you had it, didn’t you, but no, I do, and here’s what happened:

On Tuesday, I had to go into the local hospital for a colonoscopy. Yep, I can hear the sharp intake of breath, it’s all downhill from here. Those of you who have already partaken of this experience know that what comes before is, generally, much worse that what comes next, but none of it is particularly edifying an experience. So, there I am, in a small ward on my own, first thing in the morning (note to self: get the first appointment, then you don’t have to go through the day worrying and starving). I’m wearing a groovy, tres chic little backless number, courtesy of the hospital, and I have an iv attached to my hand pushing sugar-water into my body so I don’t expire. And I am freezing. Eventually, two nurses with silly mop-cap accoutrements to the head came in, to wheel me down to the operating room where they do these procedures. One of them informed me that they were under strict instructions from their boss (that would be the head of nursing), to withhold all sedation until I did something for her. Now, let me tell you, if someone is about to do a colonoscopy, you want all the sedation you can get your hands on. That’s how I ended up sitting on a gurney, with two nurses (one with a nasty looking implement in her hand) and a doctor looking over my shoulder while I signed a pile of books. Then one of the nurses took the books and they knocked me out. Not that I’m complaining, heck, if someone wants to buy my books, I will sign them, any time, any place.

Moving right along – and I’m sure you’re breathing a sigh of relief here – I was reading The Economist this week (yes, really!), when I came across an interesting little article in the science section that has had me pondering ever since. Scientists have discovered that cells from the mother remain in a baby after birth, not to just sit there doing nothing, but to perform a more important task in the child’s body, and this work does not end as the offspring enter adulthood – your mother’s clever little cells remain in the body for the rest of your life. No, they are not there to nag you, to yell “I told you so!” when you go down with some sickness due to imbibing something you shouldn’t, but rather they are there to save you. The example given in the article was that of diabetic children. When biopsied, it was discovered that their livers (and other specific body parts) contained cells from their mothers, only those cells had taken over the job of producing measurable amounts of insulin. There were other examples given, which all pointed to something that you’d probably never read in The Economist, but to me points to something really transcendent, some elegance in the universe which is indeed love. I wonder how much of mother earth is within all of us, and how those graceful, beautiful cells might empower us to save her, and ourselves in these troubling times. It all reminds me of a man I met when we were both guest speakers at a fundraising event – you may have heard of him – the astronomer, Neil de Grasse Tyson. What an amazing man – he had us all transfixed the minute he began speaking. He began to talk about the universe with all the energy and conviction of an evangelical preacher, and asked us to recite out loud the components of a star, “Come on,” he said, “remember your science!” Then he repeated the components of the human body, and they are the same. “So,” he said, his voice lowered, reverential, “You really are stardust.” Don’t know why I thought of that at the same time as the mother-cell, but it all makes me think how wonderful life really is, and the responsibility we have to protect and cherish our environment and each other. We’re all kin, really.



Finally, on an inspiring note: As you know, I adore horses, and it’s been a bit of a rough week, what with that lovely racehorse, Barbaro, being euthanized. He was injured around the time my horse, Sara, was struggling with a life-threatening sinus infection, so I felt the comradeship of experience as the vets tried everything in their power to save him. Then today, a friend sent me a link to this wonderful piece of footage from The Netherlands. If you remember, in November last year, over 100 horses were stranded on a very small island during terrible floods, and it was thought they would die. This short film shows how they were saved. The English language is a bit so-so, and the music’s not great, but the horses will touch your heart.

http://video.google.nl/videoplay?docid=-4584913278289860160

I still haven’t worked out how to embed the link so that all you have to do is click – sorry! I’m the Naked Authors techno klutz, every community blog must have one.

And really finally: Paris is going to be a non-smoking zone. I love Paris, I detest smoking (can't help it, breathed in my mom's second-hand smoke throughout childhood, hate it), but the thought of Paris without smoking has taken something away. Yes,I know, cancer from someone else's smoke, but ... Paris is not Paris without the waft of Gauloise snaking past and choking you as you reach for your Dubonnet. Strange, really, to have such a double-standard.

And also in Paris, the lights on the Eiffel Tower went out last night, as they did in key places throughout Europe in recognition of the latest report on climate change - the collaborative work of top-gun meteorologists around the world and supported by over 2000 scientists- that says, in no uncertain terms, that we are really up a gum tree now, for as long as gum trees can survive, that is. This is where we look inside for the Big Mother cells, for that stardust, and really step up to the plate. Now is not the time for double standards. Otherwise we really will be dust, or drowned - and where will Paris be then, or New York, or San Francisco, or Miami, LA, London, Madrid. Think of those horses - who will lead us across the rising waters?

See you next week. Have a great weekend. I'm off to look at hybrid cars!