A Mother's Day Limerick or Two or Three

Things are starting to get busy as time hurtles by faster and faster until next Friday, when I will enjoy one of the most wonderful feelings I know-- when the plane door closes and you know there is nothing else you can really do for about 2 to 12 hours, depending on where you are going, other than nap and watch movies. It is so freeing, especially after the hectic chaos the precedes almost every one of my trips. On Thursday I had to go get the last of my gigantic battery of vaccines and was caught in traffic just long enough to snap this picture from the interstate-- beautiful mountain views tame road rage like nothing else.

Mt. Hood, keeping watch over the city of Portland.

On Thursday night, I gave another public science talk at the Science Pub series I have been praising the last few months, with which I have been really honored to be affiliated when I think about how great some of the other talks are that I have seen. The last one was a book reading by a Portland-native named Rebecca Skloot from her recent history of HeLa cells and their donor, Henrietta Lacks. HeLa cells are the immortal cell lines now cultured in labs all over the world which were derived from a cervical tumor that killed the woman from which they were biopsied in the 50's. The cells were co-opted for research without her knowledge (or her children's knowledge) and many, many important discoveries have resulted, including things like the polio vaccine (which I just got). I haven't read her book, but what she read out loud was really interesting, so I would recommend checking it out if you are looking for a page-turner summer science read as it really straddles topics ranging from medicine to ethics to race. I was troubled a bit by how demonized scientists (as opposed to, say, biotech companies) were during the Q&A, given that few dorky scientists I know are getting rich off their research, but still a really interesting story and an excellent crucible for many of the interesting issues surrounding human health research and the idea of the greater good. If Henrietta Lacks were still here (and in some ways, she still is), I would want to wish her a hearty Happy Mother's Day given all that her amazing cell line has done to save lives.

My recent Science Pub was in Eugene this time so that I could also visit with my family (see below). When I arrived back in Portland, I made a brief stop at Reed for their annual end of year festivus, Renn Fayre. This celebration started off as an actual renaissance faire, er...fayre, back in the day and marked the big accomplishment all seniors at Reed must achieve, which is the turning in of their final thesis drafts to the college by 3 pm on the Friday before finals. Promptly at 3 o'clock, said seniors burn copies of their thesis in a giant bonfire and a weekend of bacchanalia ensues. Nowadays, the renaissance part doesn't exist-- there is a different theme every year, and the events include many, many varied traditions that have accumulated over the years and seem to involve a healthy dose of nudity interleaved throughout the festivities. Here you can see the seniors congregating to burn their theses as a kick-off to the weekend's events.

Last but not least: You know you've been blogging a long time when you have annual events on your blog, like the now-traditional mother's day limerick post, which I encourage you to participate in if you desire so that perhaps we can convert it to an annual mother's day limerick slam. To celebrate how happy I am about being in the same geographic region, here are a few to get the limerick slam tradition started:

My mom's a great friend on the phone,
Better listeners, few I have known,
But now that I'm here,
It's easier to see her,
'Cause we both call Oregon home.

A generous spirit and heart,
With a gift for jewelry and art,
Not without flaws,
But she paints and she draws,
And, thus, many gifts she imparts.

And finally....

It's been great being so close to my fam,
My mom, as you know, is a ham.
She thought it quite funny,
To dress like a bunny,
But since Easter has been on the lam.

Happy Mother's Day Mom! Keep on keepin' on!