 (c) Alice Whitney, 2006 © R. L. Whitney. Originally published on June 24, 1987
A theologian once asked the eminent British biologist, J.B.S. Haldane, if he thought any conclusion could be drawn about the nature of God from a study of his works. Haldane apparently answered, "An inordinate fondness for beetles." I think I would want to add spiders too. I was sitting at my very own dining room table the other evening, enjoying a moment's respite from the frenzied pace of the day while perusing the newspaper from back to front as is my wont, when I thought my eyes, never the very best even on good days, were finally giving out. Between me and the page I was keenly digesting were spots - spots that kept shifting in and out, up and down, in a most disconcerting fashion. Eventually, of course, the spots won out, in the competition for my attention, over the In Memoriams. Nothing I could do - roll my eyes, blink rapidly, tilt my head - seemed to shake the spots. Unlike most of the spots which nearsighted people are afflicted with from time to time these remained apparently in front of me, shifting in and out, up and down. |
