Maybe Petting a Porcupine Would Have Been Safer Afterall

In my August 29 posting, I made fun of a place (which does exist: this is no joke) where children can pet a sting ray. Based on the recent tragic news that a string ray has killed Steve Irwin, I know wonder if I am not correct to have viewed this as potential child abuse. I also predict two things: 1. lots of teenagers are lining up to take their chances at petting the sting rays and 2. lots of parents are now threatening their children with “you behave, or I’ll make you go and pet a sting ray.”

I went to an art festival. There was one booth where, at first, I thought how nice that a teacher has such talented third grade artists and is willing to sell their work, perhaps to encourage them and/or to raise money for their school. Then, I realized: this art work belonged to this adult artist. I could only imagine the people who buy this stuff are parents who take the art work back to their children to show them that they, too, can become professional artists, and to get going making art work for the parent to sell. I wonder what the discussion was like when this artist announced to family members that he was leaving his day job to become a professional traveling artist selling his art works from a tent. My guess: a divorce followed shortly afterwards.

There was another artist I see every year whom I fear is anorexic. I have now changed my mind: I fear she has to live off her earnings, and based on her work, she is thin because she doesn’t get to eat much. I am sorry, but you take things that people normally throw away and glue them together, it is not art. It is only a pile of stuff people throw away stuck together. You’re not going to sell too much of that stuff.