A Review: Pink Boots and a Machete: My Journey from NFL Cheerleader to National Geographic Explorer with Dr.Mireya Mayor

Exploring in Beacon Hill Park September, 2014

It was the land. The exotic wildlife in the trees - silky lemurs, coiling venomous snakes and silverback gorillas. The broad, thick rivers of the Amazon and the dense jungles of Madagascar. Dr. Mireya Mayor, not allowed to join the Girl Guides because her mother felt it was too dangerous, went on to be an NFL cheerleader, went to law school and detoured to wildlife research and exploration. Always interested in animals, she told us of the menagerie of cats, dogs and other animals she had as a teenager. It was a natural progression to expanding that interest to research about animals, although it took time and daring. Even with all the cultural experiences I have had here in Victoria, Dr. Mayor gave me a trip that I, and most of the audience at the Royal Theatre this past Tuesday night, will possibly ever take. Scaling perpendicular cliffs to a three foot wide base camp where their group’s tents were secured by one spike in the cliff. Better to see that experience than participate. Traveling by boat on the Amazon. While researching lemurs in Madagascar never before researched, Dr. Mayor discovered the smallest known lemur that she was able to hold in the palm of her hand. Lemurs are very cute! Descriptions of gorilla culture and family life - both humorous and dangerous. Her presentation was accompanied by video clips of her explorations. It all excited and at the same time brought me peace while I watched and listened.

Microphones were opened to the audience for a twenty minute question and answer period following this very interesting presentation by Dr. Mayor who has been dubbed a ' female Indiana Jones' because of her adventures. This was as interesting and enjoyable as the presentation. Most of the questioners were children of, I suppose, about 10 years to 12 years old. They were articulate and curious about how to get involved in similar adventures and how Dr. Mayor developed her interest. Questions about climate change and how it affected her work. As Dr. Mayor had spoken of the poverty of the communities she had encountered. The question that arose from that was how her exploration and research was of benifit to them. She replied that they try to hire as many local people as possible, provide education about the wildlife around them for adults and children and support the conservation of the area.

For anyone interested in young people’s involvement they can go to the National Geographic website. Dr. Mayor did suggest that there are now grants for youth as well as grants for research or exploration involvement.

“But in life there are detours, and for a brief time 

I headed not toward the wilds but in the opposite direction.”

~ Mireya Mayor, Pink boots and a Machete: 

My Journey from NFL Cheerleader to National Geographic Explorer

Dr. Mireya Mayor has written a book entitled: 

Pink Boots and a Machete: My Journey from NFL Cheerleader to National Geographic Explorer with the forward by Jane Goodall

Published by National Geographic

Copyright 2011

ISBM: 978-1-4262-0721-1 (hardback)

In Hiding

Oh me, Oh my.

Not again!

All the words are there

but distant and evasive.

Some tap, tap in my mind

only stubby stems

ending in dry and empty air.

Some buzz by too quickly

little hummingbirds ~ curious and shy ~ impatiently awaiting 

creativity borne of peace.

“Creativity takes courage.”

~ Henri Matisse

Book Review - The Break by Katherena Vermette

An important book. A hard read. Family love. Strong, educated women. Generational abuse. These are some of the comments made at book group yesterday afternoon in our discussion about The Break by Métis author Katherena Vermette. The Break is all of those things and so much more. Most of it is beyond my ability to write in this review.

Katherena Vermette did not soft pedal any unpleasantness. The reader was not spared the brutality of the abuses. The incredible sadness of Lorraine (Rain) freezing to death behind a dumpster in a prairie winter after a beating is only one. When I think now of those incidents, because this is not the only one, family love and compassion for each other swaddled the broken souls to help them heal. 

The Break, an open stretch of land under tall robot like power standards, is isolated and, in winter, impassable. Stella, Rain’s daughter, lives on one side of The Break just a couple of bus rides from her family on the other side of The Break. Stella witnesses a brutal assault, but can do nothing about it except call 911. Two police officers arrive four hours later. Tommy Scott, Métis a young police officer and Christie, a senior and very jaded officer begin an investigation into the assault. Christie is not particularly enthused, but Tommy is determined to pursue the investigation. Although, these two characters are seen throughout the novel, it is not their investigation that is at the centre of this book. 

On the other side of The Break, family members are introduced - Cheryl, Louise (Lou), Paulina (Paul), and Emily (13 years old). Kookum and her daughters, grand-daughters and her great-granddaughters have close family ties with each other. They support each other throughout their lives, with the support of a close friend Rita, and her daughter, Zegwan (Ziggy - also 13 years old). Sons are raised and cherished. Love relationships are strained but love is deep despite the many difficulties. Family bonds provide the peace to gentle the violent events that rock their lives.

In counterpoint to this gentle and strong family connection and love, is the lack of family connection for one of the characters outside of the family. I’ll not give away this part of the story, only to say that compassion came with difficulty, at least for this reader. 

“The dead don’t hang on, the living do. The dead don’t have anything to hang on to. Our bodies become nothing, and we just float around the people who love us. We go back to nothing. That is all we ever were or should ever be.”

~Katherena Vermette, The Break

Title: The Break

Author: Katherena Vermette

Copyright: 2016

Format:  Soft & electronic

Paperback - ISBN-978-1-4870-0111-7

html -  ISBN-978-1-4870-0112-4

Red-Gold Peace

Cold damp air 

suspends red-gold leaves

hanging peacefully in the quiet.

“The most beautiful gift of nature is that it gives one pleasure

 to look around and try to comprehend what we see. 

~ Albert Einstein

When I Was a Child - Final Post in the series for 'Identify Your Identity'

The following is from a writing exercise borrowed from the book Walking in The World by Julia Cameron. The words in italics are direct quotations from that book. I have already completed this exercise in my personal journal with answers a bit different. There are a total of 10 questions. I’ve done the first six on November 7th post. I've written and posted the 7th, 8th and 9th questions over the next three days. Today, is my final post for When I Was a Child, completing the ten questions. Here is the final post for Identify Your Identity in Chapter Two of Walking in The World.

When I was a Child - Final Post for Identify Your Identity

I now commit to this dream by…..Wow! Committing to a dream that is not productive? In my upcoming retirement!? Yes. Why not? So my commitment is to daily writing, reading, pursuing further education about writing (that last one will have to wait til next year). I want to feel the peace and interest that I felt when I was designing gowns for my paper dolls so very long ago.

“You always have two choices: your commitment versus your fear.”

~ Sammy Davis, Jr.