Snake River Basin: Salmon River, 11″ X 14″, acrylic on 300lb. paper, 2013, Mark W. McGinnis
Once upon a time (and space) there was an unfolding and expanding universe. Among its seemingly countless galaxies is our Milky Way galaxy. Within the Milky Way galaxy are seemingly countless stars, one of which is our own sun. In the debris that circles that sun is rock called the Earth. On that rock has evolved seemingly countless life forms, one of which is a robust parasite called human beings.
There is a beautiful spot on that planet called the Snake River Basin. In one of the Snake River’s many valleys, near the Boise River, one of the Snake’s seemingly countless tributaries, there lives a parasitic painter called Mark McGinnis. Being new to the region the painter decided to explore the area and paint what he found. He found great geographic diversity: mountains, deserts, forests, rivers, lakes, streams, creeks and more. While the parasites had done some DAMage to the system it still maintained much of its beauty and life-giving bounty. The parasite painter hoped that his paintings might inspire others to preserve and maybe even, in time, restore this lovely area of the earth.
He was able to hope this because of a rather painful evolutionary trait the parasites had developed called consciousness. It had enabled the species its great success and also enabled it to damage its hostess, the Earth. Now that same consciousness had the capability undoing some of the harm it had wrought and the parasites created a holiday to honor that new consciousness. The parasites, not being too imaginative, called it Earth Day.
copyright 2013 Mark W. McGinnis
(presented to the Boise Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Boise ID, April 21, 2013)
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