“What a wonderful phenomenon it is, carefully considered, when the human eye, that jewel of organic structures, concentrates its moist brilliance on another human creature!” ~Thomas Mann (German writer)

In an announcement issued late Tuesday afternoon, Sheriff’s officials said Jesus Alcantar, 26 — also known as “Omar” — was last seen about 2 a.m. at the Golden Trout Wilderness Packstation heading toward Lloyd Meadow Road in Tulare County. Alcantar is described as 5 feet, 6 inches tall; 150 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.

Or just rewind it a bit. Or maybe that’s fast-forward? It’s just too easy to get lost when you’re going in circles.

The Celtic New Year is considered Samhain (sometimes translated as November). Also, their day began at sunset, rather than sunrise. It is my understanding that the Celts viewed life as resulting from death, so the New Year did not symbolize rebirth as much as it did dormancy – or anticipation.

(I don’t know the reasoning of this, but I would suppose this life-from-death philosophy could have roots in justifying killing animals to eat – through their death, those who eat have life. Or it could be the thought that life doesn’t begin at birth but in the darkness of the womb or in the darkness of the earth?)

It occurs to me that this viewpoint gives one something always to look forward to – otherwise, if everything starts out all rosy, one is only looking forward to, or focusing on, well, not rosy. It would be nice to look forward to a life of promises fulfilled, of a bounty of births and harvests from small, quiet seeds that rested in the dark.

Anyway, the name of the first Celtic month translates to “seed fall” so the fact that the leaves haven’t yet fallen at the start of the rainy season, the New Year, would seem appropriate to an ancient Celt.

But back to water and fire… or is that fire and water? Having the rains symbolize a new beginning does not make rebirth solely the result of the rains. Rebirth requires both the rains and the sun.

In the end, there is no beginning or end.

I’m also glad that your relationship with Math is on the mend.