Carlton regularly told me to just: Shut up, suit up and show up. Like many Carlton-isms (Green Side Up comes to mind), I am not sure what it means. But, fortunately, I stopped finding reasons (jelly fish, murky water, cloudy) to not go for a little swim this noon.
Because, right out in my normal “left side of the pier” swim area were two small eagle rays. I have seen much larger eagle rays – but they would just zoom on by. Not these guys they just swam leisurely along. I was able to keep up with them until I decided that they could swim forever and I would eventually get tired – so, I reluctantly waved bye-bye and swam back to shore.
And wasn’t it nice that they were over sand – so, they photographed really well. Considering: the cheap camera, the murky ocean, and the lack of sun.
These wonderful rays are called hihimanu in Hawaiian. That means elegant bird. They weigh up to 500 pounds and have 6-foot wingspan. I am guessing that these two were about 1/2 grown.
The most amazing thing about them is that the female gives birth to 1-4 pups, each having a 10-20 inch wingspan. Exciting aerial displays have been associated with the birthing process, in which the mother leaps out of the water and expels the pups in mid-air. The pups arrive with their wings wrapped bat-like around their bodies. They quickly unfold and begin to swim to avoid their main predators, the sharks.
I am so happy about the hihimanu that I am no longer in a snit about the serious decline in my balance sheet in the last quarter of FY18.
A LITTLE REFLECTION ON BEING OLD
An advantage of being old: I really don’t have to waste any of my reminding time reading an article entitled: What will tech look like in 20 years.