Re-purposing Goodness-Sustaining Heart 

Nancy Messonier is the sister of Trump-fired former Assistant Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who suggested his co-workers tape record Trump as documentation of Trump's mental status. The Trump administration was not above threatening defunding or some other vendetta against this Rosenstein relative Nancy Messonier, as early as January and February we know now.

"Trump," the Washington Post said on April 23, "ignored 70 days of warnings about the Coronavirus beginning in early January. He kept insisting as he did on March 10, that "it will go away. Just stay calm. It will go away." Even the Wall Street Journal stepped up and reported that "Trump was 'furious' after Nancy Messonier warned finally on February 25 that the coronavirus was rapidly spreading and that 'the disruption to everyday life might be severe.' Trump called Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and threatened to fire Messonier. " Vice President Pence the next day was declared "in charge" of the pandemic. Azar too was telling Trump exactly what Trump wanted to hear. 

When we consider the heart Mainers bring to fighting Covid19 spread, Trump's actions to – as ever- repurpose any situation to his own self-serving myopia- borders on sinister. His government has worked against Mainers who in their own good way, like the Guilford folk going to work despite fears, did their part.

I went to "Big Al's Super Values" recently the first time since March 21 when Maine began closing almost all of its doors and the electronic sign outside changed from "We Have Toilet Paper"

to "Closed. Saturday March 21 6 PM" to "Reopen?" Big Al has bent with the times, compliance with CDC recommendations required for entry.

The items they sell, "Odd Lot Outlet" all seem slightly more luminous now- not just because the clerks said they have been sanitizing everything. I know they have. Us all in our face masks and face shields, every cookware item, automobile repair assistance tool, toy and coloring book and the fire sale paper and office products from a nationwide retailer who I won't mention by name, all of it seemed brighter.

Yes, a little, just because it was there, even the canary yellow legal size paper. I noticed that because as Maine closed its doors, me running out of paper loomed large. I knew I would soon run out of the 6 for $1.00 small metal clip binders I place around hard copies of my PRX series submissions. For some reason, I thought I'd have enough until the store re-opened. I did run out. I knew I was set with my collapsible portable blanket storage box which serves as my sound and echo-proof recording studio, barring additional disaster.

And yes, far greater loss has merged into American lives, our country, too, a repository of stunned grief like that of refugees or other trauma survivors. Our roots are newly veined with heart breaking events that have become commonplace. The high school seniors with their drive-thru graduations. Many, many members of this disparate society finding a mask to wear, one a friend made, a relative passed on, or something re-purposed to protect.

There are the dancers in their apartment hallways now using the confines of their sequestered freedom to roam, as props in choreography. And the children with their crooked elbows resting their chins on hands. The sadness in their eyes while they gaze into computer screens not photo-shopped out.

We all lose track of time in upending moments, even the usual reliability of time  has changed. Three months in the life of an 8 year old does not have the same duration as that of a ninety year old in an entire life span lived. And the delineation of time, in the stores we visit, in retail, of all things, keeps us from losing hope in an ending. This pandemic gives us a taste of just how debilitating the timelessness anti-aging drugs tantalize us with.

While Big Al's, his staff, we were all doing our part, good was being repurposed for bad by an administration set on deception. In many countries, lying to please the Fuhrer has been commonplace. There is a way in which leaders repurposing good for bad is timeless. In our masks, staying 6 feet away, we need to recognize it when it decides to visit us where we live.

Our appreciation for the natural world is influenced by great nature writing.  However, the contribution of women to this genre has often been unappreciated.  On this episode, Kathryn Aalto discussed these writers in her new book, Writing Wild.

August 2020 Program Highlights • Honeybees • Big Horn Sheep • China's Bigfoot • E.O. Wilson on Ants

Scientists discover that giraffes inherit their spots.

The Blue Zones are five small areas in the world where people outlive the American and western European average life span by about a decade. The 100 plant-based recipes in this cookbook are equally divided among these five blue zones—Japan’s Okinawa, Italy’s Sardinia, Costa Rica’s Nicoya, Icaria in Greece, and the Seventh-day Adventists in Loma Linda, California. This beautifully photographed cookbook also describes why each recipe is important to their culture as well as to you the reader. These include Sicilian Minestrone Soup, Okinawan Tofu, Costa Rican Hearts of Palm Ceviche, Cornmeal Waffles from Loma Linda, California; and Icaria’s celebrated Greek specialty, Dolmades (stuffed grape leaves).

Dr. Hadiyah-Nicole Green speaks with her cousin Tenika Floyd about being raised by her Auntie and Uncle, and how their separate battles with cancer inspired her to spend her life fighting the disease.

WFHB's environmental watchdog brings you news and events in the listening area and throughout the world.

Despite decent winter snowfall, runoff in the Colorado and Rio Grande River Basins is not looking very good.

The number of dust storms in the Southwest has doubled in recent decades—a situation that could strain ICU units already dealing with COVID-19.

Beavers might make the Arctic melt even faster.

NOAA may not being doing right by the North Atlantic right whale.

Your favorite type of beer could reveal something about your personality.