Starving Arts & Science

We are so busy ranting and raving about social mending today that we are forgetting about the arts. And Sciences. I read today about the fact that genetic experiments show how easily a living thing can go extinct by merely losing a gene. Who would know.  It made me think about a friend's daughter many years ago, who worked very hard to achieve her Masters Degree by studying a tiny, seemingly insignificant fish. The little fish was one that didn't grow any bigger than your smallest finger but its place in the biosphere as a food source, was essential to what we put on our plates as filet delicacies from the sea. This young woman went diving alone in icy cold sea waters to do her studies in order to complete her work and get that precious, to her, Master degree. Out she went early in the morning in spring or fall, dressed in Scuba gear and fierce determination. When she submitted her studies, a flaw was found and all of her previous work was of no use. She didn't give up. She re-evaluated her former theories and began all over again. It took not only classes but frigid early morning dives before the pleasure boats thundered by, their skippers intent upon salmon to put in jars for south of the border sandwiches. The girl did finally finish her studies and became an assistant professor. Funds did not allow her to become the PHD she should have afforded, but she is content continuing to encourage other young people to study how to better our planet as Marine Biologists. I wish I could say this about the countless numbers of young people who persue the arts: dance, music, graphics, sculpture and electronics and many others. Few young scientists or artists make much of a living at their choice of life work that they love. They are the seldom recognized as important people who keep us entertained and healthy and our planet continuing to exist with all of its resources being gradually depleted in greed. Behind every Academy Award, there is more than the pretty faces and costumes of the  "stars" and their billions. No one waits at the end of a film to read who did the essential production of the piece and even if they did, the names flash by so quickly, it's impossible. Without these artists, Batman couldn't fly or Star Wars would have a blue or green plastic curtain at the back of the scenes. We can't,as viewers, take the time to stop and scroll each and every worker who makes our enjoyment of good health or entertainment or the preservation of Earth, our only home, but we ought to think about it from time to time. What you see in the "news" is not all there is. The faces you idolize didn't get there alone. You may know someone as I do, who works by herself in a modest condo at a decent but not gross salary, to produce, using hours of her day in front of a screen or two, to make your entertainment what it is. It's not the  slap on the face by rich people, that really matters in such as Academy Awards, but the millions of people behind the scenes, earning a tiny fraction of what goes on the screen or off the drug store shelf,  that gives you the excitement, the laughter, the fix, that enhances and preserves your life.