The world is a mask that hides the real world.
Thatâs what everybody suspects, though the world we see wonât let us dwell on it long.
The world has ways - more masks - of getting our attention.
The suspicion sneaks in now and again, between the cracks of everyday existenceâ¦the bird song dips, rises, dips, trails off into blue sky silence before the note that would reveal the shape of a melody that, somehow, would tie everything together, on the verge of unmasking the hidden armature that frames this sky, this tree, this bird, this quivering green leaf, jewels in a crown.â¦
As the song dies, the secret withdraws.
The tree is a mask.
The sky is a mask.
The quivering green leaf is a mask.
The song is a mask.
The singing bird is a mask.
Friday, May 06, 2005
monkey flees disease lab
It's a Jungle Out There!
Monkey Escapes From S.C. Island Labratory
Associated Press, 6 May 2005
An escapee from Morgan Island has been captured in a tree in the backyard of a home on Lady's Island — about 7 miles away from where he was supposed to be.
The 10-year-old, 20-pound male rhesus monkey was first noticed as missing from the island April 30, the same time residents of Coosaw and Lady's islands reported seeing him. Some residents were concerned the animal might carry an infectious disease because Morgan Island houses primates used in government research.
Alpha Genesis officials said they can't explain how the monkey managed to leave the island laboratory and make its way across Parrot Creek.
"I have been here eight years and this is the first (escape) I can remember in the area," said Greg Westergaard, president and chief executive officer of Alpha Genesis. "I'm at a loss at how it got over there. They probably can swim a little bit, but it really is a long way over there."
The monkeys have been on the island since 1979 and are the property of the Food and Drug Administration. They are used in defense and vaccine development studies.
The escaped monkey was caught Tuesday, Westergaard said. "I'm sure he wanted to get back but couldn't figure out how," he said.
But the escapee won't be going back to the 400-acres colony on Morgan Island. Instead, he'll probably be taken to one of two breeding facilities in Yemassee or Early Branch, Westergaard said.
Westergaard said it was unlikely the monkey would have a disease because the research performed on the animals isn't done at the island. The monkeys also go through physical examinations four times a year to make sure they are healthy and carry no diseases, he said.
"This monkey's in great shape," he said.
He said there are no artificial barriers keeping the monkeys on the island other than the water surrounding it, as they tend to be social creatures and stay with other monkeys.
"I don't know what happened to this guy," Westergaard said.
....seems obvious that "this guy" was desperate to get free...
