Hot Cider

I love cider! That's all. I wanted to be all poetic about it, but I'm not super good at that sort of thing. So we'll just leave it at loving cider :D

Forgotten Heroes

Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring, might be my new hero. She wrote on the dangers of pesticides, including a chapter on how they cause cancer. That's pretty standard - the truly admirable thing is that while she wrote that chapter, she was suffering from cancer herself. She was staring her own death in the face and didn't flinch. Then, she had to withstand verbal attacks from the chemical industry as she was mired in an awful controversy over the role of pesticides in America. This was the last year of Carson's life, and she chose to spend it arguing for the cause and the world she loved. This being said, Carson was a gentle person who liked her privacy and refused to verbally attack those who tried to discredit her.

Carson was a tiny lady - people were often shocked at her stature when they met her. But she started the modern American environmental movement with just her books and her genuine concern for life. I can have nothing but admiration for her and I am grateful for my opportunity to research her impact more fully. Carson was not perfect, of course, but her contribution to society is still worth considering today.