The Day The Earth Started Moving

The irony of an old man placing saplings in the ground along a grove did not escape the notice of a jogger who was running along the nearby trail. She decided to stop for a rest (even though it was only the 6th mile into her run). Curiosity got the better of her; or, perhaps it was that he was just young enough that it still counted as flirting when he did so with the cute runners who frequented the wooded trail from the University nearby.

Those are going to take a long time to grow!

Some, like those over there, which I also planted, he said, pointing to the larger trees on the other side of the trail, have more rings in them than you have birthdays. But youre right. It takes a long time for trees to do anything.

But youre planting them?

The girl started to get a little red when she realized the implication she just blurted out.

Some of these, the forester noted, you may not even see become fully grown. But I notice that you came running here along the trails from the west. Havent you been on the trails over that way?, he said pointing toward the wooded area to the east.

I didnt even know there were trails over there.

Theyre not paved, like the one youre on. But it wasnt that long ago that the brush over there was little more than sticks poking out of the ground. You would have been in your early teens.

I just moved here. I still dont know all the places around here.

It doesnt take long for the place to become overgrown, even though the trees might not reach full size for a while.

So, why are you planting the trees? Are you like a gardener, or something?

I do this, as do many others like me, in commemoration of the age long past when the sun and skies once moved around the world, while the Earth stood still.

The girl could only laugh, a little puzzled: everybody knows its not the sun moving but the world turning!

Yes, that may be today. But you see, once, long ago, when the world was younger and greener, there was a great garden where today barely a single river flows. Heavily forested, provided with a plentitude for all, it was nothing short of a paradise.

With that, the forester motioned the jogger toward one of the larger trees on the opposite side of the trail. Here, take a rest. Sit down a spell and Ill tell you the full story. I suppose youre almost done with your run

Im about to head back, 6 more miles.

Oh, thats not far. In times past, the entire county all the way down to the southern end used to all be forest. And I frequently wandered to and fro sometimes on the same day, 30 miles each way.

And I suppose you used to walk 4 miles to school, too?, she said, both smiling and laughing.

Actually, I did. And 6 miles back, when I took the long way., he said with a wink and smile, So you dont have that much left to do.

With that he began to recite the most fantastic account, the likes of which had scarcely ever been seen or heard of before (Or maybe it had been. His memory, he told her, was not quite what it used to be. Ill try to at least hit the high points right, he said with a smile and wrinkle in the nose.)

The Day The Earth Started Moving: The Untold Story of Phaeton

Kings once ruled on the periphery of this garden, he said, each claiming descent from the very sun you see in the sky, and each claiming the ability to control the seasons. They built tombs for the dead greater than the houses of the living

I saw that on the DVD version of the Return of the King, the girl butted in.

When do you think Tolkien got the story from? These kings thought they could live to see the full life of the world. Seeking ever to perfect the arts of immortality, they never achieved anything more than preserving incorrupt the flesh of the dead some even to this very day.

How is that possible?

Its very dry there now. But it wasnt always that way. In their haste to tame new lands, they cut down large portions of the forest of the great garden, and yet let it remain untended. A thousand years passed, the dry seasons became longer and harsher. The weather became harder to control. People began to question the authority of the kings. Rule passed from the great builders of monuments to lesser dynasties, until at the very end: the scepter came to a mere boy of the age of 5.

By this point in time, what was once the questioning of authority became mockery. In the place of the boy, whose name was Phaeton, ruled his mother, an African princess, and dowager queen of the Old Kingdom of the Nile. Like his forebears, Phaeton too claimed direct descent from the very sun you see in the sky. But by then the claim ran so thin, that even his playmates mocked and teased him. So, one day, after unrelenting teasing he ran home to his mother.

Mom!, he asked, am I the offspring of the sun?. Being the mistress of Kingdom, with all its ancient traditions to uphold, she could only reassure him of his future role, Yes, Pepi, my dear, son. Your ancestor is, indeed, the one and same Sun you see shining in the sky each day, except on those real bad days when we get a lot of rain around here in the middle of the Sahara forest. We dont get them too much anymore, but I still wish all that rain would go away. It gets dreary around here at times.

You know, the jogger (now seated with her back to the large tree), I think Ive heard this before.

Its possible. The story got around a bit. Anyway, Pepi was still hurt from all the teasing and went on, My friends said it was all a lie. They said I will never be able to control the weather.

From the sun, Ra, his mother told him, you are descended. And you shall share in the eternal afterlife: a fate reserved exclusively to you and your forebears and to the heirs of your body, but to no other. Ra will help you if you ask him. If you want to see him and establish your descent, you will find him far to the East over in his glittering palace where all those big mountains are.

What mountains?, Pepi asked.

Yeah, what mountains? There arent any mountains in Egypt., the girl butted in.

Well, Im getting to that!. His mother was a bit perplexed: What do you mean what mountains? Cant you see them from over here?

Looking long and hard, Phaeton only seemed more confused: I dont see anything. What mountains are you talking about?

Any guesses?, the forester asked the girl.

Ancient tombs of the dead.

Ankhesenpepi II, holding her son Pepi II.

The Day The Earth Started Moving: The Untold Story of Phaeton

The Himalayas! Some of my friends want to go on a climb this summer!

Bingo! Surely everybody could see them., his mother pointed out to him, After all, theyre the tallest mountains in the world, so nothing can block their view. Theyre over there somewhere, and thats where the Sun lives.

So, is that where he went?, the girl asked.

Sure enough. Can I see him? Can I? Can I?, he jumped up and down all excited.

As long as you take an extra pair of underwear. Its a long ways from here., his mother sighed, as if only reluctantly letting him go.

Oh, come on. You just made that up!, the girl laughed.

No, no! It really happened. Honest! So, anyway: he packed up and left, and after a long travel finally reached the glittering palace on the mountain top. He was into mountain climbing too.

So, to make a long story short, the forester went on, Pepi finally reached the land far to the East where all those big mountains are. Can you see them from here?

You mean the huge towering peaks that everybody can see from everywhere?, the girl chided.

Yeah, the ones, the forester said, pointing toward the East, over there. Climbing to the top of the largest peak, he found the glittering palace where Ra resided. Needless to say, Ra was not expecting the company.

What the hell are you doing over here?, the forester voiced in a baritone, reminiscent of James Earl Jones.

My mom said you were my ancestor., he voiced in a squeaky tone.

This brought on a fit of giggles from the jogger.

Back to the baritone, I am. So, what of it?, and then back to the squeak: My friends are teasing me about it and I cant prove it.

They didnt have afternoon trash talk shows in those days., the forester had to explain, So no DNA tests: Im a god, for Gods sake., Ra went on, We dont have DNA. Were just made that way.

At this point it was a rapid-fire back and forth, alternating between baritone and squeaky voice:

Then how can I prove youre my ancestor?

Well, Ill tell you what Im gonna do. You seem like a nice enough boy, and you did make that long trip all the way over from Africa, Ill grant you that. There arent many mortals who wander far from their home often, so Ill be willing to take you in as one of my own kin. So, what Ill do is grant you one (1) wish, but jus

I want to drive the sun!

You what?!

The sun! I want to run it.

And now, at last, the forester explained, we come to the interesting part: You cant drive the sun. Youre a human. You dont even know about electricity. And the suns a nuclear powered vwessel.

Wessel?

The Day The Earth Started Moving: The Untold Story of Phaeton

Yeah, Wessel?, the girl asked.

No. Vwessel, the forester showed pointing out the lip motion, one thats nuclear-powered., Ra explained.

Oh, vessel!, the girl said.

Yes, vwessel. Do not mock the speech of the almighty Ra. He cant help how he talks; he spends his off-time during eclipses cooling down enjoying the wonderful climate north in Siberia. Anyway, Ra went on, wouldnt you rather have a horse and carriage? I hear the coolest models are coming out this year.

No. Im more into solar power. I want the sun! (even then, they had that green thing going on).

Well, I did say Ill give you one (1) wish. But Im going to have to seriously pull some strings here. Number one, youre only a human, and you dont have a license to drive the sun, nor that matter, any other nuclear vwessel. And Im not about to give you one either.. By the way, the forester asked, did you notice that I put the one in parentheses.

Why do they do that?, the girl asked.

I dont know actually. I guess it makes it official or something. Phaeton was, of course, confused about the whole thing: Then how am I going to be able to drive the sun?, he asked.

Well, technically, Ra began to explain, the Rules say you cant drive the sun. But it didnt say that you cant um operate it.

Um, the girl interrupted, what Rules?

I dont know. Youll have to ask Ra. I think its the ones they use when the officials check for things on instant replay, when the other side appeals. Run that by me again?, Phaeton said.

Well, that is what I can do. You see that magic oil over there?

Yes.

I need to grease your head. It has SPF 1000000, but Im not about to explain to you what that means.

A million?!, the girl said.

Hey. Even back then, they had to worry about stuff like that. So, whats the technicality?, the boy asked Ra (and now we get to the crux of the matter).

Well, even though I cant allow you to move the sun through the skies, what I can do is to stop the sky.

Youre going to do what?!, Pepi exclaimed.

Yeah, hes going to do what?!, the girl added.

He said he was going to stop the sky., the forester explained.

Hows that going to help?, Pepi asked.

Well, youre not going to be able to tell the difference.

Yes I will! Everythings going to be standing still!

The Day The Earth Started Moving: The Untold Story of Phaeton

No, no, no, no, no! Youre missing the point: Im going to stop the sky and make the world turn underneath it, instead.

OOoooooookay., the girl added in, looking a little perplexed, herself.

And, so Pepi was greased up and he boarded the nuclear powered vwessel. Alas, Ra was a little off in his calculations (and was not able to timely secure all the permits and work orders for the changeover) and the effect of inertia really threw everything out of kilter. Everything went out of order. The stars in the sky moved all over the place, constellations changed places or so it appeared. The truth is that it was a massive meteor shower coming in at breakneck speed. And these rocks werent taking no for an answer.

The first night of the flight the sun went completely off course, and fell from the sky, leaving behind a blazing trail and lighting up the night. It wasnt actually the sun, but one of the meteors in the shower coming in fast. Ra wanted to take some of the heat off of him (pun intended). Just short of reaching the ground it was blasted from the sky by a bolt of Zeus. That is: it exploded with the power of a nuclear bomb (thereby making it easier for Ra to blame Phaeton for his miscalculation), felling all the trees for a thousand miles over the middle of the Sahara Forest and sparking a wildfire that covered the entire forest. For the next three days, the sun could not be seen through the thick haze which, of course, made Ras version of the story sound more plausible about Phaetons errant operation of the sun.

In truth, the boy survived the ordeal, grew up to become king, and ruled for 90 years the last king of the Old Kingdom of the Nile. But, the lands became yet dryer. The forest, already depleted, never grew back. What was once a large green garden, became in the space of a single generation a great sea of sand1. What was a drought became permanent desert.

To this day, you can see the remains, carved in rocks and buried in the ground, of what once was.

And so it was that another Sahara desert very nearly emerged in the midst of the United States. A major exodus fled what was about to become the Plains Desert. The land was only saved with the help of new trees planted to keep stable the soil and limit erosion.

So it is that we continue to plant trees even those whose life span will exceed our own. For, many have lived in these lands long before our arrival, and many more will continue to live here long

after you and I are gone. If the last 40 years have gone by in the blink of an eye (and they have), then so shall the next 40, and the 40 after that.

Yet, once again, the old wisdom has been lost. Trees, once aplenty, have been cut down in the plains. Wildfires now cover entire states beneath skies reddened by the conflagration. Severe droughts, even in lands where water is in plenitude (like Wisconsin) bring forth the prospect of a Second Dust Bowl.

1 The change to todays arid climate was not gradual, but occurred in two episodes the second 4000 to 3600 years ago according to a paper

published [July 15, 1999] by the journal Geophysical Research Letters. The latter was severe, ruining ancient civilizations and socio-economic systems, the researchers wrote [in an article that attributed the transformation to a change in the Earths orbit],

Sahara turned to desert in abrupt climate change, AP, Washington, July 15, 1999.

The sun falls from the sky over Western Canada November 10, 2008

Canwest News Service

A 10000 year old gravesite in Gobero, Niger. (National Geographic Society)

Stone-Age graveyard reveals life in a green Sahara World Science, August 14, 2008

A dust storm approaches Stratford, Texas in 1935.

Wikipedia.com

The Day The Earth Started Moving: The Untold Story of Phaeton

So, it is in commemoration of the day that the Earth began to turn beneath the skies that we plant these trees. If you enjoy the woods that you run through, then perhaps you may want to help me place a few more saplings in the ground.2

2 A severe drought combined with poor soil conservation practices can lead to extreme topsoil erosion, with devastating effects on the land. This is

just what happened in the Great Plains region of the U.S. during the 1930s Dust Bowl years in 1975, the Council of Agricultural Science and Technology warned that severe drought in the Great Plains could trigger another Dust Bowl.

From the Dust Bowl to the Sahel Earth Observatory, NASA, May 18, 2000

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/DustBowl