Friday, March 03, 2006

The Human Tribe

I've been sick in bed for the past two days - the weather was so bad I caught a chill, and rather than fight it, I decided to just pamper myself, drink lots of chicken broth and tea, and sleep. So I did, and now feel much better. But while I felt too awful to work, I couldn't resist blog hopping. I look at my computer like a window open to the world. The world is so diverse, and so many people have such different lives that it's endlessly fascinating.

Here are blogs I discovered besides the one on my links list:

http://www.a-mother-from-gaza.blogspot.com/

and
http://www.chayyeisarah.blogspot.com/

There is also
http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/

and http://abacaximamao.blogspot.com/


All these blogs have more links from people who comment (read the comments and click on the posters) and you can go from Brazil to Australia to Israel to France to Iraq in the click of a mouse (a new cliché to take the place of 'wink of an eye')

And while I go back and forth I keep in mind the article I read a while back in the National Geographic about the human DNA - about how we are all descended from a hunter / gatherer tribe in Africa. There is a mitochondrial Eve who mothered the tribe of humans - mothered this incredibly diverse array of individuals who live in peace or are at war, who believe in different gods and mythology - but who ALL come from the same family. We all sprang from an African Eve...

It boggles the mind. And of the article, the thing I loved most was the comment from a native American who, while submitting to the DNA test, said, "I just hope it's not going to prove we're* all Swedish. *speaking about his tribe.


Personally, I love thinking that somehow I am related to every person on earth.

5 comments:

Virenda said...

I believe that is the best observation and I agree, I do think everyone is "related" in a relative sense.

Blog hopping and meeting people of different cultures and countries is my FAV thing.

Have a great weekend, oh and take it easy.

Wynn Bexton said...

I always enjoy reading your blogs. And I love blog hopping too but lately haven't taken the time.
Recently I was at an exhibit of Maori art presented by New Zealand tourism. They Maori artists and the Pacific northwest coast native artists have been working together and much of their work is similiar. Apparantly, recent DNA found in China, links the Chinese to the Pacific NW coast natives as well as the Maori. So there you go, another global family! Fascinating isn't it?

Sam said...

Thanks for the kind words everyone!
I'm better now - but just put a chicken carcass in the soup pot for some more bouillon. Can't do without my homemade chicken soup, lol.
Chicken bouillon 'a la Sam':
One left-over roasted chicken
1 or 2 onions
1/2 lemon
2 bouillon cubes
optional: any stray veggies lurking in the fridge.
Fill pot with water - add chicken, onion, lemon, cubes - bring to boil then turn heat down and simmer for a couple hours. Strain - then cook some angel hair pasta to add to the soup, and serve with bread and cheese.

Dave said...

And having stumbled across my blog (thanks for your comments) I thought I'd return the compliment.

Sam said...

Thanks Dave -
You guys, go check out Dave's blog - it's super.