This past weekend I ziplined over a waterfall. Since the movie "The Bucket List" I have looked at experiences as either something to be included on my unwritten 'bucket list' or not worth the bother. The ziplining experience was on the edge, but the occasion presented itself and the price was right (300 lempira = about $15). Everything was going fairly well for the first few runs even though I soaked my bottom zipping over a rapid and came up a little short and had to haul myself along the line on one of the runs. I was about to launch myself on the next to last run over a very impressive waterfall when the guide gives me a bit of an "oops" look and tells me to hold on while he reties the harness. Obviously all worked out well as I'm writing this and you are reading it.
My wife was taking someone to the airport today and I took her 3rd grade class while she was gone. The 3rd graders had brought me a giant caterpillar last week which promptly proceeded to spin a bit of a cocoon and go into its pupa stage when I put it in the aquarium. I decided to do a lesson on insects while they were with me. I had a few wasps that had died on the window sill and my compost heap is always full of larvae. I gave each team a wasp and a larvae. They cut the wasp into 3 body parts and separated a wing, leg, and antennae onto a microscope slide and had a look. The teams used the website http://bugguide.net/ to try to identify the insect. They then watched the 'worm' larvae crawl around a bit and tried to guess what it was. At the end as they were leaving one of the 3rd graders looked at me and said, "That was cool!"
That wasn't on my bucket list, but I think I will try to get another, "That was cool!" out of a third grader.
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