We are full of it
In 1969, I, like everyone else on the planet, was siting way, way too close to our black and white TV screen. My face was awash in the glow of the events of a lifetime.
“Houston, this is … One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind”.
We were all enthralled watching the tightwire act that stretched a quarter of a million miles above the earth. We held our breath knowing that each step could easily be their last. And in looking back, I ask myself why? Why had we ventured into one of the harshest environments known to mankind? A place with no oxygen, a place with no heat, a place with no second day Amazon delivers.
What drives us to takes such chances? Why do we do it?
Well, I am here tonight to tell you why…..it’s because we are just full of it.
Yep, I’m full of it, you’re full of it, he’s full of it and she’s full of it.
Yes, full of it! Full of hunger to discover, full of a hunger to learn, and full of hunger to grow.
And what generates this insatiable hunger?
It emanates from the tinnie, tiniest power source imaginable… That power source my friends is “Bacteria!”
Bacteria are the first forms of life to emerge on the earth. For millenniums they were content to frolic in the primordial seas, but they became bored. I mean how many times can you vacation in the same place. “Are we there yet, are we there yet?” Yet by themselves, bacteria couldn’t fight their way out of a drop of water. So what to do, what to do? Being a one-celled micro-organism doesn’t leave you with many options. So they decided to hitch a ride. They weren’t picky. They take whatever came along, be it a bird, beast, or walking fish.
Bacteria are looking to hitch a ride and to them, humankind is just a bunch of empty freight cars.
I know it must sound preposterous but do you realize how many bacteria are inside you right now. Take a guess. Would you believe 39 trillion bacteria? It’s true….and they all wear the same name tag…….Bob….Bob the bacterium, all 39 trillion of them. And they all want to go for a ride.
Now to them, the earth is a nice place….it’s where they were born….where they grew up….but right about now it’s just getting crowded. Let your mind wander and just imagine how many bacteria there are on the whole of planet earth…….are you ready? 5 million, trillion, trillion. That is 5 followed by 1,2,3,4,5,…..30 zeros. There are more bacteria on this planet than there are stars in the known universe. And to them, …its time to ramble on.
So in the not too distant future, we’ll all be glued to our screens as we watch in wonder as mankind takes its first step on the Red Planet. And when we do, take a close look at the name tag of that explorer…I’ll bet it’ll be Bob.
And he’ll be full of it too.
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