monkey on his back

There is a thing about being alive.  One side of the coin is routine the other side is unlimited diversity.  The saying goes that you only live once.  Carpe diem.  There is so much to explore in life, internally and externally.  Today in the New York Times there were two articles that grabbed my attention.  The first piece was on page one.  It described the activity of brain cells in subjects as they were asked to recall film clips they had recently viewed.  I’m always fascinated by the workings of the brain, for it is neural activity that comprises what we experience as consciousness.  The other article was, to me, even more fascinating.The article dealt with an elephant in China that was addicted to heroin.  Seems some bad guys fed him heroin to keep him calm after his capture.  The elephant developed an addiction and eventually experienced withdrawal.  He was treated with methadone and has now recovered.  http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/05/world/asia/05briefs-ADDICTEDELEP_BRF.html?scp=1&sq=elephant%20heroin&st=cse

Here’s the picture:  An elephant with a monkey on his back.