Penguins

Yesterday Urban Cowboy and I were enjoying our last moments on our make-shift couch and watching tv. We were watching PBS's WILD! Penguin Invasion. PBS does a great job of airing quality documentaries that are also entertaining. They also do a great job of airing documentaries which encourage people to consider the human impact in the world of nature. As such, last night's documentary was the story of Henry the Penguin and, eventually, his life-mate Margo and son Hugo. Henry seems to lead a very interesting life and struggles to find a balance between his ancestral instincts and the influence of modern life in the form of suburban sprawl to his home beach. He regularly visits the town but always returns to his beloved seaside residence. Over the course of Henry's documented life he experiences falling in love, becoming a parent, almost being run over by cars, being shooed out of people's houses and yards, and a recovering from a catastrophic oil spill. I cried when they showed the penguins soaked in oil from a tanker sinking near their beach. The penguins suffer from oil in their eyes, digestive tracks, and sometimes suffocation from oil in their respitory system. It was so sad to see. I cried for two reasons: 1) an oil spill is entirely the fault of humans and 2) the rescue workers poured their heart/soul to saving as many penguins as they could. Luckily, Margo was also saved. (Don't worry, Hugo wasn't even there - he was off making a name for himself in the sea!) In the end, though, while the penguin community suffered losses from the oil spill, thousands of penguins survived and continue to live on their beach. Their story had a happy ending! (SIGH) PBS's diligence to create awareness in people is to be commended and I thank them for producing and delivering such high quality television programming! Yea PBS!