“To really ask is to open the door to the whirlwind. The answer may annihilate the question and the questioner.” —Anne Rice
And Way Too Many Answers
What bird is this? Thankfully, a question I can answer. It’s a black-crowned night heron. — Photo by Pat Bean
Hermione in the Harry Potter series reminds me of my young self, although I was never cute. I was a skinny, freckle-faced brat with unkempt hair. But like Hermione, I knew the answers to all the questions, and my hand was always up when one was asked – unless I forgot to raise my hand and just blurted out the answer.
Is Antelope Canyon in Arizona a slot canyon, a wash. an arroyo, or a gulch or all of the above. See. Some questions aren’t easy to answer.
The questions back then, however, were easy. What is 12 plus 12? Who is known as the Father of our Country? What year did Columbus discover America? Of course that was back before I realized America had been discovered long before Columbus set foot upon its land.
My brain, until I hit my 30s, was full of facts and all the right answers. OK, I admit, I’m a late bloomer.
But once I started questioning the answers, I quickly went from being a know-it-all to quite confused. I became a wonderer, full of questions that seldom had just one answer, and sometimes even no answers.
Why don’t we learn from history? Which is the right path to take? Is it better to protect the environment or provide jobs so people can feed their children? New questions pop into my head daily. Dang it!
I suspect I’m still going to be asking questions on my death bed. But isn’t it interesting how one can go from being a know-it-all to a know-nothing. Logically, it seems it should be the other way around.
Blog pick of the day.
Bean Pat: Ghost Bear Photography http://tinyurl.com/ohvthc8 If you like wildlife and wilderness you will love this blog. Today it’s simply a quote that speaks to me, and a fantastic view of the Tetons.
Pat Bean's blog 
I’m going to borrow that quote, if you don’t mind, Pat. Isn’t it the truth!
Go for it Judy. I borrowed it from somewhere else. My philosophy is that good quotes are meant to be shared.
I think the more you try to learn, the more you realize you know nothing. I understand the feeling.
How true. Thanks for commenting darwinontherocks.
I know I know more than I used to so it’s not that I “know nothing.” But learning more about anything shows me how much there is to learn about what I don’t yet know, which is much more than I know I know
I thing the saying is “the more we know, the less we know we know.” Or something like that. Thanks for commenting Sam.
“I would rather have questions that can’t be answered than answers that can’t be questioned.” ― Richard P. Feynman
By the way Pat, I think it completely possible to both protect the environment AND provide jobs at the same time. 😉
Great quote. I agree, re protecting the environment, but sometimes there has to be compromise on both sides.