Skulls: Inside and Out

My thesis advisor will not be present at my defense; rather, she will be using Skype to drop in. I was told by an acquaintance (a strong-willed Greek woman who earned her Ph.D. years ago but chose to stay at home to raise her children while her Ph.D. husband works) that my advisor's absence could be a good thing in that she doesn't really care and won't give me any trouble in passing my thesis. This acquaintance would know . . . her advsior didn't attend her defense either; at least I'll have a teleported talking head.

My great and powerful advisor, via Skype.

On one hand, my acquaintance has a point, but on the other hand, I am disappointed in my advisor and could really use her support. I shouldn't have been surprised when I was notified this morning that I would be getting my thesis with her comments tomorrow, leaving me little over 24 hours to make changes before submitting it to my committee this Wednesday . . . I sent her the thing two weeks ago! Why, why, why wait so long to comment? Argh.

How Well Do You Know Your Advisor? by PHD Comics

In other news, I cleaned four animal skulls last week at work. (I am a park ranger, so this is a normal task.) The skulls belonged to a beaver, bobcat, whitetail deer, and wild hog, respectively, and each one had long been deceased. As a matter of fact, the deer and hog skulls both showed several areas gnawed by little calcium-craving mice. We rangers bring these items in from the forest to use them in education programs. We have replica skulls, yes, but something about holding an artifact that once belonged to a living animal . . . such an experience simply has more meaning.

As I carefully brushed the skulls, colored yellow and stained by exposure, I was lead by my Cherokee ancestors and Oglala Sioux connections to offer my thanks to each animal's spirit. I thanked the spirits for sharing their bodies so that I and others may learn about the animals' lifestyles, adaptations, survival skills, and habitats, and I then promised to respect and care for the skulls to show my gratitude for their benevolence. Call it hokey, call it melodramatic, but while sitting outside, wrapped in the warmth of my fleece jacket on an early autumn day, an important connection was made. We should all be so lucky to experience such an event.

Unknown by Brett Stokes