Changed Rhythm

A University biology professor studying horseshoe crabs discovered something very interesting.  Their metabolism has a measurable and adaptable rhythm.

Horseshoe crabs live in shallow tidal pools along the Atlantic Ocean.  When the tide comes in, they feed.  When the tide is out, they rest.  As one might expect, their metabolic rates spike at the time of high tide, and they are quiet when the tide ebbs.  This metabolic rhythm remains constant even when the crabs are captured and placed in laboratory aquariums.

The professor doing this study moved from the East Coast to Chicago.  Naturally, he brought his experimental crustaceans with him.  Remarkably, he discovered that the rhythm of life for those horseshoe crabs adjusted to the move.  In a matter of a few days, their metabolic rates increased at the precise hour that the tide would reach Chicago – if Chicago had a tide!

The moral: Even crabs have enough sense to recognize that life requires a rhythm and when one’s circumstances change, one must adjust.  Everyone still needs time for work and a time for rest.

This story has an anonymous author.  It also has another moral.   We all must adjust to changed circumstances caused by the coronavirus.  We’re not crabs, but we sure are crabby when it comes to accepting changes in how Mass is restricted in the interest of all our safety.  Most of us have adjusted our rhythms, but some have been quite reluctant and testy.

Kudos to Father Healey for his remarkable response to the virus and our concerns.   His staff has been very supportive.

There’s no more horseshoeing into the pews.  We separate, wear masks, and refrain from singing.  We follow his instructions.   Crabs belong in the ocean and not in the pews.   We should have more sense than crabs by recognizing the need to adjust.

Deacon David Pierce