library wellness
Building Resilience One Snakebite at a Time
Tim Friede is not your average herpetologist. He didn’t study herpetology in school and has never worked for a university, government agency, or zoo. He was a truck mechanic when he first became interested in snakes. But his lack of formal education and training is not what makes him unusual. What sets Tim Friede apart…
Read MoreRacing Toward the Finish Line of Death
I am driving to work and stop at a red light where there are five cars in front of me. I watch the light intently, waiting for it to change to green. Every traffic light is like the start of a drag race for me. I am exasperated when the cars in front of me…
Read MorePuzzling Behaviors
After 3 years of snowless winters, we were blessed this year with back-to-back snowstorms in the Triangle. Local meteorologists could not contain their excitement. They warned of power outages, black ice, frozen pipes, and frostbite. Frightened masses descended on grocery stores to purchase copious amounts of bread and milk. Nobody really knows why people hoard…
Read MoreThe One That Got Away
When I sat down to write this article, I was planning to tell you the tale of the ten-foot shark that I caught in the Everglades during a raging thunderstorm. I was going to regale you with details of the fight that would rival The Old Man and the Sea. I would relate how my friend,…
Read MoreCrabcakes
I grew up in a house next to a cornfield in the middle of Indiana. The winters were cold with gray skies from November through March. By late December, our family was desperate to flee the state and follow the migration of Midwesterners to the warm weather of Florida. In my teen years, we would…
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