George is a shrimp. He’s diminutive, small boned and shorter than me. When we first met, his favorite shirt was the brightly tye-tied rainbow sunshine.
It suited his 60’s sunny Leo nature at age 68. Downright skinny and not into muscle building, he looks frail. But he’s got a 22 caliber bullet mind as well as being an experienced marksman. His mental knockout punch comes from near Asperger logic and Freudian psychoanalyst training: a mental mighty shrimp.
Diving beneath the internet waves, I found George’s animal spirit: the mighty Mantis Shrimp. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5FEj9U-CJM
Morgan Freeman voice-overs this one of many “True Facts” video series and gives all the necessary facts about this crazy clown with a knock-out punch.
The many similarities between this shrimp and George is what’s crazy:
- Both are found in Florida.
- Both can crack aquarium glass.
- Both are rather solitary creatures.
- Both are long-lived.
- Both exhibit complex behavior
- Both hide in caves.
- Both can crack crabs.
- Both wear brightly colored outfits.
- Both are diurnal, nocturnal or only come out at twilight.
- Both can see polarized light – when George dons his sunglasses.
- Both have advanced perception.
- Both have bony limbs.
A huge difference between The Mantis Shrimp and George’s perception is that the Mantis Shrimp can see 12 colors. George often cannot see what’s in front of him.
- Both are aggressive.
- Both can inflict serious damage to others significantly larger than themselves
George’s blows unwrap the human mind. Like the Mantis Shrimp, he can whip the brain with blinding quickness.
What makes the Mantis Shrimp far more remarkable than George is the generation of the cavitation bubble created after the punching blow retreats back to it’s body halter.
It’s not that George can’t produce vacuum sucked shock waves after a departure (like when I broke up with him); he’s just not as pretty as the Mantis Shrimp..