Human Hibernation
Posted at 5:15 AM on January 16, 2009
by Dale Connelly
(29 Comments)
Do bears know they hibernate?
I don't think they do.
I called Bart, the bear who found a cell phone in the woods.
"Over the past few months, I put on a whole bunch of pounds and I don't know why. I was trying to eat good food - berries and fruit roll-ups and stuff. I passed on a bag of potato chips that fell out of somebody's backpack up on the trail, and I never say 'no' to somethin' like that, but my ankles have been aching lately and I thought maybe I should skip a few snacks. And then, just before it started snowing, I caught my reflection in the big side window of one of those camper vans, and wow! Fat city."
I suggested to Bart that maybe his sudden weight gain had to do with changes in his metabolism as his body prepared to enter a state of torpor to get through the winter.
"Torpor?"I explained torpor. Sluggishness. Not asleep but not fully awake. Indifference. Lethargy. As I talked, I noticed his breathing became regular and heavy, and then there was some snoring, and I think he must have rolled over because the phone went dead. It was the middle of the day.
If bears don't know they hibernate, how about us? We could be half-asleep right now, simply going through the motions, conserving our energy and waiting for spring, thinking we are awake but operating day-to-day with a much reduced state of awareness. Maybe winter, though it already seems long, is actually twice as long as we think it is.
I, for example, had no idea Britney Spears was making records again.
That's torpor for ya.
Comments (29)
Morning Heartlanders. I was originally thinking that today's blog was a little bleak. But then I re-thought. What a great concept... you're feeling fat and sluggish and then you wake up from what, from your perspective, might just be an afternoon nap on the sofa, pounds lighter and refreshed. Makes me wish I was a bear. So, shall we have bear songs today to celebrate the winter?
Thanks for giving us the visit with Bart!
Goats don't hibernate or go into torpor - in fact they breed in this cold weather. and yesterday, in that minus 22 barn, my main doe Dream and our new buck, Majority, accomplished something none of us would try in those temps. (i'm guessing here) would you please play maybe Barry White or Marvin Gay for them? you may not have it but "Can't get enough of your love, baby" comes to mind :-)
thanks, now we can warm up. and we'll be requesting a celebratory song for the new parents on June 14
minus 23 right now
Thanks for the hilarious suggestion, Barb.
Majority rules! Barry White is in the show.
It's good to know that Bart is still among us.
If he rolls over, ask him about all that white stuff outside.
My son in Houston, TX, emailed to tell us that he mowed yesterday! -33 out here in Woodville this morning - we've been hauling wood like crazy to keep the stove going. Didn't Bill Staines sing a song about that?
Wonderful to hear from Bart! I love the idea of waking up from a nap, fit and trim. What a great concept.
Good Morning RH,
What a refreshing entry with news from Bart. The news from Barb's barn was equally refreshing. Yesterday I was regretting the post I'd made - it created the image of a dog engaging in an embarrassing manner with a chair leg. But now I'm feeling much better. Barry White was perfect for Barb's goats. I'm wondering if you might also play Let's Do It (Let's Fall in Love) for all the dogs and their favorite upholstered chairs, out there.
Gotta admit, I'm kinda with Bart. It was very difficult yesterday not to give in to my bear-like tendencies at eat myself into torpor (I kept hearing the call of wonderfully fatty foods like peanut butter and cheese and fudge...mmm...) and then go upstairs and go to bed until March. I kept myself in the living room as much as possible so as to better ignore the call of the cave.
Maybe for those of us who are a little jealous of Bart you could play "Bear Necessities" from "Jungle Book"?
I've been up for 90 minutes. I've had my OJ and first cup of coffee. I've posted two entries on my blog and read the morning comics (online).
But, my torpor didn't end until the first notes of Johnny Cash's guitar hit the airwaves at 7:30. And that wonderful voice...
Ah, I'm up for the day.
Thank you. Thank you.
Good Morning!
Barb's story seems to call out for Too Darn Hot the song that presents the theme that chilly weather is preferred by the average man. Seems true for the average goat as well. I know the Stacy Kent and Ella Fitzgerald versions but Dale always seems to find a different artist than what I suggest so the gauntlet is thrown.
So you can all thank me for the warm up since I took the plunge and bought boot covers for our weekend ski trip up north fearing that my toes would never survive without them. Of course now that I have them I won't need them.
Ah the pipes...Thank you!
How good that I was home sick this morning to hear the pipes close to the end of the show. I'll never forget discovering that I could tell the difference between pipes played well and pipes played badly - after several years of dutifully following my dancer daughter around to Highland dance lessons, performances and competitions. It was a realization that took awhile, but I've got it now. Thanks!!
Awesome Dale, I didn't think The Morning Show could be improved upon, and I really miss Jim Ed, but this interactive format is fantastic! When it comes to jazz in particular, it's a pretty short list of tunes I haven't heard so I have heard the Mel Torme version before but not for quite a while.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
And that goes for the man working the levers and gears in the background, Mike Pengra too!
Dale, I am reading your blog entry today while sitting in front of my computer, eating a cinnamon roll slathered in butter and drinking a Chai Latte. I really think that you are onto something. Like Bart, for some unknown reason I also magically gain five pounds around the holidays. What a relief to finally find out what is really happening and to realize that there is really nothing that I can do about it. I do try to eat right and yet, I do feel sluggish; as if I am coming down from a sugar high. I must be ready to hibernate again.
Thank you for understanding, Susan.
When torpor hits, just put your head down on your keyboard and let time flow past you like a river.
When you wake up, you'll be refreshed, spring will be that much closer, and your computer screen will look like this ... kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk
So THAT'S what it is! Your insight is welcome and useful, Dale--
now that i've chosen to believe in human hibernation, i can set aside any guilt feelings i might have had about recent slowness and overwhelming desire to nap with the cat!
i miss Bart
and Larry
and Bubby.....
My cats don't hibernate, of course, but they sure seem to glom onto anything warm, the colder it gets outside. They snuggle into the down comforter at night, as close to the humans as they can get. Since they're indoor cats, they really don't know it's colder than normal, other than through their supreme powers of observation of the outdoor thermometer or seeing Weatherbug on my computer.
Since I'm rarely an early morning person (especially today!), and am not able to sit at my computer while I'm getting ready for work, I'm always reading the blog after the show is over. But thanks to the wonderful internet, I can listen to the replay while I'm at work, and read the blog during my lunch hour. This morning I was reading about the songs as they were playing! So cool.
While reading your conversation with Bart, Dale, I, of course, could hear his voice in my head. Nice to know his phone's still working. I'm with Shelley.
Let's find you a new sidekick!!!
Ah, Dale, you've touched on my winter feelings precisely. Thanks for the explanation of my weight gain, my torpor...
and thank you for putting "Sushi" and the original back to back. I've long since added Pat Donahue's version to my repertoire for the amusement of friends and family, but it was good to hear the original again. I'd forgotten just how lovely it is.
I just checked the blog and realized that Jim Ed, as Bart, was probably on the show today...and I missed him (picture a sad face). So I checked through the RH section of this website and couldn't find any way to hear that section of the show except to listen to the rebroadcast from 11:00 to 1:00, which should be playing since it is 11:46 p.m. However, all I hear is the music, which is great music to be sure, but there is no voice of Dale, no Bart.
Am I missing something here?
Wendy - the replay is 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and i believe not in the evening.
but i was just shocked a bit not to find an entry from Dale on the Trial Balloon this morning and worried for awhile until i remembered it's saturday! uffda, as we say.
Hi Barb and Wendy,
Thanks for listening to RH and sorry about the confusion.
Barb is right, the rebroadcast is only on weekdays, from 11 am to 1 pm. And I'm sad to say there was no appearance from Jim Ed as Bart on Friday, though I can hear his voice whenever I write for the character.
Outside the weekday morning show (and re-broadcast), Jasper the computer operates Radio Heartland.
We are thinking about ways to liven up the weekend. One program we have access to is American Routes, already heard at 7 pm on Saturday nights on MPR news and Sunday morning on The Current. Do you think American Routes has a place on Radio Heartland? If so, when should we use it?
Dale,
I can see American Routes working well with RH on Sat. nights. Also, what would you think of including a segment called, Best of the Morning Show, or something like that? You could feature past bits with Jim Ed. I'm not one to dwell on his absence - after all, we've got you and you were the brain who created the laughter. Just a thought.
Dale,
Thanks for the explanation, (if I had paid closer attention I wouldn't have had to ask the question in the first place!).
The direction the programing has developed thus far is excellent. Both my husband and I are very pleased. I am unfamiliar with American Routes so I can't weigh in on that one. However, I love Donna's idea to include "Best Bits" from the Morning Show.
Your talent for writing humor and being the "straight" person is, as Garrison might say, well above average! So just about any way you can keep doing that will be a plus for your fans and new listeners.
Dale,
The integration with American Routes is a natural fit. There is a large overlap in the musical universes of the two shows, and although the thematic approach is different, it differs more in scope than in intent.
Speaking of integration, will there be more interactive access to the Saturday night show? At least a track listing? I have to admit I was a little skeptical of the fit at first, and mourn the passing of jazz as one of MPR's offerings, but I've liked the subtle difference in your approach to the Saturday night show. It would be good to have a forum for that as well.
Bart rules, even asleep.
Thanks for the thoughts, Paul, Wendy and Donna.
It would be great to work in old Morning Show bits but I've discovered many of them are anchored in time - we did a lot based on what was going on in the news at the moment. There would also be a lot of editing involved just to get them ready.
Still, it's not a bad idea. Maybe some of our "live" shows from the Fair and the Fitz could run with regular disclaimers that you are hearing an old broadcast. I don't think Jasper would mind.
Regarding a blog for Saturday night, that is an idea I will look into. It would be best to keep it at Trial Balloon, I think, and it would help Radio Heartland to acquaint MPR News listeners with the location. But I wouldn't be able to read and reference it during the Saturday night broadcast, since that is pre-recorded.
I appreciate your interest and your careful consideration of all these possibilities!
Dale,
Here's another idea to get "more Dale" on RH after The Dale Connelly Show is over each day. This idea may not be new or doable but, since it is brainstorming time at RH, here it is...
You could create your own version of Writer's Almanac. Maybe it could be based on the piece you write to start the daily Trial Baloon blog. Have Jasper play it on some regular basis though out the day and night.
I loved the name "Deep Thoughts" used by SNL for a regular section of their show a number of years ago. I'm sure you could come up with a perfect name for it.
Congratulations! Er, I mean, "Hey! What's up?" It's Sunday night and I'm browsing through the blog from the past week. Just wanted you to know how much I appreciate the soothing sound of RH. It's food for the soul. "You can feel it all over," as Stevie sings it.
Not sure what to make of the human hibernation thing...Britney who?
Aw, shoot! You know what else I found while browsing around RH tonight? If I click on the "Listen" links on the archives of the playlists for the live segments from the DC show, I can listen to what I missed. When did THAT become available?
I've got more catching up to do. Go easy. I'm still recovering from moving between Christmas and New Years (what was I thinking!).
What was that you were saying about torpor?
- Become a Member
- Member Connect Accounts
- Leadership Circle
- Sustaining Members
- Member Discounts
- Become a Sponsor
- Tax Information
- Planned Giving
- Vehicle Donation
- Donate Stock