Here is... Where? Thoughts on Relative Planetary Motion

by Thomas Wayne King

My glasses and keys are on the table next to my chair. I set them down a few minutes ago. And they are still right here, relative to me. But they have already moved far more than I can comprehend. Here is the quick summary.

At our equator, Earth rotates at 1,000 miles per hour. That's why rocket launches to space are done nearer the equator than where we live in mid-continent North America. Our planet acts as a spinning catapult. Here in Wisconsin, we move at about 500 miles per hour as our planet turns on its axis. We may be aware of this movement in tides and seismic changes we sense as earth quakes and temblors.

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While we spin, Earth simultaneously orbits our star, the Sun, at about 66,000 miles per hour. We seldom notice this motion, but can observe our circling around our main star by the changing constellations and star patterns we see throughout the year.

Adding complexity, our planet follows the Sun as our entire solar system orbits as a group within the Milky Way Galaxy. Our collective movement is at about 43,000 miles per hour as we travel around the circuit together, our Sun with all our planets in tow. 

Extending the awe factor, the Milky Way, our home galaxy, is traveling through the universe toward constellations Leo and Virgo at 1.3 million miles per hour relative to reference points in the universe outside of the Milky Way. 

So...   Earth spins at 1,000 miles per hour as we orbit the Sun at 66,000 miles per hour as our entire solar system circles within our galaxy at 43,000 miles per hour as our galaxy speeds through our universe at 1.3 million miles per hour. All of this is happening at once. 

No wonder I have such trouble finding my glasses and keys. At each moment, they are never where I originally put them.  So, where is here? Here is... Where?

Copyright 2018 Thomas Wayne King

All Rights Reserved.  

Adapted from my newest book in progress: Snow Socks  ...tales of practical transcendence. Completion and release are planned for mid 2019.   TK 

Writer's Wrap by Thomas Wayne King

~~ Writer's Wrap ~~

So I lift my pen when I have a thought,

Gotta quickly get that insight caught.

So many words come flyin' by.

Can't catch 'em all, but I need to try.

I write.  I write.

I'm an active soul who needs to move.

So when I get in my writer's groove,

I gotta focus, gotta keep my goal,

Or this distracting world will take its toll.

I write.  I write.

Ideas come and ideas go.

Which words to trap, it's hard to know.

Sometimes profound and sometimes stupid,

Words can be Satan and they can be Cupid.

I write.  I write.

Words can hurt and words can heal.

I try to keep all of my words real.

They may be simple or create a plot,

But fake or phony my words are not.

I write.  I write.

From early days when words were pictures

And memories got put into scriptures,

The writer's role was to mark it down

In ways that'll last, and might bring renown.

I write.  I write.

The spoken word flies by so fast,

But our written words can last and last.

We writers live such a real short time,

But our words go on, whether prose or rhyme.

We write.  We write.

(Slowly, thoughtfully)  The spoken word flies by so fast...

But our written words will last and last!

We writers live such a real short time,

But our words go on, whether prose or rhyme.

We write.  We write.  

We write.  We rite.  We right.  

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Copyright 2008 – 2017 Thomas Wayne King.  All Rights Reserved.

* * *

                        

      "Writer's Wrap" leads of sixty raps, poems, and lyrics in Sailor of the Sun, Thomas Wayne King's second volume in his Tales from the Red Pump series. Sailor of the Sun (ISBN 978-1-365-47774-4) is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Lulu, and other suppliers. Tom is always glad to talk about, read, and sign his books. Please contact him at RunHikeSkiNow@gmail.com              

It's Tick Season! Learn the Tick Tuck Rap with Thomas Wayne King

It's tick season here in northern Wisconsin, where we have to take extra precautions against those sneaky little critters in order to prevent getting Lyme or other tick borne illnesses. Join Tom today and learn all about a great way to do that!

Tick Tuck Rap

Tom is a long time member of the St. Croix Writers group. He is reading today from his book Sailor of the Sun - Tales from the Red Pump, Volume 2. Its a book of raps, rhymes, verses, lyrics, and songs inspired by the pristine, wild Lake Superior region -- what Tom calls "Authentic Northland".

Don't forget to tuck!~