Dialogue Part 2

Krell Rivers Dialogue Part 2

Ice: I don’t get it.

Krell: It’s an echo

Ice: huh

Krell: An echo speaks without a mouth, hears without ears and is intangible like the wind.

Ice: How does an echo hear?

Krell: An echo is created when sound waves bounce off surfaces and returns to the listeners ears, so an echo hears by receiving and reflecting those waves producing a repetition of the original sound.

Ice: Did you know that the quack of a duck produces no echo?

Krell: I did not know that.

Ice: Just ask Donald Duck or better yet, take him to the grand canyon and listen towhat doesn’t happen when he quacks.

Krell: Speaking of ducks, I’m sure you know about the duck who walked into a drug store and asked for some lip balm. The druggist got the lip balm and asked the duck if he was gonna use castor credit. The duck said “just put it on my bill”.

Ice: yeah that’s an old one but it still quacks me up.

Krell: you got a better one?

Ice. Oh yeah. What’s invisible and smells like worms?

Krell: Tell me.

Ice: Bird farts. Which leads to a bigger question. How do you think worms feel when they smell a bird fart?

Krell; Worms don’t have noses or the ability to smell so they probably wouldn’t notice a bird fart at all but if they could they’d probably just wriggle along and carry on with their business.

Ice: Do worms have eyes?

Krell: Yes worms have eyes that are simple light sensitive cells that help them detect detect changes in light and dark.

Ice: do earthworms always return to the same hole?

Krell: Not always but they do have preferred holes where they feel comfortable. They are just searching for rich nutrient soil that won’t drown them when they enter it.

Ice: Well then why are there so many worm corpses lying around after it rains?

Krell: When it rains worms come to the surface to avoid drowning in waterlogged soil. Their moist skin enables them to breathe but being on the surface makes them vulnerable to fishermen or drying out in the sun.

Ice: Most of the worms I see during that time are all dried up with no place to go.

Krell: Yeah, on the surface the sun and air dries them out quickly and leaves them desiccated and dead before they can make their way back into the soil.

Ice: How much time do they have?

Krell: They’ve got about ten minutes before they start to dry up.

Ice: Imagine their eyes freaking out in the sunlight sending danger alerts throughout their system as they try to get back underground and if they don’t leave the surface, they will drown in the wet soil. It’s a tough choice.

Krell: yeah it is. It’s all part of survival.

Ice: What is their life expectancy?

Krell: They live for about six years in the wild.

Ice: What’s the wild?

Krell: Any place above the surface.

Ice: so when I’m examining dried up worms on the sidewalk how can I judge how long they might have lived.

Krell: that can be tough because they don’t have identifiable growth rings. They grow continuously but don’t show any clear sign of aging.

Ice: But in general the bigger the desiccated worm, the longer it has lived but most of the bigger ones have figured out how to get back into their wormholes and live to wriggle for another day or month or year. So what do the survivors do during the rest of the time?

Krell: They tunnel and create networks of burrows while they feed on organic matter. They aerate the soil which benefits plant growth. They also break down organic matter further enriching the soil with nutrients.

Ice: Do they have any fun doing all this?

Krell wouldn’t classify it as fun and don’t recommend it for anything else other than a worm.

Ice: How deep do they go?

Krell: They dig anywhere from a few inches to several feet.

Ice: What happens to them in the winter?

Krell: It’s a tough time. They have to burrow deeper so that they can go into hibernation.

Ice: If I’m digging in my backyard. How many worms might I come across?

Krell: If you’re digging up an acre, you might encounter millions if not billions of worms in that acre.

Ice: Thank God they all don’t emerge at once. A sea of wriggling worms an ace full is something that I hope we can avoid

Krell: Amen to that?

Ice: How do you know so much about worms.

Krell: I learned it from our friend Fuzzy who is a worm farmer. I once spent a week on his farm. It was very long week.

Ice: Yeah I know Fuzzy he pops up once in awhile.

Krell: Just like a worm but with a better chance of making it back to his home.

Ice: Yeah, I wouldn’t want to see Fuzzy desiccated out side his house.

Krell: The worms wouldn’t mind that one bit.

Ice: Neither would the birds whose farts might smell a little fuzzy.

Krell: That wouldn’t bother the worms one bit.

Ice: MMMKKKAAY but I think it’s time for another break before we get bak to the begging and tie the whole thing up. Ya need a beer?

Krell: Always see you in a bit.