Yes, this repository of wisdom and side-splitting humour has lain dormant for a very long time. It’s not that there’s been a lack of material or creative will on your writer’s part — it’s more the realisation that overwrought posts on arcane subjects just don’t pull in the readers. Who wants to plough through a mass of literary allusions, minute details, ponderous puns? You don’t!

But sometimes something happens that merits a little time to think and reflect. And today, that is the passing of Dr. Jane Goodall, an inspiring figure not merely because of the scientific advances she uncovered, but because of the way she did it.

I like to think the following tale illustrates this rather nicely. See this cartoon by the peerless Gary Larson?

Yes it’s funny, and an incredible honour to Goodall herself, in my book — after all, Larson trained as a biologist — but what happened after it appeared really shines a light on the woman’s character. She was in the field when the cartoon was published in the Arizona Daily Star, but her agent took offence, interpreting the piece as denigrating Goodall and her work. The agent wrote a strongly-worded letter to the paper, chastising Larson for making light of Goodall’s achievements.

But when Goodall saw the cartoon, she was delighted with it. She realised it was not insulting to her at all. “I found it amusing,” she said, “And thought, ‘Wow! Fantastic! Real fame at last! Fancy being in a Gary Larson cartoon!'” She went on to provide the introduction for The Far Side Gallery 5 and allowed the strip’s image to be used on T-shirts, with all proceeds supporting her institute. For his part, Larson made an exception to his merch rule which forbade the use of his work on T-shirts, to support the cause.

During Covid, I had the great honour of attending (via Zoom, of course) a client event where Dr Goodall was interviewed, and wrote up the interview for their website. Go on, give it a read!

Greenwashing? I’ll leave you to decide. But I like to think Goodall knew what she was up to when she took the bank’s dime: and that is, conservation and building resilience require money — lots of it. If you can extract a healthy fee in exchange for adding a bit of lustre to an event, absolutely do it. And if you can change some hearts and minds along the way, so much the better. That cash can go toward education, research, advancing the ongoing narrative.

Unsurprisingly, Goodall had a great turn of phrase. I like this one: “Each one of us matters, has a role to play, and makes a difference. Each one of us must take responsibility for our own lives, and above all, show respect and love for living things around us, especially each other.”

Words to live by indeed. RIP Dr Jane Goodall.