Here in the Pacific Northwest, the news has been all over the story of the Spokane ground squirrel invasion. The Finch Arboretum in Spokane is having a population explosion of ground squirrels, which dig holes in the ground (that people can fall into - the arboretum's lawyers disapprove of this activity), eat roots and tender shoots, and generally cause a messy nuisance.

The Spokane Parks and Recreation Department has tried several measures in the past. (Including - perhaps apocryphally - lining their holes with Wrigley gum, because they had heard it was poisonous to ground squirrels.) Their next attempt is going to involve feeding a mixture of propane and oxygen into the ground squirrels' dens, then igniting the mixture to create a fiery explosion. Supposedly the ground squirrels will then die a humane death from the resulting shock wave, although one imagines that several will be severely burned and left to die a lingering, unpleasant death.

This story was practically custom built for Rush Limbaugh. It has explosions AND the outrage of animal rights activists. It also has a new word, one which Rush Limbaugh has never encountered before!

"Limbaugh [...] said it was the first time he'd seen the word arboretum.

"The name for a park, is that what it is?" he asked."

That's right! "Arboretum" is a very big word! Can you say "arboretum"? Ar-bor-ee-tum. Good for you, I knew you could!

If you do not know a word, you can always look it up. It is probably better to look it up, instead of admitting to a vast listening audience that you do not know a word like "arboretum." Wikipedia has an entry for "arboretum."

Can you say "Wikipedia"? Wik-ih-pee-dee-a. Good for you, I knew you could!

According to Wikipedia, "An arboretum is a collection of trees." Can you say "collection"? You can? Good for you, I knew you could!

An arboretum is a KIND of park. It is a park which is devoted to a particular collection of trees. Many cities have arboretums. Even Missouri has an arboretum. Rush Limbaugh is from Missouri. The Shaw Arboretum is in St. Louis, about 100 miles from the town where Rush Limbaugh grew up. I guess that Rush Limbaugh did not spend a lot of time at the arboretum!

Right now, Rush Limbaugh splits his time between Manhattan and West Palm Beach, Florida. There are not any arboretums in Manhattan, but there are a lot of them in New Jersey. They look nice. Maybe Rush Limbaugh would like to go there! It is very peaceful at the arboretum, and you can learn about different trees, and walk around outside.

Palm Beach has an arboretum! It looks nice, too. They have orchids and tropical fruit trees and a butterfly garden. I bet it smells very pretty there! They also have a guide book, which explains lots of things in small words, so that everyone can understand it.

It is good to learn about big words, and about the world around you!