Better than a wristwatch

Jun 12, 2003

My mother, Cheryl, is visiting for a week while Erin is off to Florida to sell toothbrushes and black dental floss at a convention of dentists. Mom has never seen CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, the hit show written by cousin Anthony Zuiker, so we tuned in tonight. In the first scene, a human eyeball is dramatically displayed full screen, and Mom lost interest faster than she could blink her own eyes. So we flipped up a few channels and landed on UNC-TV, our local PBS affiliate. We were immediately enthralled by Mystery of Chaco Canyon, a documentary about Chaco Canyon and the ancient ruins in and around that area of New Mexico. By the end of the hour, I was speechless, so stunning were the archeoastronomical accomplishments of those people – every building of each complex was literally lined up to a phase of the sun or moon. According to one of the experts in the film, this is the only known instance of a people aligning their structures to the complex movements of the moon. Amazing. Check your local PBS station to see if it’s showing this documentary.

Anton Zuiker ☄