Cucumbers move.
Not fast, mind you, maybe 6 inches a minute. But moving they are, and I’m watching, on a bright, early summer morn near Ketchikan, Alaska. The encounter represents several exotic facets of modern American life, ranging from visionary business formation to impressive garment technology to the wonders of nature. And it’s a profound travel experience that may be quite unique.
Of course, real cucumbers don’t move on their own. These are a maritime version I’m goggling at—sea cucumbers: echinoderms and not at all vegetative—but they do look like kosher dills on steroids, gherkin-shaped, colored like grass clippings, extravagantly plump, foot-long. Five of them have gathered on a large, flat slab of stone, as if it were coffee-break and the rock an office kitchen….