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from the skies over Borneo.
    The cats landed softly, to the cheers of the humans who had survived the assistance of the international community.

July 27
T HE L OCOMOTIVE FROM P RAGUE
    Today in Helsinki, the 1952 Olympics came to an end.
    Emil Zatopek, unbeatable long-distance runner, as strong and speedy as a locomotive, won three gold medals.
    In his country he was declared a national hero and given the rank of colonel in the Czechoslovakian army.
    Some years later, in 1968, Zatopek supported the popular uprising and opposed the Soviet invasion.
    The colonel became a street sweeper.

July 28
T ESTAMENT
    In 1890, in a letter to his brother Theo, Vincent van Gogh wrote:
    Â 
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  Let my paintings speak .
    He killed himself the following day.
    His paintings speak for him still.

July 31
T IME F ORETOLD
    In ancient times there was an uprising of things.
    As the Mayas know, before the before, all the mistreated kitchen implements rebelled: burnt pans, chipped mortars, nicked knives, broken crockery. And the gods supported them in their rebellion.
    Much later, on the plantations of Yucatán, Maya slaves, who were treated as things, rose up against the masters who gave orders by whip, because they said Indians had their ears on their backs.
    On this night in 1847, war broke out. For half a century slaves would occupy the plantations, and they burned the documents that legalized their enslavement and the enslavement of their children and the enslavement of their children’s children.

August 1
O UR M OTHER W HO A RT IN E ARTH
    Today in the towns of the Andes, Mother Earth, Pachamama, celebrates her big fiesta.
    Her children sing and dance on this everlasting day, and they share with Mother Earth a mouthful of every corn delicacy, and a sip of each of the strong drinks that lubricate their joy.
    At the end they ask forgiveness for the harm the despoiled and poisoned earth has suffered, and they plead with her not to punish them with earthquakes, frosts, droughts, floods or other furies.
    This is the oldest faith in the Americas.
    Here is how the Tojolobal Mayas of Chiapas greet our Mother:
    Â 
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  You offer us beans ,
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  which are so delicious
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  with hot peppers, with tortilla .
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  Corn you give us, and fine coffee .
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  Dear mother ,
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  take good care of us, do .
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  And may it never occur to us
    Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  to put you up for sale .
    She does not live in heaven. She lives in the depths below ground, and there she awaits us: the earth that feeds us will feed on us in turn.

August 2
C HAMP
    On this day in 1980, Colombian boxer Kid Pambelé, out cold on the canvas, lost his world title.
    He was born in Palenque, the old refuge for rebel slaves, and before becoming world champion he sold newspapers, shined shoes and boxed in little towns lost on the map in return for food.
    Eight years his glory lasted. More than a hundred bouts, only twelve defeats.
    He ended up throwing punches at his own shadow.

August 3
T HE B ELOVEDS
    This story began when the gods, envious of human passion, punished Zhinü the weaver and her lover, whose name has been forgotten. The gods severed their embrace, which had made them one, and condemned each to solitude. Ever since, they live on either side of the Milky Way, the great celestial river that cannot be crossed.
    But once a