Among the many things I have not been blogging is how much rain we are getting, in part because this seems like bragging. I realize that many of our local crops require a very rigid sun/water/ temperature routine (on the other hands the catch-as-catch-can farmers market sellers have stalls overflowing) so all this rain is not a good thing in that way. After the fires the first year we had this house & every couple years after that pretty much up until the year before last I have vowed not to complain about the rain.
But.
But the pressure in my head has been killing me. My allergies are on wild monkey at the wheel overdrive & my ear are popping like that monkey is sitting on my brain flicking a clog/pop switch at random.
Speaking of monkeys, we have had so much rain that we seems to be looking at an early banana crop. We had some verrrrrry cold days last winter & I did not have my hopes up for bananas at all, but those distinctive purple petals showed up on the walkway last week so I looked up. Sure enough, two purple blooms are emerging. I have been reliably told that the variety we have is "lady fingers" which have a very distinctive (wonderful!) flavor & do not ship well at all so they are a strictly local pleasure. & by local I mean my own house & maybe a few friends & neighbors.
In a not entirely unrelated note: we have been doing a lot of gardening this year & I plan to di up some of the young banana plants that are encroaching on other parts of the yard. If anyone (locals only again, sorry) is interested let me know.
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Saturday, September 28, 2013
What would Louis do? OR World Rabies Day
Late last year I read a book about rabies. & then became convinced I had rabies, despite not being bitten nor my dogs having been (to my knowledge) bitten or anyone showing any sign of biting anyone else. I was just that sure. The book was Rabid A Cultural History of the World's Most Diabolical Virus by Bill Wasik & Monica Murphy.
After a few weeks of vague pre-rabies symptoms & no other signs that I had even been exposed to the disease, I began to accept that I was probably going to make it. Then I quite unexpectedly came down with what later turned out to be the flu despite having been religious in getting my annual flu shot for the better part of a decade. Did you know that the symptoms of the flu & the pre-hydrophobia symptoms of rabies are exactly the same? Then I became not-hysterical but alert to the possibility that my craziness might actually be accurate.
As it happens, I didn't have rabies (I know you are shocked). So my next step was to become a complete rabies junkie. Briefly. Because my life is a series of all-consuming obsessions of short duration.
One of the things I learned during my rabid enthusiasm is that TODAY is World Rabies Day. Not coincidentally, it is also Louis Pasteur's death day. I thought he was just a milk guy. Just a milk guy, like any of us will ever do anything with a fraction of the impact on an even smaller fraction of human lives. But he was way-more than the milk guy; I think you could make an argument for his more important contribution being the rabies vaccine. More important to me anyhow: I have not had a glass of milk in years & pretty much only eat cooked dairy products anyhow. But I am typing this with three formerly stray dogs on the couch with me.
Lastly, for you vampyre aficionados, the author offer a teaser into the origin of vampyre legends. Because vampyres are not real. You know that, right?
After a few weeks of vague pre-rabies symptoms & no other signs that I had even been exposed to the disease, I began to accept that I was probably going to make it. Then I quite unexpectedly came down with what later turned out to be the flu despite having been religious in getting my annual flu shot for the better part of a decade. Did you know that the symptoms of the flu & the pre-hydrophobia symptoms of rabies are exactly the same? Then I became not-hysterical but alert to the possibility that my craziness might actually be accurate.
As it happens, I didn't have rabies (I know you are shocked). So my next step was to become a complete rabies junkie. Briefly. Because my life is a series of all-consuming obsessions of short duration.
One of the things I learned during my rabid enthusiasm is that TODAY is World Rabies Day. Not coincidentally, it is also Louis Pasteur's death day. I thought he was just a milk guy. Just a milk guy, like any of us will ever do anything with a fraction of the impact on an even smaller fraction of human lives. But he was way-more than the milk guy; I think you could make an argument for his more important contribution being the rabies vaccine. More important to me anyhow: I have not had a glass of milk in years & pretty much only eat cooked dairy products anyhow. But I am typing this with three formerly stray dogs on the couch with me.
Lastly, for you vampyre aficionados, the author offer a teaser into the origin of vampyre legends. Because vampyres are not real. You know that, right?
Friday, June 7, 2013
One of those days
Lots of stuff happening today in history. In 1893 we mark Gandhi's first documented act of civil disobedience. The short version is he does a Rosa Parks before Rosa Parks & on a train in South Africa no less. Go Gandhi! In 1899 Carrie Nation starts vandalizing private property in the name of temperance. Uhm, Okaaaaaay. Flash forward to 1965 when the Supreme Court upholds the right of married couples to use birth control in Griswold v. Connecticut. GO GRISWOLD! When right-to-privacy advocates talk about the constitutional right to privacy, they are actually referring to the argument made by Griswold's team which claimed that while not explicitly set out in the Constitution, it can be inferred. This gives us that unusual circus today where people manage to adhere to specifics as doctrine & still claim the right to privacy as Constitutionally protected. Good Times.
Some interesting birthdays as well: Georgiana Cavendish better known as the Duchess of Devonshire was born in 1757. If her name doesn't ring a bell, pick up one of her biographies; the most recent is film starring Keira Knightley. I understand that it was based on the biography by Amanda Foreman which is just under 500pp & makes the Clintons look like stay-at-home dullards.
1837 gives us Alois Hitler, another parent of a famous political leader (did I mention G. Cavendish's son went on to be Prime Minister? Well, he did). 1848 has Paul Gauguin who, if you don't think was important enough in his own right, was pivotal in the emergence of Vincent van Gogh. 1909 brings us to Virginia Apgar of Apgar Test fame, & if you don't know what that is & why it is important, ask a pregnant lady. In Fladidah history, we have the birth of Harry Crews in 1935.
Little sidebar about Harry Crews: for me all his accomplishments, failings & well everything about him are best summed up by the fact he had a quote from e.e. cummings tattoed on his right arm, moving me one step closer to getting "Jenny is a mind worm" on my left wrist.
A few more birthdays: 1952 gives us the Nobel prize winning author Orhan Pamuk, a frontline advocate for free speech in Turkey, putting yet another face on the Turkish protests our liberal media is still barely covering (but Michelle Bachman makes a Youtube video that they don't have to pay to play & they cannot play it enough). Who else....1958 is the artist formerly known as Prince Rogers Nelson (apparently Prince is his real name, who knew? Lots of people, I'm sure, just not me) was born.
& a few death days: Betty Neels the queen of early Harlequin Romances died today in 2001. Anyone who has been unlucky enough to be trapped with me on a long car ride or whatever sooner or later hears my rant about the value of Harlequin Romances in tracking the changing mores of our society. Yep, I'm a fun drunk, too. In 1980 we lost Henry Miller -yes Tropic of Cancer Henry Miller. There's a death-day companion for our Betty. & lets round this one out with Dorothy Parker dies today in 1967; sometimes my mother answers her phone with Ms. Parker's moniker "what fresh hell is this".
It is tempting to wonder "what is up about June 7th?", but the reality is I could cherry pick any day of the year & give you a handful of similar compare&contrasts. & if this blog hangs around long enough, I probably will.
Some interesting birthdays as well: Georgiana Cavendish better known as the Duchess of Devonshire was born in 1757. If her name doesn't ring a bell, pick up one of her biographies; the most recent is film starring Keira Knightley. I understand that it was based on the biography by Amanda Foreman which is just under 500pp & makes the Clintons look like stay-at-home dullards.
1837 gives us Alois Hitler, another parent of a famous political leader (did I mention G. Cavendish's son went on to be Prime Minister? Well, he did). 1848 has Paul Gauguin who, if you don't think was important enough in his own right, was pivotal in the emergence of Vincent van Gogh. 1909 brings us to Virginia Apgar of Apgar Test fame, & if you don't know what that is & why it is important, ask a pregnant lady. In Fladidah history, we have the birth of Harry Crews in 1935.
Little sidebar about Harry Crews: for me all his accomplishments, failings & well everything about him are best summed up by the fact he had a quote from e.e. cummings tattoed on his right arm, moving me one step closer to getting "Jenny is a mind worm" on my left wrist.
A few more birthdays: 1952 gives us the Nobel prize winning author Orhan Pamuk, a frontline advocate for free speech in Turkey, putting yet another face on the Turkish protests our liberal media is still barely covering (but Michelle Bachman makes a Youtube video that they don't have to pay to play & they cannot play it enough). Who else....1958 is the artist formerly known as Prince Rogers Nelson (apparently Prince is his real name, who knew? Lots of people, I'm sure, just not me) was born.
& a few death days: Betty Neels the queen of early Harlequin Romances died today in 2001. Anyone who has been unlucky enough to be trapped with me on a long car ride or whatever sooner or later hears my rant about the value of Harlequin Romances in tracking the changing mores of our society. Yep, I'm a fun drunk, too. In 1980 we lost Henry Miller -yes Tropic of Cancer Henry Miller. There's a death-day companion for our Betty. & lets round this one out with Dorothy Parker dies today in 1967; sometimes my mother answers her phone with Ms. Parker's moniker "what fresh hell is this".
It is tempting to wonder "what is up about June 7th?", but the reality is I could cherry pick any day of the year & give you a handful of similar compare&contrasts. & if this blog hangs around long enough, I probably will.
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Joseph de Veuster
Technically, yesterday was the feast day of Joseph de Veuster AKA Saint Damien Joseph de Veuster of Moloka'i, but I was busy & then I posted something else & then I got sidetracked....sue me.
Our boy here is one of the Hawai'ian leper colony saints, yes there is more than one. OKay I thought there was more than one but all I can find is his guy. A LOT of this guy. In my defense he has several names, the most common being Father Damien which is NOT what the register of saints people called him. But there just could not be two guys hanging in Moloka'i at about the same time being defended by...
You know what, I am starting again. Again again since I meant to post this yesterday. Here we go:
Joseph de Veuster was studying to be a priest & his brother (Pamphile-what a great name!) was a priest & this brother was supposed to go minister to the people of Moloka'i but he got sick sooooooo....Joseph took his place & was ordained in Hawai'i & worked (famously) in the leper colony. & that was his life. Not an easy life, kind of a short one (he died before his 50th birthday). It will come as no surprise that Father Damian contracted leprosy himself, but he more or less knew that would happen going in.
There a lot of famous stories about Father Damien, his piety (meh), his devotion to his parishioners (more impressive). But the stories I like best about Father Damian have to do with what the outside world thought of him. Keep in mind, this is a man living in a leper colony in 19th century Hawai'i. This is not one of those high profile leadership roles. But he swung it. Swinged it? Swang it?
First the small story, which is really more of a factoid. When Hawai'i was made a state & got to add two images to the United States Capitol Building, his statue was one of the two. I want you to stop now & think about this. A cluster of Pacific island's with a vibrant (gory & beautiful) history, so different from every other state in the union & proud of it. they can choose two iconic figures to say to the country tis is who we are & they choose a leper. Double dog strange when you consider most of the white men making tis decision were descended from a very specific sect of New England Puritan. I know right? I had to know what the other image was: Kamehameha, which was my first guess.
The big story, & one of my favorites among all saints stories ever, truly.
After Father Damien's death, a certain Reverend Mister Hyde referred to him as a dirty person who contracted leprosy through his own lack of hygiene, etc. & was in general undeserving of the accolades that were trickling in. There were probably many motives for this prejudice, not the least of which Hyde was a Presbyterian & in addition to not always being super nice to the locals which father Damien was getting credit for being Presbyterians are not always super nice to Catholics. It's kind of a thing. What really kicked it into over drive was the DELUGE of rebuttal his letter received. The most famous was from Robert Luis Stevenson (himself a Presbyterian) who traveled he Pacific with his family & was in Hawai'i for a significant period. Among other things Stevenson chewed on Hyde for being such a nitpicking asshole, indicated the motive was probably jealousy & suggested that Father Damian would likely be made a saint, Reverend Mr. Hyde could be sure his own jerky behavior would be a big part of it. You can read the letter in its entirety here. Stevenson sent the letter in 1890, Father Damien died in 1889, & Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde was published in 1886. Still, its a lovely little coincidence.
Oh oh, Father Damien was Flemish. Another one! & of course he is the patron of people suffering from leprosy as well as people who work to treat &/or cure it. I am guessing he is also the patron saint of Honolulu at least & very likely all of Hawai'i, but I could not find it confirmed anywhere.
Our boy here is one of the Hawai'ian leper colony saints, yes there is more than one. OKay I thought there was more than one but all I can find is his guy. A LOT of this guy. In my defense he has several names, the most common being Father Damien which is NOT what the register of saints people called him. But there just could not be two guys hanging in Moloka'i at about the same time being defended by...
You know what, I am starting again. Again again since I meant to post this yesterday. Here we go:
Joseph de Veuster was studying to be a priest & his brother (Pamphile-what a great name!) was a priest & this brother was supposed to go minister to the people of Moloka'i but he got sick sooooooo....Joseph took his place & was ordained in Hawai'i & worked (famously) in the leper colony. & that was his life. Not an easy life, kind of a short one (he died before his 50th birthday). It will come as no surprise that Father Damian contracted leprosy himself, but he more or less knew that would happen going in.
There a lot of famous stories about Father Damien, his piety (meh), his devotion to his parishioners (more impressive). But the stories I like best about Father Damian have to do with what the outside world thought of him. Keep in mind, this is a man living in a leper colony in 19th century Hawai'i. This is not one of those high profile leadership roles. But he swung it. Swinged it? Swang it?
First the small story, which is really more of a factoid. When Hawai'i was made a state & got to add two images to the United States Capitol Building, his statue was one of the two. I want you to stop now & think about this. A cluster of Pacific island's with a vibrant (gory & beautiful) history, so different from every other state in the union & proud of it. they can choose two iconic figures to say to the country tis is who we are & they choose a leper. Double dog strange when you consider most of the white men making tis decision were descended from a very specific sect of New England Puritan. I know right? I had to know what the other image was: Kamehameha, which was my first guess.
The big story, & one of my favorites among all saints stories ever, truly.
After Father Damien's death, a certain Reverend Mister Hyde referred to him as a dirty person who contracted leprosy through his own lack of hygiene, etc. & was in general undeserving of the accolades that were trickling in. There were probably many motives for this prejudice, not the least of which Hyde was a Presbyterian & in addition to not always being super nice to the locals which father Damien was getting credit for being Presbyterians are not always super nice to Catholics. It's kind of a thing. What really kicked it into over drive was the DELUGE of rebuttal his letter received. The most famous was from Robert Luis Stevenson (himself a Presbyterian) who traveled he Pacific with his family & was in Hawai'i for a significant period. Among other things Stevenson chewed on Hyde for being such a nitpicking asshole, indicated the motive was probably jealousy & suggested that Father Damian would likely be made a saint, Reverend Mr. Hyde could be sure his own jerky behavior would be a big part of it. You can read the letter in its entirety here. Stevenson sent the letter in 1890, Father Damien died in 1889, & Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde was published in 1886. Still, its a lovely little coincidence.
Oh oh, Father Damien was Flemish. Another one! & of course he is the patron of people suffering from leprosy as well as people who work to treat &/or cure it. I am guessing he is also the patron saint of Honolulu at least & very likely all of Hawai'i, but I could not find it confirmed anywhere.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
World Hemophilia Day
You know I love a crazy holiday. Actually I guess they aren't "holidays" so much as commemoration days. Or raise awareness days. Yup, I love a crazy Raise Awareness Day. & today is...of course...World Hemophilia Day.
The thing about hemophilia is it is probably better known than it ought to be. I am not suggesting that we should ignore it, just that as fairly rare (dare I say obscure) blood conditions go, your average college educated adult in the western world more or less knows the primary symptom of hemophilia. This is because of two large world wide...you can say Events, you can say Plagues. I am talking of course about AIDS & Queen Victoria.
One thing we know about hemophilia today is its hereditary nature (OKay what was taught about hemophilia circa 198X, the last time I sat in on a high school science class of Gregor Mendel et al); what we said then as Queen Victoria was a carrier. Women did not suffer from the disease (baby girls might, but medical science being what it was those that did, did not survive babyhood never mind having their own children). & Queen Victoria was a prodigious producer of offspring (like those pea plants!). & those offspring sat in some high profile chairs themselves, lending their hemophilic DNA to the next generation. Once those cousins started having children together, all hell broke loose. No really, imagine the Bolsheviks without a Tsar distracted by a lack of heir. I'm not saying hemophilia turned the tide, I am just saying it was a factor.
Flash forward to that same high school classroom circa 198X where we were told that hemophilia was a done disease, kinda. Transfusions were common place enough that a person could expect to live a long life, not necessarily in the picture of health but well into adulthood.
In 1992/3, I met an interesting family. The father had just died of AIDS, the mother was raising the two daughters & their son alone. The son was HIV positive & has since died. One of the two girls had a her tubes tied for her 21st birthday. She had trouble finding a doctor that would do it to such a young woman but she was determined the buck should stop with her. While transfusions were a miracle & no doubt extended father's & son's lives, those years came with a price. & a mad scramble to make sure AIDS didn't get handed over to the hemophilia-gene-carrying-but-not-suffering daughters & the hemophilia-bystander mother.
Which brings me to sickle cell anemia (you can read up on your own if you like). SCA is also hereditary, also a malfunction in the blood (to simplify both), but many sufferers lived to reproduce before the age of transfusions & it was & is much more widespread. There are famous sufferers of SCA; I BINGed & discovered Miles Davis, a person whose biography I read once-upon-a-time & although this fact was probably in it, it just didn't stick. I BINGed because the only famous person I knew of who had SCA was fictional: Corpora Klinger on MASH.
There is a Sickle Cell Anemia Awareness Day. it is June 19th. I cannot tell you much else about it though, because the website I found had not been updated in almost 2 years. World Hemophilia Day on the other hand has been publicized by Novo Nordisk. I guess there isn't all that much cash to be made treating SCA.
The thing about hemophilia is it is probably better known than it ought to be. I am not suggesting that we should ignore it, just that as fairly rare (dare I say obscure) blood conditions go, your average college educated adult in the western world more or less knows the primary symptom of hemophilia. This is because of two large world wide...you can say Events, you can say Plagues. I am talking of course about AIDS & Queen Victoria.
One thing we know about hemophilia today is its hereditary nature (OKay what was taught about hemophilia circa 198X, the last time I sat in on a high school science class of Gregor Mendel et al); what we said then as Queen Victoria was a carrier. Women did not suffer from the disease (baby girls might, but medical science being what it was those that did, did not survive babyhood never mind having their own children). & Queen Victoria was a prodigious producer of offspring (like those pea plants!). & those offspring sat in some high profile chairs themselves, lending their hemophilic DNA to the next generation. Once those cousins started having children together, all hell broke loose. No really, imagine the Bolsheviks without a Tsar distracted by a lack of heir. I'm not saying hemophilia turned the tide, I am just saying it was a factor.
Flash forward to that same high school classroom circa 198X where we were told that hemophilia was a done disease, kinda. Transfusions were common place enough that a person could expect to live a long life, not necessarily in the picture of health but well into adulthood.
In 1992/3, I met an interesting family. The father had just died of AIDS, the mother was raising the two daughters & their son alone. The son was HIV positive & has since died. One of the two girls had a her tubes tied for her 21st birthday. She had trouble finding a doctor that would do it to such a young woman but she was determined the buck should stop with her. While transfusions were a miracle & no doubt extended father's & son's lives, those years came with a price. & a mad scramble to make sure AIDS didn't get handed over to the hemophilia-gene-carrying-but-not-suffering daughters & the hemophilia-bystander mother.
Which brings me to sickle cell anemia (you can read up on your own if you like). SCA is also hereditary, also a malfunction in the blood (to simplify both), but many sufferers lived to reproduce before the age of transfusions & it was & is much more widespread. There are famous sufferers of SCA; I BINGed & discovered Miles Davis, a person whose biography I read once-upon-a-time & although this fact was probably in it, it just didn't stick. I BINGed because the only famous person I knew of who had SCA was fictional: Corpora Klinger on MASH.
There is a Sickle Cell Anemia Awareness Day. it is June 19th. I cannot tell you much else about it though, because the website I found had not been updated in almost 2 years. World Hemophilia Day on the other hand has been publicized by Novo Nordisk. I guess there isn't all that much cash to be made treating SCA.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Getting going
In addition to all the year-end doldrums, & the get out of town for the holidays & then the come back blahs stuff, I have been knocked off my ass by a major respiratory inflammation. It started as what I now know was influenza B, which is apparently the one to have if you want to get up again with no real long lasting effects so Go Me!
I know what it likely was because about ten days after I started feeling really really sick, my husband started feeling kinda sick. Then we both went to the doctor. He tested positive for influenza B; I did not. But after all that time, the conclusion was I had more or less fought it off. What still lingered though, was almost worse.
While I do have allergies, they are not-so-much the breathing kind. Yes, I am allergic to pine pollen & other things that get breathed in & make me sneeze, but the real reason I get allergy shots is insect bites. If it were just garden air allergies I would be fine with an over the counter, as needed type antihistamine Because of this, I have very clear lungs for a long term immunology patient, as in crystal clear-I don't think anyone has ever even thought I might have bronchitis before. Well, I had bronchitis this time. & the past two weeks have been about treating that, & coping with the symptoms of the treatment& then detoxing.
Which brings us to a week ago Sunday. It was the last day of my prednisone, a most welcome friend in the beginning, & one I was very glad to see leave when it went. My skin still hardly feels like my own. It itches & wiggles & I have bumps where I have never had them before. & that is the least of the irritants. After the prednisone I was still so weak I got out of breathe getting up & going to the bathroom. I broke into a sweat & had to sit down after going for the mail, but I was no longer coughing until I puked, or got so dizzy & fell over & hit my head (yes, that happened -- I know, right?). My appetite has been so poor that despite this complete inertia, I have actually lost weight since the holidays began (& sure was not on a losing streak as we headed north for christmas), which also explains the lightheadedness.
By mid-week I was walking to the end of the driveway & then the dirt road (a whopping 1/10 of a mile, maybe even a bit more but not much). I figured I may as well bring one of the dogs, which he has been enjoying as well. On Sunday we made it almost all the way to the one mile mark before we both were very happy to turn around. I honestly don't know when I will be back to my 4+ miles of intervals, so I guess that 5k at the end of this month is out of the question. Now I am looking on to the next one; at this rate it really will be more than a year from when I started before I run my first race. I'm not sure, but this might be the slowest warm-up ever.
I know what it likely was because about ten days after I started feeling really really sick, my husband started feeling kinda sick. Then we both went to the doctor. He tested positive for influenza B; I did not. But after all that time, the conclusion was I had more or less fought it off. What still lingered though, was almost worse.
While I do have allergies, they are not-so-much the breathing kind. Yes, I am allergic to pine pollen & other things that get breathed in & make me sneeze, but the real reason I get allergy shots is insect bites. If it were just garden air allergies I would be fine with an over the counter, as needed type antihistamine Because of this, I have very clear lungs for a long term immunology patient, as in crystal clear-I don't think anyone has ever even thought I might have bronchitis before. Well, I had bronchitis this time. & the past two weeks have been about treating that, & coping with the symptoms of the treatment& then detoxing.
Which brings us to a week ago Sunday. It was the last day of my prednisone, a most welcome friend in the beginning, & one I was very glad to see leave when it went. My skin still hardly feels like my own. It itches & wiggles & I have bumps where I have never had them before. & that is the least of the irritants. After the prednisone I was still so weak I got out of breathe getting up & going to the bathroom. I broke into a sweat & had to sit down after going for the mail, but I was no longer coughing until I puked, or got so dizzy & fell over & hit my head (yes, that happened -- I know, right?). My appetite has been so poor that despite this complete inertia, I have actually lost weight since the holidays began (& sure was not on a losing streak as we headed north for christmas), which also explains the lightheadedness.
By mid-week I was walking to the end of the driveway & then the dirt road (a whopping 1/10 of a mile, maybe even a bit more but not much). I figured I may as well bring one of the dogs, which he has been enjoying as well. On Sunday we made it almost all the way to the one mile mark before we both were very happy to turn around. I honestly don't know when I will be back to my 4+ miles of intervals, so I guess that 5k at the end of this month is out of the question. Now I am looking on to the next one; at this rate it really will be more than a year from when I started before I run my first race. I'm not sure, but this might be the slowest warm-up ever.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Move over Pocahontas
Generally I try to avoid two saints in one month (& there is already a saint queued up in less than a week) but Lily of the Mohawks is brand new saint this week & it seemed petty not to cover her. Anyone who has ever traveled anywhere in the americas (north, south, central, wherever) would have to take quite the circuitous route not to trip over a story of an indian princess. Even then, I am 99.9% sure you would wind up smack in the middle of an indian princess story not-on-purpose. Indian princesses jump off cliffs, marry the wrong man, betray their people, save their people, sometimes they just abandon their people. In short they are very busy people themselves.
& up until last week I would have said Pocahontas was the most famous in the world. If you have never seen the Disney movie (& I haven't), you would still have to be living under a rock not to know who Pocahontas was. Or rather, who history says she was. Or might have been. Whatever, it doesn't matter. This is not a post about Pocahontas. That being said, let us all take a moment to listen the Peggy Lee's Fever, which mentions Pocahontas.
Back to our saint: Tekakwitha was born to a family of mixed heritage (one parent was a Mohawk, who are part of the Iroquios language group, the other was an Algonquin, who have their own language, Algonquin; I might be misremembering, but I don't think these two groups always got along that well), but was orphaned at a very young age. Much of her family died of the same thing that wiped out so many people in the 17th century New World: smallpox. It really is the gift that keeps on giving.
Anyway, she was left dependent on an uncle who had a great distrust of christians in general & priests in specific. First, let me speculate this might be why said uncle was around to care for the much afflicted (scarred & partial blinded by small pox scars) little girl. Second, guess what kind of indian princess listed above, not that Tekakwitha was a princess-princess, but guess what kind of princess she was. If you guessed the kind that left her people you would be right. As a young woman, she ran away to be baptized, then ran away again (I don't entirely follow that one myself) to become a nun. Then she died of tuberculosis, another disease I am guessing her unreasonable uncle did not catch.
So, that sums that up. Except that on her deathbed, witnesses say her scars disappeared & she became beautiful (they don't say anything about her putting a on a little weight, so she must have been beautiful à la heroin chic). & of course later she started performing miracles, pretty much isolated to those who prayed to her so that probably helped determine who got the credit. Anyway. Tekakwitha is a saint now, better known as Lily of the Mohawks.
Which brings me back to Disney. It is a very familiar story; see Therese the little flower for the sickness in childhood, the tuberculosis in adulthood & so-forth, or countless others for the whole running away thing, or, or, or. Seriously, it is a familiar story, but now we have a native american heroine. Sigh.
& up until last week I would have said Pocahontas was the most famous in the world. If you have never seen the Disney movie (& I haven't), you would still have to be living under a rock not to know who Pocahontas was. Or rather, who history says she was. Or might have been. Whatever, it doesn't matter. This is not a post about Pocahontas. That being said, let us all take a moment to listen the Peggy Lee's Fever, which mentions Pocahontas.
Back to our saint: Tekakwitha was born to a family of mixed heritage (one parent was a Mohawk, who are part of the Iroquios language group, the other was an Algonquin, who have their own language, Algonquin; I might be misremembering, but I don't think these two groups always got along that well), but was orphaned at a very young age. Much of her family died of the same thing that wiped out so many people in the 17th century New World: smallpox. It really is the gift that keeps on giving.
Anyway, she was left dependent on an uncle who had a great distrust of christians in general & priests in specific. First, let me speculate this might be why said uncle was around to care for the much afflicted (scarred & partial blinded by small pox scars) little girl. Second, guess what kind of indian princess listed above, not that Tekakwitha was a princess-princess, but guess what kind of princess she was. If you guessed the kind that left her people you would be right. As a young woman, she ran away to be baptized, then ran away again (I don't entirely follow that one myself) to become a nun. Then she died of tuberculosis, another disease I am guessing her unreasonable uncle did not catch.
So, that sums that up. Except that on her deathbed, witnesses say her scars disappeared & she became beautiful (they don't say anything about her putting a on a little weight, so she must have been beautiful à la heroin chic). & of course later she started performing miracles, pretty much isolated to those who prayed to her so that probably helped determine who got the credit. Anyway. Tekakwitha is a saint now, better known as Lily of the Mohawks.
Which brings me back to Disney. It is a very familiar story; see Therese the little flower for the sickness in childhood, the tuberculosis in adulthood & so-forth, or countless others for the whole running away thing, or, or, or. Seriously, it is a familiar story, but now we have a native american heroine. Sigh.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
The 20 minute mile
I started intervals (1 minute run, 1 minute walk) about 8 weeks ago. As of this morning, I am up to 2 miles a day & by this time next month, it will be at least 3; my goal being to run a 5k (3.1 miles) later this year. It will come as a surprise to no one who has ever started this sort of thing that when I first started I was walking/running about 1 mile & it took more or less the same amount of time it takes today: 45 or so minutes door to door.
During this training I have learned a few things, not the least of which is while I don't exactly feel better, I certainly don't feel worse-joint pain & muscle ache wise. Every book I have read tells me this means I am scaling up exactly right. A was telling me I should be "a bit more ambitious". The last time he said this to me he was running from side to side in front of me, trying to get me to pick up speed. He hasn't run with me since because he hurt his knee.
There is also a lot of new gear on the market since the last time I did anything like this &, not surprisingly, most of it is crap & some is so wonderful I don't know how I lived without it. Naturally, if you were to start running with me, you would feel the same way, but probably about different things. For example, shoe technology has passed me by. It turns out I have ALWAYS run in the barefoot style (while wearing sneakers, conflicted I know) even when someone was trying to correct me. As a result, high tech cushioning or impact absorbing treads are make a negligible difference to me. I realize I am in the minority; too many runners will talk for too long about what shoes they had when they ran which course.
One new thing that I mocked (MOCKED) was the zip-front sports bra. What a ridiculous notion. That Ice Loves Coco is dominated by this particular wardrobe item did not add to its cache as far as I was concerned. But I had to buy a new bra & the only one on the clearance rack that met other requirements (size, high impact) happened to be a zip-front style & since I could not bring myself to pay full-price for a different style... To make a long story short, if you have ever been sweaty & sore & become entangled while trying to get out of your sports bra, zip-front is the way to go.
Next week, I start with my new super skin tight leggings. Not because I am getting chills or even chafed, but because all the sunblock on the market is not keeping me from getting burned. I will let you know how it goes.
During this training I have learned a few things, not the least of which is while I don't exactly feel better, I certainly don't feel worse-joint pain & muscle ache wise. Every book I have read tells me this means I am scaling up exactly right. A was telling me I should be "a bit more ambitious". The last time he said this to me he was running from side to side in front of me, trying to get me to pick up speed. He hasn't run with me since because he hurt his knee.
There is also a lot of new gear on the market since the last time I did anything like this &, not surprisingly, most of it is crap & some is so wonderful I don't know how I lived without it. Naturally, if you were to start running with me, you would feel the same way, but probably about different things. For example, shoe technology has passed me by. It turns out I have ALWAYS run in the barefoot style (while wearing sneakers, conflicted I know) even when someone was trying to correct me. As a result, high tech cushioning or impact absorbing treads are make a negligible difference to me. I realize I am in the minority; too many runners will talk for too long about what shoes they had when they ran which course.
One new thing that I mocked (MOCKED) was the zip-front sports bra. What a ridiculous notion. That Ice Loves Coco is dominated by this particular wardrobe item did not add to its cache as far as I was concerned. But I had to buy a new bra & the only one on the clearance rack that met other requirements (size, high impact) happened to be a zip-front style & since I could not bring myself to pay full-price for a different style... To make a long story short, if you have ever been sweaty & sore & become entangled while trying to get out of your sports bra, zip-front is the way to go.
Next week, I start with my new super skin tight leggings. Not because I am getting chills or even chafed, but because all the sunblock on the market is not keeping me from getting burned. I will let you know how it goes.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Polycarp
So when it seems like winter just might never end (not this winter, but others, maybe or winter someplace else), runny nose & hat-head & earaches it is time for the patron saint of....well, earaches. I am not sure there is a patron of runny noses actually, & I am quite sure there is no one in the pantheon ministering specifically to sufferers of hat-head*.
I am speaking of course of Polycarp. Polycarp of Smyrna, not to be confused with Polycarp of Antioch. Don't you just love that there is more than one Polycarp? It gets better actually, there is also more than one Smyrna. For our Polycarp, though we are not all that interested in Smyrna, Georgia ; it is kind of strange that he is not patron saint of any Smyrna, though isn't it? Not Georgia, not Tennessee, not Delaware....& not the Smyrna he actually died in.
Polycarp wrote a lot about what he was doing while traveling...did I mention he traveled? Well he did. Thither & yon. At least one letter he wrote has survived (there seems to be some confusion, at least I was confused. There might be more than one letter, but maybe that was the other Polycarp), but letters about him can also be found. In his travels he observed that the church was interpreted in different ways in different parts of the world. It is Polycarp who said yes those eastern-types DO celebrate Easter on a different day & I think we can all live with that or something close enough that everyone DID live with it for quite some time.
He had lots of celebrity friends, John the Apostle among them. Oh, & Pope Anicetus of course. Pope Anicetus was the one who made the priests cut their hair, which is frankly the only reason I have ever heard of him. I am OBSESSED with the historical politics of hair, Cromwell & Samson & all that. Whenever I can work Leviticus 19:27 into conversation, I do it.
Where was I,? Oh right, Polycarp of Smyrna. In the end, he refused to burn incense or make an offering of any kind for the emperor (that whole Thou Shalt Have No G*d Before me thing) & so they burned him. But he would not burn. So they stabbed him to death & then burned the body. Where earaches (or dysentery, the only other patronage under his jurisdiction) come into this, I cannot quite figure.
//* in keeping with my usual attention to detail, I have since learned there kind of IS a patroness of hat-head: Catherine of Alexandria is in charge of milliners. Yes, I made a note & will get to her some year on her day, November 25th.
I am speaking of course of Polycarp. Polycarp of Smyrna, not to be confused with Polycarp of Antioch. Don't you just love that there is more than one Polycarp? It gets better actually, there is also more than one Smyrna. For our Polycarp, though we are not all that interested in Smyrna, Georgia ; it is kind of strange that he is not patron saint of any Smyrna, though isn't it? Not Georgia, not Tennessee, not Delaware....& not the Smyrna he actually died in.
Polycarp wrote a lot about what he was doing while traveling...did I mention he traveled? Well he did. Thither & yon. At least one letter he wrote has survived (there seems to be some confusion, at least I was confused. There might be more than one letter, but maybe that was the other Polycarp), but letters about him can also be found. In his travels he observed that the church was interpreted in different ways in different parts of the world. It is Polycarp who said yes those eastern-types DO celebrate Easter on a different day & I think we can all live with that or something close enough that everyone DID live with it for quite some time.
He had lots of celebrity friends, John the Apostle among them. Oh, & Pope Anicetus of course. Pope Anicetus was the one who made the priests cut their hair, which is frankly the only reason I have ever heard of him. I am OBSESSED with the historical politics of hair, Cromwell & Samson & all that. Whenever I can work Leviticus 19:27 into conversation, I do it.
Where was I,? Oh right, Polycarp of Smyrna. In the end, he refused to burn incense or make an offering of any kind for the emperor (that whole Thou Shalt Have No G*d Before me thing) & so they burned him. But he would not burn. So they stabbed him to death & then burned the body. Where earaches (or dysentery, the only other patronage under his jurisdiction) come into this, I cannot quite figure.
//* in keeping with my usual attention to detail, I have since learned there kind of IS a patroness of hat-head: Catherine of Alexandria is in charge of milliners. Yes, I made a note & will get to her some year on her day, November 25th.
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