LIVING ON A SMALL ISLAND

I have known Mary for over twenty years. When we first met, she lived in

Mary

an earth-sheltered home in a community known as Rainbow Valley north of Denton, Texas. She was (and still is) a very interesting person. I shared many an experience with Mary, including a wonderful sweat lodge she led, a smudge circle of women held in my "barn", and even healing sessions conducted hands-on. Part shaman, established herbalist, former massage therapist, and now an islander who is still working for FEMA. She and her husband Jaye are both ready to fly to any major disaster in the United States.

As they are approaching retirement, Mary's dream and Jaye's desire both included living on an island in the sun. Having found a place, they moved there this past spring. I asked her to write something about the experience of living on one of the U.S. Virgin Islands after originating in a relatively small town in Texas. She sent me the following, along with a few photographs they have taken. 

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"One of my lifelong dreams has been to live on a high hill right on the ocean, so that I can be one with wild, raging storms. It did not necessarily have to be on an island. I found such a house here on St Croix. (A long way from Texas.)

(View at the side of my house driveway. The island in the distance is Buck Island, which is a national monument made so by JFK. The islanders are very proud of it. Only goats and turtles live there. Day visitors allowed. Beautiful white coral beaches.)

My astrologer had been telling me for years that I was going to be doing some traveling. When I transferred to the FEMA Regional office and became a DAE (disaster assistance employee) for Hazard Mitigation, my traveling extended beyond Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, and Colorado. 

I met Jaye when I went to work for FEMA in 2000. He was my supervisor for seven plus years, when he transferred to the Region. We had a good working relationship, and we then became good friends. Sometime around 2012 we started to get to know each other better, and did some traveling together - going to see my kid and his kid who both lived in Colorado. 

Jaye's son Kyle got married on Ambergris Caye in Belize about twelve years ago, and Jaye fell in love with Belize. He had dreamed about moving there when he retired, as he wanted to be some place that stayed warm year-round. Even though Belize has what appears to be a good Retirement Program for expats, I do not like Belize. Belize works from a very blatant graft system, and I am not comfortable with that.

Over the course of three years, Jaye and I made three trips to the Palencia Peninsula in Belize, one trip to Panama, and one to St Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. His son Kyle and wife Johanna had moved there in August of 2015.

Seventh Wave (St Croix)

(I was curious about this Seventh Wave photo when Mary sent it. When asked, this was her reply)..

According to some old books on the movement of the waves and docking or beaching a boat, one would try to ride the 7th wave in as it is said to be the strongest and would take one further upon the beach. When watching waves pound on a beach or rocks, the 7th wave is nearly always the biggest or highest. Right after it is a small wimpy wave which would be when one would launch a boat as there is less resistance. Or so my dad always said. He was in the Navy in WWI. Also, 7 is one of those numbers that has a lot of significance in the cycles of things. [See A Little Mysticism, Please].

When Jaye's son Kyle moved to St Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, of course we had to visit. St Thomas is six miles long and about that wide in some places, with close to 50,000 people on it. It is the cruise lines shoppers' paradise. We stayed several days and discovered that St Thomas is just too small and crowded, the hills are really high, and the roads are treacherous. Jaye voiced his concern to Kyle, and he told us about St Croix. With all the wanting to be someplace warm, the Virgin Islands weren't even on the radar at that time.

Our Porch View

St Croix is 28 miles long and 7-10 miles wide; about the same number of people as St Thomas, more laid back, and though it has some high hills, they are not crowded together as much. We spent over three weeks here last July, and drove this island from stem to stern. We put over 500 miles on the rental car. We stayed 10 days in a condo high up on a hill that looked out on the ocean and Buck Island and the reef, and then the rest of the time in a resort that had like mini apartments. We got in touch with a realtor, and saw several houses. We weren't going to buy anything, we just wanted to get a feel for what the different types of housing were like.

View From Our Porch.

Jaye proposed somewhere along the line. On our return to Texas to prepare for the move to a rental house in St Croix, we went to the courthouse and got married. After deciding what to take and what to get rid of or store of our belongings, arranging for shipping, including our truck, we made our move to St Croix by April 1st of this year.

Our House

 In St Croix we drive on the left-hand side of the road. You can legally turn left on a red light! To be able to leave this island one must plan ahead. There are only two ways off here. By airplane or by boat. The airport can handle fairly large planes that carry at least 100 or more people, and it is about the size that Dallas Love Field was twenty years ago. Also, there is now a ferry that can carry about seventy-five people, that goes to St Thomas which is 40-miles away across open water.

All, that being said...St Croix is really not a cruise ship sort of place. The two major towns are old and though at one time they may have drawn more tourists and still do if someone is staying here for a few days at one of the resorts or rented a room some place. St Croix does not have a good port and therefore there are not very many activities near town unless one wants to charter a fishing trip, go snorkeling or scuba diving or just a sail. The main draw are these other things that one can do here.  There are high cliffs with beautiful clear blue waters. Lots of water sports, fishing, sailing and para-sailing; lots of beaches, and lots of places to hike and camp. Places where one can get away and be in the quiet. All of these activities take time and most cruise ships do not stay in port that long, especially as small an island as St Croix is. As far as I know, the cruise ships are no longer coming to this island. 

Christiansted (credit: Kayak.com)

We live in an area called the East Bank or End and we are about 3- or 4 -miles from Christiansted. It is kinda deceiving as there are many curves and small hills. Also, at the east end of the island is a casino. There are several large resorts, that also have nice restaurants, that hold special events. There are three yacht clubs, three or four golf clubs, and a brand new Cinemax high tech theater.

Christiansted Waterfront

There are two major towns on St Croix - Frederiksted which is at the West end (where the big cruise ships can come in closer and send out boats), and Christiansted, which is on the East side. These towns are the major hubs and the buildings there are very old. They are in repair, it seems like all of the time, with either paint, stucco, or whatever else it takes. Then there are several neighborhood business centers where there they have a general store, bank, and post office. There are three hospitals, and doctors of all kinds here. Although most people go off the island for specialty surgeries and such.

Rainbow Beach - St Croix

All beaches are supposed to be open to the public, though some of them are on private property and walled off, or on a resort where they may charge a day fee. There are plenty of places where one can find a path or road leading off a main road to a beach, plus, there are several public parks.

Before Hurricane Hugo, and a couple of hurricanes before that, took out most of the sugar plantations, the islands were sectioned off by the many plantations, and some had some very strange names. The neighborhoods that sprang up in those areas, kept those names. If you are not a local and know your way around, it is hard to find someone's house. Most house numbers are not in chronological order. 

I realize that I have given you several facts and not much "goo". While there may be issues, such as a lot of mosquitoes and "no see ums" nibbling at you at all times of the day, for some people all this beautiful sky and water is worth it. 

A lot of the islands along this arc are very commercialized and make a lot of their money off of tourists. Though some of the smaller ones can be a little more primitive, and do not have as many conveniences. The cost of food is about 1/3 more than in the States, as very few things are grown on the island.

Downtown Christiansted - (Credit: amay.com)

Here on St Croix, you probably won't find anyone living in a grass hut, even though there are some rough/poor places where people have pieced shelter together. 

I honestly can't say that I like it here better than Texas. I can say that I am comfortable here, and it is quite an experience. Sometimes the dream is better than the reality. Would I recommend that someone do this? Definitely - if they can do it without breaking the bank."

Mary E. (Smith) Hendricks

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Not only do the island's sun, sky, and water appeal to retirees and visitors alike, but Mary sent me several days of the St Croix calendar of events that appeal to anyone looking for a good time as well! They have something going on every day of the week. One recent day's events:

Saturday, July 15, 2017:

Luke Slupesky at Cafe Fresco from 10:30am-1:30pm

League of Women Voters of the Virgin Islands (St. Croix) monthly meeting 3rd Saturday of the month beginning at 1pm at the AARP office in Sunny Isles Annex. More info call 332-1482.

Bingo at Rhythms at Rainbow Beach beginning at 4pm

Open Mic Night with Richard Schrader Sr, Geron Richards, Cedelle Petersen, Winnie Oyoko Loving and Sherelle Freemanat at Dorsch Center from 5:30-7:30pm. More info.

Mercy Child for Sunset Sail at Lyric Sails from 5:30-7:30pm. More info.

Alex Scimeca at Castaways from 6-9pm

Dr. Roy at The Golden Rail at Mill Harbour from 6-9pm

Coral Fire for Buffet at Thali Indian Grill from 6-10pm

Bill Bass Steel Pans at Deep End Bar beginning at 6:30pm

Romanza at The Buccaneer from 6:30-9:30pm

Steve and Friends at Freedom City Surf from 6:30pm-9:30pm

Eric Vincent at The Galleon from 6:30-9:30pm

Summer Film Fest showing "Hidden Figures" at Baked Café beginning at 7:30pm

Satellite Watch: Hubble Space Telescope from W to ENE from 7:31-7:39 pm. More info.

Brian McCullough Band for Grand Opening of Two Fat Chicks Tropical Micro Brew Pub (old Pink Spot location) from 8-11pm

Karaoke at Lost Dog Pub beginning at 9pm

Disco Dance Party with DJ at balter from 10pm-1:30am

DJ Ninja at Divi Casino from 11pm-3am

Me? Give me Texas. By the way, Mary, tell Jaye that Austin stays warm (almost) year-round!

Dreams do come true,
Marilyn

GOD(S) AND CHAOS - PART II

by Cameron Young

      Next I met Shintoj. I stayed for several days in a remote part of the jungle in the Christian Communist state of Kerala (a conversation for another time). My final morning there, I had to wake up at 5 am to catch an auto rickshaw, a bus, a train, and then take a cab - all to catch an afternoon flight to Calcutta in time.
  In the jungle, you don’t have ample internet access and not all bus and train schedules are posted online anyways. There’s no helpful signage that guides you to the proper transportation, and if there is, it’s usually in Hindi. This was a common theme during my travels. The beauty of such a challenge was that it forced me to ask people for help. One such person was a man who epitomized the helpfulness and hospitality of the Indian people. We were headed the same direction, and he made sure I got off at the right bus stop, bought the right train tickets, and didn’t get on the compartment where I would’ve had literally no breathing room.

    Then, there was Pankaj Kumar and his mother, complete strangers who, through the website Couch Surfing, opened up their home to me in Kolkata, and provided home-cooked meals and a bed at no cost. We bonded over sports, and he took me around the entire city on his motorbike (Calcutta on motorbike is an unforgettable experience, I should add). Both he and his mom were practicing Hindus, and it was wonderful to see them exercise their daily rituals to signify their devotion to their Gods. Pankaj also took me to the Ganges river to watch him and hundreds of other Hindus bathe there in honor of the festival Makar Sakranti.

     There is a phrase from ancient Hindu scripture: Atithi Devo Bhava which translates to “The guest is equivalent to God.” The people mentioned above, to me, embodied the Indian spirit and the Paramatman or higher self; of selflessness of giving. The Indian people embrace collectivism, and in all of my interactions with them, I found it striking how little the words “I” and “me” were used. Since I was in a somewhat delicate and egocentric place, especially at the beginning of my trip, encounters with people like this were a constant reminder to step outside of myself.

       Perhaps the most holy of experiences, however, was Bodhgaya. I was sitting under the Bodhi Tree, a descendant of the original tree where, according to Buddhist scriptures, Siddhartha Gautama the Buddha first sat under when he reached enlightenment. Thousands of Buddhists from dozens of countries make pilgrimages here every year, and to be in their presence and hear them chant was remarkable.

      

    As you can tell by the surgical masks people are wearing, Bodhgaya is a very dense and polluted city, with tons of people and little space. My experience here was holy, but anything but tranquil. Yet, here we see hundreds of people singing, and worshipping that which is beyond their individual selves. That is Paramatman. That is the big “I.” That is enlightenment. That is God. And there I was, in all of this flurry of activity, no longer Cameron, the Unitarian Universalist, Buddhist, Liberal, Queer, Caucasian American, but free, insignificant, and one with all existence and non-existence around me.

     We are all comprised of matter which is infinite and never ceasing, and it’s only our individual consciousness that declares us to be separate from everything else. And we have no control of order and chaos, and if we refuse to embrace that, we will suffer. A great truth realized by the aforementioned Eastern religions. 
      What’s most noticeable of Whitman’s Song of Myself is its free verse style, which at times seems completely random and unstructured, but the closer you look, you see an underlying narrative of his finding divine self within the randomness of the universe. 

    “To me the converging objects of the universe perpetually flow, All are written to me, and I must get what the writing means.” “All truths wait in all things, they neither hasten their own delivery nor resist it, They do not need the obstetric forceps of the surgeon, The insignificant is as big to me as any.” “No words of routine this song of mine, But abruptly to question, to leap beyond yet nearer bring…. The saints and sages in history- but you yourself? Sermons, creeds, theology - but the fathomless human brain, and what reason? And what is love? And What is life?” 
    I could see this same phenomena amongst Indian culture. The divine order amongst this chaos, and the willingness of the Indian people to embrace it as naturally as breathing. It doesn’t always feel romantic and beautiful. Often times, It’s smelly. It’s dirty. It’s loud. But it’s life! No more. No less. Amen.

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Amen, Cameron, Amen. 

"Chaos - A system rearranging itself to a higher sense of order."

PEACE

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GOD(S) AND CHAOS - Part I

My oldest grandson, Cameron Young, recently gave the following talk to the Westside Unitarian Universalist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, where he is currently the Director of Lifespan Religious Education. He told of his trip to India, along with photos he took while there. As this is rather lengthy, I decided to post it in two parts. 

I always thought that Cameron would be a professional performer (he was a voice major at LSU, and sings opera), but not only does he have the ability to present a good sermon from time to time at his church, he shows a remarkable gift for writing as well! Proud grandmother speaks.

GOD(S) AND CHAOS

by Cameron Young

   Those of us in the western world tend to view what is spiritual and what is holy to be only synonymous with what is tranquil and calm. Wealthy westerners spend thousands of dollars going on spiritual retreats being drawn in by taglines such as “find your inner peace,” “align your chakras,” “heighten your cosmic vibrations,” and a classic “embrace the power of positive thinking!” Not to negate the validity of eastern religious practice, especially yoga and meditation, which provide immense benefits for body and mind, but since the new age movement of the 1960s, we’ve seen the emergence of bastardized eastern practice that has drawn in thousands. The fundamental difference between the true practices and the new practices is that, while eastern spirituality encourages you to embrace discomfort and learn eventually to accept it, the latter teaches to spiritually bypass any feelings of unease and that only the positive feelings are valid. 

   Having visited India for a month, I quickly realized there was a market for this. There were these very expensive Yogic retreats offered to Europeans and some Americans where people got to come to India, yet conveniently got to avoid the Indian people and cultural climate. The noise. The smells. The poverty. The “chaos.” Not only is that antithetical to those philosophies, but that mindset is also racist and classist. Upon leaving for India, I certainly had an over-romanticized vision of it, and though I might’ve been looking for some semblance of self-realization, my motives were quite different from the ones previously stated. I recognized the spiritual validity of being out of one’s comfort zone.

   I left the U.S. thinking that I had left most of my ego behind. I’ve never been too attached to material possessions, in the spirit of our second UU (Unitarian Universalist) principle, I’ve made it a practice to have open and compassionate relations with others, and I like to think my spiritual practice enables me to approach most situations calmly and objectively. The moment I set foot in Mumbai, I became painfully aware of how wealthy I was in that context. People, mostly in desperation, wanted my money, and so I became a target for some to scam, rip off, or simply pester. Despite having plenty of it (everything was so inexpensive), I found myself clinging to my money and possessions in a way I never had before. While some level of a defensive disposition is healthy in such an environment, my hypervigilance coupled with jet lag was manifesting in paranoia. My adventuring was often coupled with sensory overload and a constant need to look over my shoulder. 

    My third night in Mumbai, I ventured to Chowpatty beach, because the beach is a relaxing and tranquil place, right? I stuck out like a sore thumb.

 
 As a practicing Zen Buddhist, I’ve become quite familiar with the writings of Shinryu Suzuki, who’s often accredited as father of the American Zen movement. In his most famous work, Zen Mind Beginner’s Mind, Suzuki speaks of small mind vs. big mind, or little “I” vs. big “I.” “We create airplanes and highways,” he writes “And when we repeat ‘I create, I create, I create’ soon we forget who is the actual ‘I’ which creates the various things; we soon forget about God. This is the danger in human culture.” He goes on to write “But because we do forget who is doing the creating and the reason for the creation, we become attached to the material or the exchange value.”
   Suzuku writes of the Buddhist understanding of God, which can be simply understood as the oneness of everything, or as UUs like to say, the interconnected web of all existence. Suzuki is implying that the danger in human thought is the illusion of self, the illusion of attachment, and the illusion of creation. Anything we perceive as being created by us, we’re really just rearranging matter already manifested in nature. And when we think this way, we become attached to these material things, we fear the loss of those attachments, and thus emerges the little “I” or the ego that separates us from everything.

   Welcome to my existential crisis upon entering India. My sudden anxiety and possessiveness over my pocketbook, my phone, my laptop, and other belongings, at least at first, constantly interfered with my enjoyment of an otherwise grand adventure.

   Though this realization of the dichotomy between the egoic little self, and the higher, universal self is fundamental to Buddhism, it’s by no means unique to it. The Transcendentalists of young America, Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman, Channing, all Unitarians at one point or another, were perhaps the ones in the west who most eloquently articulated this truth. Transcendentalism went as far as to say that institutions and illusion of order actually corrupted the purity of the individual, constantly citing the validity of a human’s subjective intuition. 

   We heard earlier a reading from Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself. He goes on to write “I exist as I am, that is enough, if no other in the world be aware, I sit content, and if each and all be aware, I sit content.” Here, Whitman is implying that our fundamental purpose is our subjective experience. What emotions we feel, what thoughts we perceive, and how we internalize those experiences trumps anything that happens extrinsically, including the materials and institutions we create.

   So what was the primary spiritual philosophy that influenced the Transcendentalists and early American Unitarians? You might be surprised that, it was the Hindu religions of India, which similarly gave birth to Buddhism. Many of them were actually fascinated with Hinduism, and though they may not have interpreted it with complete accuracy, some of its core tenets dramatically informed their spiritual outlook. 

   Ralph Waldo Emerson writes about the relationship in Hinduism between Atman (the individual self) and Paramatman (the eternal self, where individuality vanishes into selflessness). Emerson calls it the over-soul, and that it must be reunited with the individual self to, in his words, “recover that unity which had been clouded and obscured by the magical illusions of reality.” This is important for two reasons: 1) is the relationship between little “I” and big “I” that I’ve cited before, and 2) Emerson is citing the qualities of Hinduism that imply that reality is inherently spiritual and that spirituality is not about escaping reality. This leads me back to my original subject line, “God(s) and Chaos.”

   Western Judeo-Christian theology tends to have a dualistic approach to chaos vs. order, and perceives that order is superior, whereas eastern theology, originating in Hinduism, has a more non-dualistic approach in which chaos and order are two sides of the same coin, thus cosmic inevitabilities. You can see these differing philosophies reflected in our culture. When this American first set foot in Mumbai, it seemed as though a place with no order.

   I’ve shown you the picture on the beach. Another example is the traffic laws - there are none. The driving in India is every person for themselves, and every inch of space on the rode is claimable. Drivers will get to within an inch of hitting the next car. Upon further examination, however, you realize how skilled the drivers are and that major accidents are not more ample than they are in the west. I would see some of my taxi and rickshaw drivers accomplish feats with their driving that I could only dream of doing. Another example of order within chaos is the Dabbawala system of Mumbai, a 125-year old lunch delivery service that navigates the streets of Mumbai, appears to be chaotic and random, but is actually incredibly sophisticated. 

   As I’d indicated previously, this anxiety I felt from culture shock, lack of amenities, and the chaotic activity was resulting in a breakdown of ego for me, but there were several remarkable people and extraordinary experiences I had along the way that helped me to once again see beyond that little self. That Atman.

   First, I met Muhammad Ali, a Muslim rug salesman in the town of Hampi. We had chai together every evening, on my way back to my guest house. He had a gentle spirit, and a great sense of humor, often making fun of the way I smoked and coughed on his cigarettes. 
   Muslims make up a quarter of the population of India yet have none of the institutional power there. They’re highly marginalized, but this man did not have resentment towards those of different faiths, but rather an earnestness to learn about them. He seemed to effortlessly get along with the Hindus, Buddhists and Christians alike, all of which have substantial numbers there. One of the most beautiful aspects of India is its religious pluralism. My last night in Hampi, I had just been pick-pocketed - only petty cash. I told him what happened and he put his hand on my shoulder and said, “If someone in this country steals from you, it’s because they are desperate.”

(To be continued)

I've been thinking...

and my thinking sometimes gets me in trouble. For several months now my thinking has been dragging me down. That's not a recipe for a happy life. I like to think (like many of us do) that I am a person of integrity. Among my personal thoughts on integrity is the idea that one should not judge others. This, of course, comes from my Protestant background. When analyzed, I realized that I have been guilty of judging others - some harshly. In particular, the "others" are the current government, and especially the President and his cronies. As I have written many times condemning their actions and agenda, I am left feeling sad. It took a lot of soul-searching to pinpoint the reason. Violating one's own convictions should create at least some semblance of guilt, thus, my sadness.

"Knowing that we can change our thoughts releases us from the hold any negative idea or opinion has over us." Course in Miracles

This morning I had an "aha" moment when a scripture of the New Testament popped into my mind. It's always been easy for me to remember the "shalt nots", consequently, "thou shalt not judge lest ye be judged" frequently flashes before me. (I admit I have lots for which to be judged.) This morning's "aha" was what a good friend of mine mentioned to me when I was sharing my guilt with him. He reminded me of the following scripture. In John 7:24, Jesus said, "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment". (Emphasis mine.) Whew! I now feel somewhat vindicated in my indictments of politicians behaving badly. Now I have only to work on my tendency to judge others besides politicians! Unless, of course, I'm using righteous judgment. (Hmmmm)

"Integrity means following your moral or ethical convictions and doing the right thing in all circumstances, even if no one is watching you. Having integrity means you are true to yourself and would do nothing that demeans or dishonors you." (yourdictionary.com)  I love their examples of everyday integrity found here: Examples of Integrity

Okay, then, now some righteous judgment.

"Americans have always assumed, rightfully so, that every President we elect begins with and maintains a level of integrity, civility, dignity and respect. We assume he or she won’t insult another candidate’s looks or refer to a journalist on her period, demean a war hero, brag they could shoot someone on 5th avenue and still get votes, make fun of a disabled person or lie as a matter of course."..."Only when his most loyal stand up and tell the Emperor he’s not wearing any clothes will we restore the dignity and integrity that’s fast eroding inside the Oval Office." (Laura G. Owens, Huffington Post)

To those of you reading this who, perhaps thinking we needed a drastic change in Washington - which we did, voted for our current president, it is NOW time to let him know your feelings about the lack of "integrity, civility, dignity, and respect" he continues to display. While you're at it, let your congressional representatives know you would also favor impeachment if things don't change.

Please don't judge me too harshly for this post. After all, I used a lot of other folks' words and pictures. Oh, no! Please don't tell me that is wrong. I've tried to give them all credit!

Peace, love, and good thoughts,
Marilyn

P.S.
Today is a special day for a very special grandson:

TRAVIS

ALL WE NEED IS LOVE

From time to time I am able to sweet talk someone into submitting something for this blog. With very little arm twisting, a friend from my high school days shared some of her poetry with me. We are approaching a 60th class reunion, and some of us have reconnected after all these years. As we share our stories, we gain a renewed understanding of our friends from long ago. This is revealing of my friend's warm and loving personality. I am happy to have her as a friend.

The Art of Friendship

Martha Northington, 2002

"Friendship is human creativity: a dance, a painting, a violin concerto, a poem.

It must be practiced again and again, and it reveals new meanings with each performance.

The finding and holding of friends is a courtship of eyes and voices; of ideas and commonalities; of listening and understanding; and of both giving and receiving.

It is the gift of laughter and joy without derision or shaming. Honesty must have a place in the courtship--a compassionate honesty without hurt or annihilation.

A strong friend offers safety and trust, a place to flourish and to rest. The friend waits until the other gains strength to continue.

The nurturing of friendship allows no interruptions and is sustained by the sharing of happy events and private sorrows. The human spirit soars when good friends accompany and falls from the heights if left alone for too long.

Friends reach out to one another and give freely of themselves from their minds and hearts. 

Good friends become artists of life."

(...at any age)

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If any of you watched television yesterday you may have heard it was 50 years ago that the Beatles introduced their song, All You Need is Love. We need this more today than we did 50 years ago. Friendship, love, and beautiful music will help heal our world. Don't you think so?

Until next time, may you have all the love you need,

Marilyn

MAKING TIME

I have had a hard time finding time for this blog. I've been immersed, first, in genealogical research; and second, I've been helping former classmates update a mailing list prior to the 60th Class Reunion coming up this fall. In between, I post on our BHS Class of '57 blog. So much of the news I've had to share in recent months is, sadly enough, in the form of ill health, goodbyes, and obituaries. 

A former classmate I frequently correspond with, C. Denson Hill, PhD (affectionately known as Denny), is a professor of mathematics at Stony Brook University, but spends his off time in Warsaw, where he owns a couple of flats, and Berlin, where he is currently. When I sent him some recent updates on our former classmates, he questioned me about how many of the 1957 graduating class have died. I sent him the number, and this is his response:

"Almost exactly 50% are gone.

It is interesting, because I read somewhere about some research on life span in which there was the finding that people tend to die in two groups: the first group expires somewhere in their late 60's or early 70's. But if you make it past that, then you are in the second group, and have a good chance to get to 90 or more (I don't remember the exact numbers, but the point is that the deaths are not uniformly distributed, but have two quite distinct clumps, with significant spacing between them)."

I responded that I'm not certain I want to live to be in my 90s. Oddly enough, from my family research, there were a lot of my relatives who lived long lives until the 20th century. Since that time, those who have managed to live until their 80s and 90s, with a few exceptions, did so with waning mental capacities and very poor health. To me, that says that modern medical science (and easier lifestyles) have helped to increase life expectancy in the United States until this century. We now rank 26th, lower than most other higher income countries. South Korea is predicted to be the place to live when their life expectancy soars to age 90+ by 2030. (Of course, that's if North Korea doesn't start a war with them first.) They are currently the total opposite of the United States in life expectancy. 

"The research - undertaken by the World Health Organization and Imperial College London - described how the U.S. has the highest child and maternal mortality, homicide rate, and body-mass index of any high-income country." U.S. Life Expectancy

I believe that among the many reasons for the reversal we are seeing has a lot to do with pharmaceuticals focusing more on relieving pain in the form of opiods, and other high dollar drugs, such as the newer cancer treatment drugs that could save lives if one could afford the thousands of dollars a month they cost. Even the EpiPens, which are so essential for those with severe allergic reactions, were increased in price six fold by 2016. The big pharma not only charge outrageous prices, but also encourage doctors to prescribe them. I'm pretty sure the doctors get some kind of "compensation" for this practice. 

I had minor nerve surgery on my arm a few years back. The doctor prescribed "pain medication". It was a drug I had never heard of. (I'm strictly an aspirin kind of gal!). It was for 60 tablets of hydrocodone. That in itself scared me. How long did he expect me to be in pain? I took one tablet when my son brought me home from the day surgery. I lay on the sofa and dozed. I felt so disoriented when I awakened that I never took another tablet. The bottle stayed (hidden) in my bathroom until this past spring a friend took it and other old, outdated medicines, and turned them in for disposal. Some law enforcement agencies do this annually, as well as some Walgreen's. Of course, one must mark out the name, prescription number, and any other identifying information before doing so. Outdated drugs of any kind could be deadly if they fell into the wrong hands. And we certainly don't want them to get into our water supply by tossing them down the drain or in the garbage. If all doctors so freely prescribe such drugs for pain, it is no wonder we have such an opiod epidemic. That certainly contributes to the lower life expectancy rate.

The increasing income inequality, loss of jobs due to technology, and in particular the lack of insurance and quality healthcare, especially to the lower income class, has been responsible for not only a rise in poor health and death, but also for the rise in suicides in the U.S. 

If more people were made aware of what is happening to the health of our country, I believe there would be an outcry at the Congressional refusal to pass legislation for universal healthcare, or at least make the "new" affordable healthcare act they are supposedly working on, something that will not take away insurance to the number of the poor who now receive it. It may take a miracle.

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On a lighter note, my son Matthew and his family have been on the Texas Gulf since last weekend. They went to North Padre Island for a golf tournament grandson Travis participated in. Deciding to stay a week for a family vacation, they have  been enjoying the beach and the water. 

Dad has shared some lovely photos of the Gulf, the beautiful sunsets, and of course, the kiddos, Travis and Kelly. But then, this morning I received the following photo.

I thought it was someone's puppy that had taken a dip in the water. He looked so pitiful. Then Matthew texted that they thought they were saving someone's dog when they fished it out of the bay with the net. Turns out it was a puppy all right... a coyote puppy! He said the poor little thing was so tired it couldn't even stand up. (Too much dog paddling I guess.) They took it to the shore, where they could see the mother coyote waiting for her babe.

It goes without saying, that this grandmother has been glued to the weather reports this week, and watching Tropical Storm Cindy as it approached the Texas coast. You can see from the skies in the photos above, taken the last couple of days, they have been having pretty good weather. And Cindy veered East! (I do believe in miracles.)

Peace, love, and sunny skies,

Marilyn

When will WE ever learn?

Memorial Day again. Will we ever commemorate a Memorial Day when there are no wars being fought that place our service men and women in harm's way? We keep praying for that day to come. It hasn't yet.

I've written about my late father, Jarvis Moragne, and his military service in World War II and Korea several times. Recently I have been going through a lot of family memorabilia while doing genealogical research, and I ran across a paper that had apparently been in my mother's scrapbooks, which passed down to me at her death. From the wording, I believe this must have been given to military personnel at Fort Sam Houston where my dad was stationed during the Korean conflict. This was typewritten, then run off on a mimeograph machine. (You youngsters probably never heard of one of those!)

INDIVIDUAL ACTION AIR BURST OF ATOMIC BOMB

BEFORE BURST

If Air Alert or General Quarters is sounded TAKE PRESCRIBED ACTION. The best defense against an "A" bomb is the same as against HE bombs. (I guess that HE stands for high explosive bombs. Correct me if I'm wrong.)

DURING AND AFTER BURST

Take cover, unless under other attack, and stay for 10 seconds after explosion or until heavy debris has stopped falling.

Underground shelters, ships, basements, and slit trenches give good protection. Lie close to wall out of line from possible flying debris. Keep head covered and avoid exposure of bare skin. Never stand in open. Fall flat if no protection is available.

RESUME DUTIES, if able.

HELP OTHERS.

DON'T PANIC AND DON'T SPREAD RUMORS.

Remember the large casualties in Japan resulted from failure to provide air raid warning and from lack of organization.

EFFECTS OF AIR BURST OF ATOMIC BOMB

• Sudden shock -- Shock pressure from burst not enough to kill. Flying debris causes almost all injuries.

• FLASH HEAT - Burns on exposed skin occur out to two miles. Light-colored clothes or any shielding substance afford protection. Keep your shirt on.

        Flash heat starts forest and brush fires. Many fires started by stoves,         short-circuits, etc. Broken power lines on ships start electrical fires.

        (Fight fires in normal manner.)

• FLASH RADIATION - 50% of radiation occurs in the first second. 80% in the first 10 seconds, all in first 90 seconds. Fall or dive fast to place as much material as possible between you and blast. In most cases if you are not sounded (sic) or burned you need not worry about radiation.

• LINGERING RADIATION - (from deposited bomb material) - So small it is not a hazard - disregard it.

Bombs will probably be exploded right in the air. Surface or sub-surface may reduce blast and heat effects and increase lingering radiation. (This is serious, but can be handled by proper care. Most ships or vehicles can avoid by maneuvering.)

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As I was reading and typing the above, I became more and more amazed at the efforts to downplay the results of an atomic bomb blast. If, as I suspect, it was written during the Korean conflict, surely by then they knew the effects suffered by the Japanese people during and after Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Please read the ongoing study about the survivors of these blasts here: The Health Effects of Atom Bomb My children all were taught the "duck and cover" techniques in case of a bomb attack when they were in elementary school. Can you imagine getting today's kids to do this?

As a side note, a first cousin of my dad developed/produced the electromagnetic process that made the first atomic bomb possible. (Not something we are particularly proud of, except he was brilliant.) Of course, he was at the Los Alamos site witnessing the initial testing. He lost his own sight a few years after those tests.

The hydrogen - or thermonuclear bomb is one thousand times stronger than an atomic bomb. How can any country even think about loosing such devastation on the world?

As we take time over the Memorial Day weekend to honor the soldiers around the world who have lost their lives in service to their countries, let's also take a little time to sing along with the following...

May peace begin with me... and you...and you...and you. We need it now more than ever.

Marilyn