RECLAIMING THE TOXIC WASTE DUMP KNOWN AS MY BODY

This has been somewhat of an unusual yet interesting week for me health wise. My chiropractor, Jerry Retzlaff, one of the best in the business, had long suggested that I use the sauna in my house as a means of getting rid of toxins and feeling better overall.

So last week I began taking saunas in earnest - twenty minute sessions at nearly 200 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. I don't know if you have ever used a sauna, but when you first sit down in the oppressive heat of a dry sauna, there comes a point in the process just before the sweat begins to break fully that is very, very uncomfortable.

But as the beads of perspiration begin to pop out all over your torso, there comes with it a great feeling of release and I came away from each session with a feeling of well being and relaxation. Even my arthritis and fibromyalgia responded well to the treatment.

But two days ago, I hit the proverbial wall. I ended up feeling a malaise very similar to having the flu. I have gone through other forms of detoxification in the past so I am familiar with that feeling. What it means is that the body is responding too well to the stimulus and releasing too much toxin at once.

I also may not be staying hydrated enough to replace the lost water - and dehydration carries its own form of malaise. Dr. Retzlaff suggested that rather than use something like Gatorade which has too much sodium, to buy bottled water and a large container of fruit juice such as apple juice and make my own "gatorade" which will be low in sodium and rich in potassium.

I am also going to acupuncture sessions with Dr.Paul Schlosser, a very unique physician who originally was trained in pediatrics. He was forced out of it when he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

Consequently, he went back to school and became a certified acupuncturist. I admire him greatly as he has taken his disease in stride and has a great attitude.

I have had two sessions with him. The first session went much better than the second. The second session he inserted one of the needles at a really sensitive point in my leg and I experienced a searing pain the likes of which I have not experienced before. However, I have more appointments and am not going to give up that easily on any kind of treatment that will help me regain full use of my legs.

I had scheduled my chiropractic appointment the same day and told Dr Schlosser of it and he advised me to not do acupuncture and chiropractic on the same day, so I moved the appointment to this morning.

I also had my weekly blood draw this morning for a coumadin level check. I was assigned to a new person this morning and that made me nervous as drawing blood requires a practiced touch and I was leary of being assigned to a "rookie".

That phobia (if it is one) goes back to a time when I had a nurse who attempted to draw blood and poked around SEVEN times and still didn't hit the mother lode. She finally called in another nurse who obviously had experience. I was ready to punch the inept one right in the mouth.

When you have been in and out of the hospital as much as I have, you get a sense immediately whether the blood taker is confident or not - they give off an aura of uncertainty that is quite alarming.

I found that when I had to have blood drawn as much as once a day or more, my veins would do the night crawler bit - and make themselves scarce whenever the needle came near.

I could never do heroin.

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What the hell is going on in Arizona??? Madness.

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And I got this in an e mail from my friend Linda Gruen:

Tea Bag Members, sign this purity pledge before socialism
creeps into your life!! My goodness how government has taken over our
lives!!!
To all Tea Party members, I urge you to take the following pledge
before it's too late. Please pass it on to fellow members.

I do solemnly swear to uphold the principles of a socialism-free
society and heretofore pledge my word that I shall
abstain from the use of and participation in any socialist goods and
services including but not limited to the following:

•Social Security
•Medicare/Medicaid
•State Children’s Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP)
•Police, Fire, and Emergency Services
•US Postal Service
•Roads and Highways
•Air Travel (regulated by the socialist FAA)
•The US Railway System
•Public Subways and Metro Systems
•Public Bus and Lightrail Systems
•Rest Areas on Highways
•Sidewalks
•All Government-Funded Local/State Projects
•Public Water and Sewer Services (goodbye socialist toilet, shower,
dishwasher, kitchen sink, outdoor hose!)
•Public and State Universities and Colleges
•Public Primary and Secondary Schools
•Sesame Street
•Publicly Funded Anti-Drug Use Education for Children
•Public Museums
•Libraries
•Public Parks and Beaches
•State and National Parks
•Public Zoos
•Unemployment Insurance
•Municipal Garbage and Recycling Services
•Treatment at Any Hospital or Clinic That Ever Received Funding From
Local, State or Federal Government (pretty much all of them)
•Medical Services and Medications That Were Created or Derived From
Any Government Grant or Research Funding (again, pretty much all of
them)
•Socialist Byproducts of Government Investment Such as Duct Tape and
Velcro (Nazi-NASA Inventions)
•Use of the Internets, email, and networked computers, as the DoD's
ARPANET was the basis for subsequent computer networking
•Foodstuffs, Meats, Produce and Crops That Were Grown With, Fed With,
Raised With or That Contain Inputs From Crops Grown With Government
Subsidies
•Clothing Made from Crops (e.g. cotton) That Were Grown With or That
Contain Inputs From Government Subsidies
If a veteran of the government-run socialist US military, I will
forego my VA benefits and insist on paying for my own medical care
I will not tour socialist government buildings like the Capitol in
Washington, D.C.
I pledge to never take myself, my family, or my children on a tour of
the following types of socialist locations, including but not limited
to:
•Smithsonian Museums such as the Air and Space Museum or Museum of
American History
•The socialist Washington, Lincoln, and Jefferson Monuments
•The government-operated Statue of Liberty
•The Grand Canyon
•The socialist World War II and Vietnam Veterans Memorials
•The government-run socialist-propaganda location known as Arlington
National Cemetery
•All other public-funded socialist sites, whether it be in my state or
in Washington, DC

I will urge my Member of Congress and Senators to forego their
government salary and government-provided healthcare.

>>> I will oppose and condemn the government-funded and therefore
socialist military of the United States of America.

I will boycott the products of socialist defense contractors such as
GE, Lockheed-Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics,
Raytheon, Humana, FedEx, General Motors, Honeywell, and hundreds of
others that are paid by our socialist government to produce goods for
our socialist army.

I will protest socialist security departments such as the Pentagon,
FBI, CIA, Department of Homeland Security, TSA, Department of Justice
and their socialist employees.

Upon reaching eligible retirement age, I will tear up my socialist
Social Security checks.

Upon reaching age 65, I will forego Medicare and pay for my own
private health insurance until I die.


SWORN ON A BIBLE AND SIGNED THIS DAY OF __________ IN THE YEAR ___.
_____________ _________________________
Signed Printed Name/Town and State

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AUGUSTA PROVES TOO WILD, WE RETREAT TO EAU CLAIRE MUSIC SCENE

Tonight's got the makings of a typically good Wisconsin Saturday night: Supper at "The Hungry Hunter" down in Augusta with our friend Judy Willink. We like to get together with Judy at least once a week to catch up on our lives.

I think Judy's bowing out on the after dinner activity. Kim and I will be heading up to Eau Claire and The Red Parrot Music Club (formerly Jimmy Woo's) to catch a set or two of the BFORS - I think that's how it's spelled - anxious to hear Mikey Richson sing and play that wicked guitar of his, and to groove to Tommy Wieseler on keys -

I think I will take the camera along and get a shot of Mr. Richson for this page.

SO I DID TAKE THE CAMERA, as you can see. The evening started out with some giggles. "The Hungry Hunter" cafe in Augusta only stays open until 6PM on saturdays, so we picked Judy up at 5:45 and when we got to the cafe, this is what we found. The entire cafe was empty, the television set at the far end of the restaurant was set on "stun" blasting volume. Then we noticed the black tee shirted gentleman seated at the far end of the booths, fast asleep.
Turns out that after we sit and giggle about the situation for a while, the owner comes out from the back of the restaurant kitchen area to inform us that she will get us menus and wake up the cook.
She wakens sleeping beauty, who is in possession of the TV remote control, he turns down the Tv and slowly makes his way back to the kitchen.

During food prep time we can hear him unintelligibly grousing about something with the owner/waitress. it was a great start to our evening!

After dropping Judy off, we made our way bAck home as the music didn't start until 9 PM.

We arrived at the Red Parrot shortly after the BeFors had launched their first set, As you can see from their banner, they specialize in "oldies" of the mid-sixties on, and Kim and I stayed for two sets before my legs and feet sent me home.

Mike Richson , I could tell, is having the time of his life playing their selected tunes. We heard everything from the Rolling Stones to Bob Dylan to Jimmy Hendricks.

What's nice about this band is that they are careful to choose songs that weren't played to death on radio but still have a familiarity that makes you say: "Oh, yeh! that was a great tune!"

The addition of Tom Wieseler on keyboards adds a lot of depth to their sound also.

If you live in the Eau Claire area, you should really get out to hear the guys!

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HAMMY AND STELLA MAKE OUR LIVES SO MUCH RICHER

I know that I have written before about our two wonderful companions, Hammy and Stella, but here I go again, just because I am so enthralled with them both!

Hammy is our break-and-enter expert. This morning when I went into the bath room I discovered the cupboard door beneath the bath room sink open and a bottle of Kim's shampoo lying on the floor. Hammy again.

The other day he suddenly focused on all the wiring attached to a multi-plug in along side the dresser beneath the bed room television set. He spent most the night trying to get those cables out where he could investigate them further and in the mean time driving me nuts with the sounds of scratching and thumping while I was trying to sleep.

His special project is attempting to remove the panel on the side of the bath tub that houses all the works for the whirl pool jets. We hve finally gotten the panel securely fastened but this does not dissuade him from attempting to remove the panel as he snaps the corners over and over again in hopes of dislodging the entire cover.

Stella has more and more become my little girl friend. When I come home she will follow me about until I take time to lie down with her on the bed and scratch her belly and under her chin.

If I ignore her, she gives me little love bites on the elbow. Lately she has taken to giving me what I call "kitty-kisses" as she actually will start gently licking the hand that I am using to pet her.

And Stella becomes very concerned when I disappear into the sauna for periods of time. she will sit outside and meow and scratch at the door intermittently all the while I am in there.


Both Hammy and Stella remind me of a small baby in the high chair. We have all seen babies push a spoon, or even worse, a glass of juice, off their serving tray just to watch it hit the floor.

This is an ongoing activity with our two newest family members. I have learned not to leave my watch, rings, cell phone, pens, wallet, on anything small enough for them to move with their paws, on my bed room dresser because inevitably in the middle of the night, we will hear the sound of objects hitting the floor - and that's not necessarily good for a watch or cell phone.

As they've grown, they both have become spooked by the sound of arriving automobiles, the propane delivery truck, the garbage man, any foreign sound out that bed room window.

Stella goes into her "squirrel" position, sitting back on her haunches, her front paws extended, staring through the blinds to see what's out there before suddenly making a mad dash for the safety of the basement. The same with Hammy.

But once people are inside the house, they immediately gather around the newcomer to sniff them out. Neither of our cats are shy - they are in fact quite gregarious and like being around people.

When Diane, our cleaning lady comes on wednesdays, Hammy looks forward to the occasion as he gets a chance to raid Diane's bag containing her morning muffin.

He also loves to hitch a free ride on the Swiffer as Diane dusts the wood floors.

Yes, Kim and I are hooked! We love these two more each day and find it difficult to be away from them over night. I wish we had started training them to take long rides in the car with us so that we could take them with us on coms of our over night excursions.

And there truly is something to be said about the wellness people receive just by having loving pets. I know our live are much richer because of our two little friends.

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SPRING IN TREMPEAULEAU COUNTY

Went down and entertained at the Spring gathering of the Trempeauleau County Cooperative. This year it was heldat the Whithall Golf Club and it was a beautiful evening to drive down Highway 53. All the hrdwoods are starting to bud and leaf out in those outstanding light green pastels.

If you are from around these parts you know how really truely awesome the view of the valley is at the high point south of Osseo. It's almost as though you are flying low in a plane as the road travels the crest of the highest of the hills. to really take it in, one should pull off at the overlook right at the crest. Incredible!

It was a fun evening. the cooks had laid out quite an impressive serve yourself dinner with some great Swedish meat balls and fried chicken. And the Coop staff was very helpful with getting the sound system lugged in and out. I am still having a really difficult time of it with my lower legs - to the point of great concern, actually.

tomorrow I am going to have my first session of acupunture and then Kim and I are going out to Gold's Gym to check out the facility and find out if I can be assigned a specific trainer that can help me get my legs back into shape.

That Joanie Mitchell song "Don't Know What you Got Til It's Gone" has been playing in my head as I limp into the grocery store.

I have begun to take advantage of the sauna we have in the basement of the house. It takes a little getting used to, but now I actually look forward to three or four sessions in a day. I find that it loosens up my musculature in the legs and my chiropractor encourages the sauna as a means of shedding toxins.

In fact, that's where i am headed right now.


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MONSTER STURGEON FROM MISSOURI RIVER - 1,000 POUNDS, ELEVEN FEET, ONE INCH

Recently I received this incredible photograph from Dale Drevlow. In the accompanying message, he wrote:

FYI: This sturgeon is still alive, just worn out from the fight.
As the sports fishermen they are, they turned him loose after the photo.

This Sturgeon was caught in the Missouri River, North of Bismarck , North Dakota two weeks ago.
It weighed in at over 1,000 lbs and measured out at 11'1".

It was 56" around the girth and took over 6 and a half hours, and 4 dozen beers, for the 4 guys taking turns at the reeling it in.

Any Sturgeon OVER about five feet has to be released unharmed and cannot be removed from the water.

They are brood / breeding stock and probably older than most of us.

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Sorta makes one want to stay out of the Missouri River, eh?

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What Makes 100%?


What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?


Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? We have all been to those meetings where someone wants you to give over 100%.


How about achieving 103%?


What makes up 100% in life?

Here's a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these questions:

If:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

Then:

H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

and

K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%

But ,

A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

And,

B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T
2+21+12+12+19+8+9+20 = 103%

AND, look how far ass kissing will take you.

A-S-S-K-I-S-S-I-N-G
1+19+19+11+9+19+19+9+14+7 = 118%

So, one can conclude with mathematical certainty, that While Hard work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there, its the Bullshit and Ass Kissing that will put you over the top.


Can I get an "AMEN"?

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PRAYERS FOR PERLA'S HEALTH - PLEASE JOIN ME!

Yesterday I contacted Perla Batalla through Face Book only to find that she has been quite sick with walking pneumonia for several weeks now. I am quite concerned about her as she is not only the greatest female vocalist on my iPod, but one of the nicest human beings on the face of this earth.

So please, if you are reading this, first go to her web site and read about her and then promise me that you will say a little prayer every day for her health as I am.

Perla, sweet Perla. Please get well soon.

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TOO MUCH SUGAR LEAVES ONE BRAIN BLIND

I can't think of a way to go with the blog today. I think I just now figured out why I can't even think of a subject for the day - sitting on my kitchen counter over at the house is a third of a store-frosted, double layer, marble birthday cake, a tin with one half batch of Krispie Bars,and this jar of oatmeal raisin cookies that I swore i would never make again after last week!

My God, I have destroyed my remaining brain cells with sugar! Having three different deserts available is not only disgusting, but I would like to testify right now to the fact that such overindulgence is downright unhealthy. This must never happen again.

I am getting the overall feeling that I am slowly being drawn into the Face Book Web as I now am a bit disappointed that when I check my e mail and there is no announcements from Face Book, I feel a bit down.

I had my first traumatic FB "gotcha" moment yesterday. One of my - what is it 97? no 87 - friends - contested the fact that I took down the photo of me au natural save for the baseball cap and the bathtub which I was using as my profile picture.

I had put up one I liked a lot more - a close up - it's called ego - and my "friend" says she liked the bathtub picture better, and then Kevin kicks in that he likes the bathtub picture better, too - which scares both him and me - so bending to so much intense pressure, I take the time to change my profile photo back to Bath Tub Boy (Bath Tub Boy is Michelle Johnsted's contribution).

I no sooner get Bath Tub Boy up on Profile than I get Jeanne's next retort: "Awwww - we were just playing with you. You didn't have to take it down.

PUNKED ON FACE BOOK!!!

I have to admit that I just checked and she wrote "sorry" - but you can't tell really what that means when you can't hear inflection.

Excuse me while I go over to FB and make up.

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I am back from FB. Also left a message for Perla Batalla on line to see if she will ever be playing within 4 hours of here. Also, I answered Ms Haworth's "sorry" with:

Awww - I was just playing with you. So now we are even - and I can put the other picture up again - the one where I have a realllllly high forehead.

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