Be Careful What You Wish For....

Several years ago, when my children and I were living in Riverdale, the weather was cold and rainy for about two weeks. Hey, it’s pretty much the same as it has been these last two weeks, except we did get snow yesterday!!!!

Anyway, my boyfriend, Sonny, told me that he would cut my lawn after work. Sonny was a cement finisher and no stranger to physical work. The day was overcast, with an unsteady drizzle, like today.

I was in the house doing a chart when I heard the lawnmower start up. I completed the chart and my client left. I went outside to see whether Sonny would like a cup of herbal tea or something to eat. No, he said, he would wait until the lawn was done.
I made lasagne for supper and had a little tomato sauce splashed on my yellow t-shirt. Stacking the dishes in the sink, I put on the kettle for tea. Once the tea was steeped, I poured some into a mug, added a dollop of honey and walked through the kitchen down the steps to the back door. I saw Sonny at the back door and as I opened the door, he said rather quietly “I just cut off my toes.” I stared at him, thinking he was joking. Sonny was quite the teaser. Then Sonny yelled, “Move!” I jumped, startled. He headed around the outside of the house and I raced to the bedroom, grabbed my purse with my wallet and thrust my feet into loafers at the front door. Then I ran down the front steps to Sonny’s car. He was seated on the passenger side.
I always put a white light around me when I drive and I needed to since I had never driven Sonny’s car before. I guess I was taking too long, because Sonny urged me, ‘Hurry up. I thought you liked to drive fast.”
“I don’t know your car,” I responded. Well, the steering wheel was loose and I turned the corner carefully as I slid onto a busy road. I was cautious and Sonny kept telling me to go faster. Sonny gripped the door handle, rocked himself a little and tucked his lips between his teeth as I drove.

The car felt so loose, but we finally arrived at the Royal Alex hospital. I drove right into the emergency entrance where the ambulances parked. Two attendants walked toward the car, one of the men shaking his head, disapprovingly. When they reached the driver’s window, I didn’t give them a chance to talk, and burst out with, “He just cut his toes off.” Both medics hurried around to passenger door, one reached for a folded up wheelchair and Sonny was whisked into the chair. As they pushed Sonny around the car toward the emergency door, I pulled out of the enclosed exit and looked for a parking spot outside.
Once out of the car, I straightened my top with the tomato stain, smoothed my shorts, with a small tear and noticed I had two different shoes on, one white and the other tan. My white shoe had a hole near the big toe. I laughed, shook my head and walked toward the emergency entrance.
The same two medics stood at the entrance, one of them laughed as he stared at my shoes. I laughed and said, ”I’ve got two more at home just like these.”
When I went inside, Sonny was sitting in a wheelchair near the nurses’ desk. He had already been processed and was waiting, gripping the arms of the chair. Sonny asked me to do him a favour, would I check his foot to see how many toes he still had left. I crouched down beside him and peeled back the torn white leather of his right foot. Part of his large toe and the toe beside it were gone. I went to the reception desk and asked the nurses how long we had to wait. About half an hour, maybe more, I was told.
I went back to Sonny who said he really needed something for the pain.

Back to the reception desk, I asked the nurses where I could go to get something for the pain. I was told that Sonny could get nothing until a doctor looked at him. I told Sonny and waited a few minutes. I went back to the nurses and questioned them again about the wait. A nurse separated from the other nurses and came toward me. She said she would try and get him in soon and don’t get any meds, she cautioned.
Within five minutes, the same nurse catches my eye and tells me to follow her. I wheel Sonny into an emergency room. A nurse removes Sonny’s shoe and cleans his foot. I head to the pay phones and begin calling Sonny’s family. As I walk back and forth through the hospital, I see people staring at my mismatched shoes.

Then Sonny is taken to an emergency operating room. I walk around to the head of Sonny’s bed and begin reiking him. A female doctor comes in and unwraps his foot. Sonny makes a joke about the wrong foot being looked at. The doctor stares uncomprehendingly and then Sonny laughs. In walks the orthopaedic surgeon, he checks Sonny’s foot and the female doctor assists. I was still reiking Sonny as his foot was unwrapped and damage was being detailed.
I began to feel really hot and slightly sick. I kept my hands on Sonny’s head, concentrating on attempting to make Sonny feel better. The next thing I remember, I was on the floor and the woman doctor was asking if I was okay. Sonny was howling with laughter. Apparently, I passed out, slid down and caught my neck on the crossbars of the bed. The orthopaedic surgeon told the female doctor that I had fainted, she didn’t move because she thought we were joking again. By the time this woman got to me I was gurgling and gagging from lack of air. She put me on the floor. When I came to all I said was, “I never fainted before.”
“You did now,” stated the doctor.
Sonny said he felt my hands slide and heard me gagging. He said he never felt any pain for the whole time because he was laughing so hard. I hit a bunch of bed pans as I went down and was stuck under the bed. Sonny said the woman doctor was funny to watch as she struggled to stay where she was. She could not believe I had actually fainted.

Sonny’s toes were fixed. He came back to my house for a few days where I monitored his meds and took him for check-ups. One of my daughters told Sonny that she went into the backyard to look for his toes and could not find them.

Sonny used to complain about his toes, he always thought they were too long. After his accident and lots of discussions, Sonny began to croon to his existing toes. “I love you babies.” Be careful what you don’t like, throw enough negative energy at something and your wish will come true. It’s better to be grateful!!

I went out and bought a push mower. My oldest, at home was a teenager and since my children were young, I wanted them safe. Push mowers require a lot more energy and I am usually sweating and hot by the time I finish mowing even when the weather is cool, like today.

Rodeo

Early Sunday morning I got a call from Faron, a friend of mine. He was a little worried because he could not contact his son Mark for a ride. Faron’s truck limped into town Saturday night from Rocky Mountain House. Apparently some bearings went on the truck. Anyway, Faron needed a ride to get to Caroline, Alberta because he was riding in the rodeo.

I picked Faron up. He was wearing his jeans, boots, shirt, jean jacket and a cowboy hat. It was overcast and chilly in Edmonton when we left. Faron told me that there are a lot of young teens living on the reserve near Rocky Mountain House who were getting into trouble, so Faron began to teach them about rodeo riding. A few of those teens were also riding in the rodeo.

It took about two hours to drive from Edmonton to a dirt road, in the middle of open fields and trees, trees, everywhere. We were in wild west country. A large field held rickety looking stands with a large fenced corral in the middle. There were trucks and cars around the stands. A small concession stand sent out smells of hot dogs, hamburgers and French fries. A beer tent with a fenced off area at the end of the stands was filled with men and women wearing cowboy hats, talking, smoking and drinking beer. They could still watch all the activities.

I settled myself in the stands while Faron headed over to where all the riders were. More fences near the grandstand held the announcers and penned bulls, horses and sheep. Small children between the ages of 3-5 years of age came out wearing hockey helmets riding large woolly sheep. The tot’s small fingers clutched the wool on the big sheep. A man ran beside each child as the child came out of the gate. As soon as the child began to slide off (because the sheep ran as soon as the pen released them), the man would grab the child and help him or her back to a safe area. Everyone was laughing.

There was barrel racing, women and then young girls hanging on to the horses and racing around barrels, attempting to clear the barrels without knocking them down. Meanwhile, in the stands, people are talking, laughing and eating. The sun came out for a short time and my layered clothing felt too hot. Once the clouds took over and the sun was only peaking through, it was cool.

I watched calf roping. Two riders came out racing after a large calf. One rider would rope the calf’s head, while the other rider attempted to rope the two back feet of the poor calf. The first competing pair was a husband and wife team. The wife missed roping the calf’s back feet and the announcer said that’s why couples don’t usually compete in this because the ride home is too long. Each successive pair either missed the back feet completely or only caught one. This was hard, I could see that.

Another calf event which seemed crazy as well was this: A rider bolted out of the gate chasing down a large calf. The rider threw himself from his horse at the right time and grabbed the calf’s head and attempted to flip the calf on his back in record time.

Bareback riding began. Each rider came out with a glove. The gloved hand gripped the reins while the other one found itself flailing in the air. The horses bucked and jumped to throw each rider. Eight seconds is a long time when the ride is rough. It was Faron’s turn. He gave his glove to one of the other riders and came out on his wild bucking horse. Faron was thrown and hit the ground motionless. The other cowboys came racing over. A medic ran over to the still body. A few minutes later, the crowd cleared, as Faron was lifted on to a stretcher, he raised his arms. The crowd cheered and Faron was carried away.

I made my way from the stands to where all the cowboys were milling around. The fenced in area kept me out, so I waited and watched the rest of the bucking horse rides. A woman, Flora came shooting out of the pen, hanging on with one hand. Flora was thrown and rolled in a summersault, then jumped to her feet. She was much older than I thought. I turned to someone standing near and said that Flora must be about 40 years of age. The woman looked at me and said, ”She’s closer to fifty. You know, her brothers were all riders too.”
I walked over to the office where all the trophies were displayed and asked about Faron. The women there all told me that Faron was an old rodeo rider and these riders were tough. These riders are the last of the daredevils. Who made up this game?
I watched some of the bull riders. Again they could only use one hand and needed to ride for eight seconds. The two guardians on horses would ride close to the bull, the bull rider grabbed onto a horseman and slide himself down on the other side of the horse. The bull rider had to put distance between him self and the bull. The bull often would go after the rider even after the rider had left his back. I saw a successful, young bull rider throw himself over the corral fence as the bull raced toward him.
These guys are really athletic. They make everything look smooth.

There were little chuck wagon races. Teams of small Shetland ponies pulled a wagon and driver round and round the corral. Then I spotted Faron, he looked sheepish. The teenagers that he mentored had won money and placed well. I met a bunch of riders. They all said that the horses had really been wild and difficult. Usually after the second buck (if you can stay on) the ride is easier. Faron admitted that the horse had seemed quite docile and he never talked to it which he always does. He said that it was the rankest horse he had ever ridden. Faron had done a rodeo a few weeks ago and won prize money. He has a few more rodeos to go and said he will never make the same mistake again of underestimating a horse.

I told Faron to call me with his new dates. Sunday, after Faron was knocked out, I went back to my car to check my ephemeris. I saw that Sunday was one of the worst dates for Faron for success. I did tell him after about it. If I had looked before he rode, I would not have told Faron not to go, his money had been paid, I would have urged caution.

We drove back to Edmonton with a full car and lots of rodeo talk from the other occupants. At the end of the day, my face was red, I guess I did get some sun.

Eat well to live well

Isn’t it about time that we eat food the way it was intended? We have been living in a testing ground for chemicals. The food in the grocery stores has been grown with chemicals and so much of the food that is boxed is full of chemicals. When picking up a box of cereal, cookies, crackers, even chips, look for the ingredient list.

If you can’t read the words without stumbling over them, don’t buy the food. Forget the sodium percentage or fat content, try to read what else is put in the food. Hydrogenated oils are trans fats and are not good for you, don’t but them. When I was doing food tasting, sometimes my instructions were to buy hydrogenated margarine and cook the food samples in said margarine. I would buy butter instead and cook the fish or whatever in butter.

One night, I was watching W5 and the story was about Basa fillets (fish). Basa seems to come primarily from Asia where the fish is farmed. Farmed fish are prone to parasites, so a heavy chemical called malachite green is used to keep the parasites under control. The problem is that we end up eating the chemical which stays in the fish. I called up the company I worked for and said that I would not serve that fish ever. Safeway was hosting the Tasting of Basa in a couple of days. Apparently someone from Safeway saw the W5 story and the Basa taste testing was cancelled. Basa fillets are still sold in all the grocery stores, nothing was ever really done to make the fish safe for consumers.

As long as the food manufacturers are making a lot of money, there is little concern or care for those consumers. In Europe, chemicals are taken out of the food because the European consumers know healthy food has no chemicals.

I read a really fascinating book called, ‘The Secret Life of Plants’. That book convinced me that plants have a special energy that can keep us in tip top shape providing the plants are not grown with chemicals. Nutrients and minerals are sadly lacking when the plants are grown using artificial fertilizers and chemicals.

Ever hear of Max Gerson? He grew up in Germany and noticed that farmers fields which used no chemicals had a lot of activity. The worms would move the soil around, turn the soil, so to speak. The farmers who used chemicals in their fields to induce growth, lacked worms; the worms would crawl out of those chemically infested fields! Max Gerson discovered that the soil lacked the nutrients needed to grow healthy food.
So Max became a doctor and he placed his sick patients on organically grown food. All his patients began to get better. He gained quite a reputation. Now Max was living in Germany during the 1920’s and 1930’s. Hitler caught wind of this fine doctor and began to follow Max’s suggestions. Hitler’s crew came on board and began to eat natural, organic food. However, I guess Hitler did not want the world to be healthy and Max’s family was rounded up and exterminated. Max escaped and ended up in the U.S.

Max continued his fine work in New York city, but came under scrutiny of the New York medical board. Many of his patients testified how disease--free they became upon following doctor’s orders. When Max attempted to open his own hospital, he was told that the only recognized treatment for cancer and other ills was radiation and chemotherapy. He was barred from opening his healthy alternative. So he opened one in Mexico.

Do you see how we have been blocked from being healthy? Drugs are so promoted and placed in our food. Thankfully there are alternative solutions. We must return to eat food that our grandparents grew. There are still many farms which grow chemically free food, but not organically certified. However, there are still a lot that believe the lies that the chemicals sprayed on the fields do not affect the consumer. Check out the farmers growing food with chemicals. How healthy are they? Many of them have gotten sick with all kinds of health problems. Hmmmm! These farmers are getting the freshest food available. They should really be the picture of health.

I have a cousin up in the Peace country (north of Edmonton) who raises organic Bison. He has a thousand acres and the Bison roam and eat. He grows his own winter grasses for his herd. My cousin told me that most of the farmers around him use lots of chemicals on their fields. He said there is a lot of hostility to the farmers (like him) who have pesticide free fields. Why would the chemical farmers resent anyone not using chemicals? I don’t get it.

How would you like to watch a great expose of the food industry, from cattle lots to processed food? Then go out and rent ‘Food Inc’. My granddaughter and I saw this movie/documentary last summer. Although she was only eight years old at the time, Holly has become very aware of what is healthy to eat and what is not.

By the way, if you do decide to eat organic, please don’t microwave your food. The microwave zaps about 98% of all nutrients, so you might feel full but you will still be hungry. Digestive enzymes so necessary are missing as well. The radiation used to heat you food will find its way to your pancreas, not a good thing. Have you noticed more people suffering from pancreatic cancer?

What I do a few times a week is juice. I used to juice with fruits and vegetables all the time. Now that I have gone organic, I have noticed a difference.
Organic fruits and vegetables fill me up. Regular fruits and vegetables (usually I use 5 or 6 different kinds) made better tasting juices than store bought juices. However, organic juices fill me up for a couple of hours. I never had that feeling of fullness prior to drinking organic.

I heard a doctor mention (on Oprah) that if food prices are going down, usually health care costs (medication etc.) go up. He said shouldn’t we pay more for food and less for health care. If we eat good, healthy food, we may not need all those expensive medications. When I worked in all those group homes, I talked to so many of the residents about their diets, past and present. I never ran across anyone who ate healthy who was sick!!

In the seventies, I attended The University of Guelph. Guelph has a veterinary college at the university. In the lone Genetics course I took, the professor discussed antibiotics in all the cattle feed. We had a tour of the animal facilities and further discussion revealed the feed also contained other animals. Cows are vegetarians, why would this happen? Part of the feed also contained growth hormones, to make the cows gain weight. Guess what happens when humans eat such tainted meat? They get the growth hormones in their systems.

Is it any wonder that there are serious weight issues in North America?


I was always getting asked about my ability to stay healthy and to look good. I was asked these questions by people around my age who were literally falling apart. The more chemicals they took into their system, the more health issues they had. It seems simple to me. Eat well to live well.