101 Years Old

This is my Uncle Walter with me at his 100th birthday party Sept. 29, 2008. He lives in Iowa and is in reasonable health, and most especially his mind still functions quite well. I think it's his life-long good nature that has caused him to enjoy his long life. A month ago he celebrated becoming 101 with a "Come and Go" Coffee in his home. He still lives alone but has a nearby son and daughter-in-law who look after him.

Here's a short story that I wrote earlier this year for a website that publishes stories that are exactly 55 words long:

My Uncle Walter has always loved to joke. He celebrated his 100^th birthday last September, and the community gathered to honor him. His doctor, a guest, asked him, “Walter, what did you do during your life that you lived to be 100?”

“Well, Doc,” said my uncle, “I didn’t take all those pills you prescribed.”

Now here's another short story that was sent to me as "Happy Tales":

While I sat in the reception area of my doctor's office, a woman rolled an elderly man in a wheelchair into the room. As she went to the receptionist's desk, the man sat there, alone and silent. Just as I was thinking I should make small talk with him, a little boy slipped off his mother's lap and walked over to the wheelchair. Placing his hand on the man's, he said, "I know how you feel. My mom makes me ride in the stroller too!"

The Old Crone

Old Crones and Coots

Twinkle in Your Wrinkle

I don't recall where I got the above picture, but I like it so I thought I'd share it with you.

I would also like to share some info from a website that I have found very valuable http://www.fact.com. It exposes rumors and sets right political claims. Here's what I found useful for all of us:

Inoculation Misinformation

Claims that the "swine flu" vaccine is dangerous range from seriously overblown to flat-out false.

October 19, 2009

Summary

Wild rumors are flying about the newly developed vaccine for pandemic influenza H1N1, also known as "swine flu." We’ve seen e-mails stating that the vaccine is tainted with antifreeze or Agent Orange, causes Gulf War syndrome, or has killed U.S. Navy sailors. One says the vaccine is an "evil depopulation scheme." The claims are nearly pure bunk, with only trace amounts of fact.

If you are the sort who trusts anonymous e-mails more than you do doctors and experts from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, you may wish to stop reading now. For others, here are the facts as stated by the best authorities we can find:

• The vaccine does have some risks – the same risks as the seasonal flu vaccine. Except for the virus, it is functionally identical to the vaccine that’s given every year.
• The multidose formulation of the vaccine contains thimerosal, which prevents contamination. Some have accused thimerosal of causing developmental disorders in children, but scientific evidence doesn’t support this.
• The vaccine does not contain squalene, which has been accused – also without good evidence – of causing Gulf War syndrome.
• There’s no reason to believe that a vaccination would cause Guillain-Barre syndrome. GBS was associated with several hundred flu vaccinations in 1976, but there’s been no evidence of an association since then, despite close monitoring.
• While it’s true that a Navy vessel was prevented from deploying because of a flu outbreak, that had nothing to do with the vaccine, which hadn’t been developed at the time. And there were no deaths aboard the ship, as some e-mails claim.
• Vaccination is not mandatory for the public nationally or in any state, although New York requires that health care providers get vaccinated. Massachusetts legislation granting standby powers in case of health emergencies does not require vaccination or establish quarantine "camps."

Note: This is a summary only. The full article with analysis, images and citations may be viewed on our Web site http://www.fact.com

Old Crones and Coots

Autumn Color and The Flu Season Are Finally Here

Along with Autumn colors, the flu comes with it! Our Appalachian mountains are having a drab Fall and just today, very late in the season, the colors can be described as barely "vibrant."

The Old Coot and I both have gotten our flu shots and checked to see that our pneumonia shots are current. We are waiting, not so patiently, to receive the H1N1 inoculation. This coming week I will be calling the Public Health Dept. and Walgreen's to check if they've received the vaccine yet.

In the meantime, we wash our hands often and I bought an aerosol room spray called Neutra Air made by Lysol which is supposed to kill bacteria in the air and on counters, etc. We are taking extra precaution because of The Old Coot's lowered immune system which makes him vulnerable to any lung infection.

My former daughter-in-law (and still my good friend) forwarded an e-mail she had received that I think is full of good common sense. I'm sharing it with you:

The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible to avoid coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is. While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, not fully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced (instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu): 1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications). 2. "Hands-off-the-face" approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat, bathe or slap).. 3. *Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't trust salt). *H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method. 4. Similar to 3 above, *clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. *Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Sutra Neti (very good Yoga asanas to clean nasal cavities), but *blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.* 5. *Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (Amla and other citrus fruits). *If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption. 6. *Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can. *Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.

The above was written by

Dr. Vinay Goyal is an MBBS,DRM,DNB (Intensivist and Thyroid specialist) having clinical experience of over 20 years. He has worked in institutions like Hinduja Hospital , Bombay Hospital , Saifee Hospital , Tata Memorial etc.. Presently, he is heading our Nuclear Medicine Department and Thyroid clinic at Riddhivinayak Cardiac and Critical Centre, Malad (W).

(signed) The Old Crone

Old Crones and Coots

Red Hats

Here I am telling stories at the Border Belles chapter of the local Red Hats luncheon club. I joined Red Hats at the invitation of a new friend, and now she has stopped going to lunches so I have no relationship with anyone there outside of those luncheons. One of our storytelling members belongs but she has had multiple surgeries, so she is absent more than present. So I always feel like a newcomer.

Old Crones and Coots

Nothin' Says Lovin' Like Somethin' From the Coven

I can't believe that I've neglected this Blog since mid-summer!!! I apologize. My only excuses, weak as they are, are that I didn't have enough photos to keep posting, especially about the subject matter of this Blog, and that I joined Facebook.

For the rest of the summer I became obsessed with Facebook. But ultimately, I found it to be a little awkward to navigate, a little sillier than I wanted to be, and a time sucker. That's right, I said time sucker!

So I decided to control my urge to send hugs to people and to post the minutiae of my daily life, because frankly my daily doings are not all that interesting. I still log on a couple times a week just to check what my family members are talking about.

I'm taking care of the photo problem by using photos from my design collection. I did join a fun group on Facebook: What My Digital Camera Saw Today, in which you post photos that you've taken in the last 24 hours.

The picture of the witches I chose with this post was stimulated by just having finished reading THE WIDOWS OF EASTWICK by John Updike.

I've had many ideas for posts for this Blog, but they have escaped me now. So I'm starting to carry a notebook so I can write stuff down. The only problem is where do I carry it if I don't have a pocket? Maybe I can sew some aprons!!!

Old Crones and Coots