Riveroflifelisajoy’s Weblog
Just another WordPress.com weblogArchive for December, 2007
My Weight Problem and How it will Affect the Year 2008 Resolution!!
Let me start this off right! I am about 265 pounds. I go up and I go down. I stay within the range of 250 to 265 at all times. Right now my stomach is my worse attribute. I gave birth over 14 years ago—ONE Time! I had only one pregnancy in my entire life. (I laugh at that because my huge gut….people always say…”You have a couple of kids…Right?” I always tell them no! But would you believe that there is always someone who will persist and continue to tell me that I have more than one child? I look at them like he/or she is crazy! I mean, really, could I have been knocked out at some point, and given birth and do not remember it? And where is the child with the social security number to go along with it? —Any way lets get back to my weight problem) I was a “full figured” nine year old when I developed my “period”.
I was an active semi-tom boy as a young lady. I loved sports….I was not the best, but I participated as much as possible.
I was on a softball team while in junior high school. I did gymnastics—which I loved to a certain extent.
I could not do the uneven bars because of an inner ear problem. I could not swing myself up onto the bars without losing my perspective and balance.
I would swing throw my legs up and then I would subsequentcially fall because I would have the horrifying giddy sensation in the pit of my stomach and my head would feel light, and my brain would release such powerful shots of “seemingly electrical volts down my spine.”
I would loosen my grip on the uneven bar and find myself recuperating on the floor mat.
That would happen to me atleast 5 times out of 10 tries on the uneven bars in gymnastics class. I stuck more to the balance beam, and the floor routines.
I had the same problem of inner ear confusion but I would be able to prolong that reaction by doing other parts to the gymnastic routine by skipping etc. Once I did a walkover (head over heel and vice versa) and I fell and banged the side bone of my left big toe. I had to go to the doctor.
Nothing was broken —but again that came from that “stupid”–weakness in my inner ear that affects balance. I also loved Karate! I had fallen in love with Bruce Lee and the Martial Arts movies he made. So my parents enrolled me into the Jerome Mackey School of Martial Arts! I took judo until I received another injury from my inner ear issue. My sparing partner had tossed me over her head in a move that I was not familiar with.
I lost my balance and slid across the canvas mat and busted my lower lip. My head throbbed for days and I felt dizzy. I stopped judo. I took up karate and I liked it better than judo.
Only exception was I did not like to spar! I am such a baby! I rode my bike, and played with the neighborhood kids. I had a pretty good weight.
Remember, I am 47 years old and I am not of the video game generation. I played with my Barbie dolls and entertained myself by watching the BRADY BUNCH, I LOVE LUCY, HERE’S LUCY, LOST IN SPACE, THE BEGINNING EPISODES OF STAR TREK, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, FLINTSTONES, HONEY MOONERS etc.
So basically I was an active kid when my favorite television programs were not on.
So how did I go from a size 13/14 to a WHOPPING size 22/24?
Where did everything go wrong? I grew up with a 1/2 acre of back yard, I played hard with my cats and dogs, and ran up and down the peaceful neighborhood street with my neighborhood friends.
We played games on the stoop, and played hopscotch, hide-and- go-seek etc. I was not fat at all. As I got older, men and young boys would ogle over my tiny waist and full hips and body. So why do I look like a big ole’ sack o’ potatoes right now?
Genetic Predisposition Maybe? But my mother never looked as bad as I do right now! I know, I know….don’t put myself down right? Well, it just gets me a bit frustrated and hurts my feelings abit.
I want to where cute outfits and bright cheery colors. Yes, I am aware of the Avenue, Ashley Steward, Lane Bryant Stores and Plus size areas in Macy’s etc., But it does not matter. Big is still big. They do not match the designs that I could see myself wearing!
For example, look at Victoria Secret Stores. I cannot buy anything in that store unless it is perfume.
They do not make bras for sale at the UGLY over grown size of 42DD!
They make things in the 38CC or D category….but my size seems over the top for them!
That is why I only venture in and make a BEE LINE for the lotions and perfumes only.
I make my purchase and then walk hastily out of the store….so that the skinny ladies who can fit into those great designer bras and panties don’t give me that “ARE YOU KIDDING–ONCE OVER WITH THEIR JUDGEMENTAL EYES”!
So getting back to my weight. I am tired of being sick and tired. I do not care what Monique from the “PARKERS” AND PHAT Girls (famed plus sized commedian)says about being plus sized!
FAT, OR PHAT IS NOT CUTE! —What I am referring to is myself. I have met and still do know personally some very phsically beautiful people who happend to be plus sized.
I just want people to realize that I am aware that plus size body does not make a plus size heart.
So when you feel stressed at work….does your heart beat in that “fight or flight mode because you may not agree with your co-worker over a given topic.
So for the entertainment reason…yes plus size is good….but for those of us who run a household it is not easy to pick up babies, and cook and clean daily….it becomes a hardship when weight turns simple tasks difficult.
My jellyroll of a stomach, and thick stubby legs that make me trip over side walk cracks–is not appealing. —Honestly, I fit my clothes better when I was size 13/14! I had a flat….a real flat stomach back then. I could do sit ups and push ups and even stretch.
I did Yoga every night back then. So what has happened you ask? Well when I met my husband at age 27 I was still in good shape. Great shape from what he had told me back then. We met at Queens College while we both attended.
He was assisting the teacher in swimming class. I was a student. I was very shy, I kept my towel rapped around my waist until it was time to get into the water of the olympic sized pool.
I was so embarressed naturally. Ugh….my husband told me that my body was great….that he would wait for me to take my towel off. Well any way the rest is history. We got married, and issues arose, ensued and he became castastrophically sick and all I have to show of my love for him is my beautiful ONE child who is currently 14 years old.
I have heard and have read that STRESS can make you fat! Have you heard that one yet?! Well, after what I went through in loosing my husband….I should weigh in at about 700 pounds I figure!
But really I do not eat as much as what people think about fat people. I actually have stomach pain most of the time.
I do not eat breakfast, because I get this bad reaction where I have pain with the first food that hits my stomach….then in a 1/2 hour I feel extremely sleepy….my arms feel heavy and I have to keep putting water on my face, and sometimes I have to even just go sit in a restroom stall at work to keep from passing out! So I do not eat breakfast…it creates a problem.
I checked with my doctors who have no explanation for this syndrome. So I continue not to eat breakfast. I see everybody else around me —you know the healthy weight people eating breakfast, sharing food and having a good time about it.
I eat lunch between 11:00 and 1:30. I then have dinner at home. I do not buy junk food. I do my cooking…but I do not fry anything excep hamburger and some fish.
I make broiled salmon, and some other fish broiled. I tend to eat late at night…which is a BIG NO, NO! I am usually working over time.
Sometimes, I work 12 to 14 hours a day! When I get home I am too tired to cook. I get up very early *4 AM and I may leave work at 1pm.
I am so tired that I cook and go to bed immediately. So yes I know what you are thinking….I must get a better schedule right?
However, I need my job. My kid has medical problems and I cannot quit my job–it has decent health coverage.
With all my issues to the side for a minute ….I have contemplated the surgery. I am afraid of that type of hard action. Although I might sound like a good candidate.
I do have high blood pressure….which may not be a good reaction to stomach stapling or placing the “ring” on my stomach either. I believer I will go out and purchase the sweat pants and shirt and just start walking again.
I MUST START WALKING TO BEGIN TO LOOSE WEIGHT!
I will use that as a option because I started to loose weight over the summer when I was walking ten blocks to catch the bus to work when my car was in the shop for an entire month.
After I got over the actual 2 weeks of pain in my calves etc. I began to notice a difference. Not a big difference….but a difference nonetheless!
So that is my NEW YEARS RESOLUTION!!!!!******I RIVEROFLIFELISAJOY—WILL COMMITT AS MUCH THOUGHT AND TIME TO ((((((WALKING))))))) AS I DO TO THIS BLOG. I will attempt to walk atleast 1 hour everyday….or better yet I will start walking 15 minutes, for a week, and then increase it the next week. I have to start slow….I have a heart to consider today.
So what about you? Are you going to take and make a difference in your own life for the coming year? Do you need to loose weight like …or do you need to accomplish some other goal? “ROME WAS NOT BUILT IN A DAY!” (UNKNOWN AUTHOR)
Sit down and truly think about your goals for the year 2008! Plan it , structure it, and tell your family and friends so that they will help you get your act to gether.
I have told my 14 year old to help Mommy to loose weight. I asked him to walk with me for the first week of my walk and lose weight campaign!
As you can see, by this blog you who need to loose some weight—start slow….You did not gain weight over night….and you will not lose weight over night….atleast healthy weight loss saves lives!
Take your time, TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR AND TELL HIM YOUR GOALS FOR YOURSELF FOR 2008!!! Take it slow and follow doctors orders. Becareful with the weight loss surgery.
Till next blog…in which I will talk about two people I know who had the two mentioned medical techniques I described earlier.
Riveroflifelisajoy!
My New Year’s Resolution–It’s Gonna Be Great In 2008!!!
No matter what…I will resolve
to improve my status in life!
I want to go in the direction of
Peace with my fellow man
I want to develop a clear and
concise plan
I will move in the direction of harmony with
all. But will not give up my self-respect
Because if I do, I have wasted this long, long up hill
trek.
Will you take my hand,
My fellow man?
Can we together rise,
up toward the heavenly skies to
bring down the fighting across the
globe?
Can we bring down the pain and suffering
in the lives of men, women, and children?
Can we find ways to stay the course, and
not have to live out our lives full of
remorse? From good deeds left undone,
from victories left not won?
Can you search deep within, and see the one true love
of mankind that will give us the answer
and the goal that is about to unfold in the
coming year?
Does every year new have to begin with
Tears?
Can we shout in victory together, all man kind
of every race, creed and religion?
All of mankind of all lifestyles, and traditions
Can we this year….of 2008 be ready, be real,
and prepared to be GREAT?
What say you, my fellowman kind and womankind–Are we up for the challenge to participate in the year 2008!
Come forward, and do not fear, the end of the 2007 is drawing to an end.
I hope you will take the challenge and assist this beautiful world on which we reside to come to a mend and heal from deep inside.
You do not have to believe in the same God as I do.
Just place your foot, within your shoe and take just
one step forward.
Take another step forward toward your destiny.
There is a purpose for all of us on this globe called earth!
Do not be afraid to see your value, see your worth!
I will pray for you. I will pray for myself…
I will pray that the Almighty God above reveal his love to one and all! That you, your friends, and family and I will
receive joy, peace and prosperity in the coming year 2008!
Just do not forget to open the gate for the poor, the down trodden, the sick, and the weak.—
For those who have received much….much is required back to assist those who are yet on the road as pilgrims seeking salvation and peace.
May the God of all—The Alpha and Omega
the Beginning and the End —give you all that you need to succeed in 2008!
I resolve to be a help and not a hinderance on that road toward our goals of man-kinds success!
Till next blog
RIVEROFLIFELISAJOY!
December 26,–Medical Emergency possibly due to the Video Game System! Oh, Why this Now?
My son Daniel was talking to his grandmother in her room. I was making her something to eat. Her room is right behind the kitchen.
She said, “Come here, Come here, ” in a too calm voice. “Come and get him, he does not look well.”
I had that chaotic, shaky, feeling in my gut again. The same if not worse from last weekend when Daniel got “sick” in his sleep at 5:00 am.
Now it was only about 9pm the day after Christmas and I saw him standing and holding his head.
I rushed to his side and he grabbed hold of my arm. I steadied him and then I could do nothing but get him to the wall where he could lean.
I tried to make him lay on my mother’s bed but he could not move his legs.
He is taller than me ….so I had to be careful that he not fall and hit his head.
My mother could see his face….she said…Ha, oh…watch out….he is going to throw up! He threw up all over the floor in my mothers room.
He closed his eyes and lay limp on my shoulder like a wet rag….I could pick up his arms and there appeared to be no resistance or strength. I could hear gurgling in his throat.
I held his head back and I started talking to him. Daniel, Daniel…do you hear Mommy?
I thought that he would start shaking or something….but then I heard the gurgling again and he threw up again. He had just eaten a broiled chicken sandwich.
I was cooking sweet potatoes with sugar and cinnamon on the stove. But right now I hoped it was not burning because I could not move.
My mother was asking me if I wanted to put him on the chair. I said no….it was a wooden kitchen chair. He needed a secure chair.
The dining room and living-room where he had set up “camp” under the Christmas Tree with all of his gifts—especially the Ninetendo WII were in the living room.
That is what he had been doing for about 2 hours before this episode. He had gone food shopping with me.
We had really gone out to go get his replacement Legend of Zelda Game for the WII because the one he had gotten for Christmas was defective.
That was all he could think about for the whole day of Christmas. So for him…Christmas had really only started two hours ago once he started playing the replacement no defect Legend of Zelda game.
So what went wrong NOW???!!!!! Why was I standing trapped here in my mother’s room…unable to get to the telephone AGAIN???!!!
and — holding my son up against the wall while he was throwing up over my shoulder?
His arms limp as two dish rags; he was not talking… just weak, and vomiting and spitting!
My mother, with all of her age of 78 had worked in Creedmoor Hospital back in the 1960’s as a attendant….was calm and just asking what she could do to help.
She can not walk…due to arthritis. I started praying and talking to my son. I sang a hym.
I prayed (and) recited Psalm 23 and waited for him to come back to me and my mother. My son Daniel spit and threw up again.
Finally I felt some life come back into his body. Funny though, his heart was pounding, and pounding.
It was a good strong beat!
I talked to him continously and asked him his name, and then he began to talk words…but the words did not make any sense. He knew his name, but when I asked him how old he was he spelled his last name instead.
I walked him to the living room and had him to lay down. He saw me reach for the telephone and then he began to tell me to “Wait, a–wait don’t do that—wait!
He does not want to go to the hospital…I told him I have to call for help—he got visibly upset. He kept looking at the video game he had left on just before he became “sick.”
By the time the EMS arrived he was talking regular and making sense.
They, the EMS techs explained that the video games and even the computer have 60 shots of light every few seconds and that is why he is getting sick.
They checked his blood pressure and other vitals. He seemed fine. But looked over tired (they said from playing those games.)
They got clearance for him to see his doctor today and not have to go to the hospital….but with a promise from him to put away the video games and go directly to bed….eat something, drink something but go to sleep immediately!
UGH! Lord, help my kid and help all other parents going through this nightmare.
My kid was in private school all his life. I sacrificed my pension to nine years of private school education.
Now he is in a college board highschool with only 300 kids. He loves it!
My son ranks 44 in a thousand kids from the Youth and Tennis of SoutEast Queens. He just played tennis on Friday, Saturday and Sunday! If you saw him he does not look sick…He is quite athletic….
I am a poor woman…..I can barely put food on the table.
I pray that my son’s health improves.
I hope it is only the video game systems and the 60 shots of light and nothing else.
He is only 14 and has not yet lived his life.
I hope this blog gives inspiration to others out there who may be experiencing the same thing.
I am going to get in touch with a Shakley Food Supplement distributor. My mother gave them to me because of different medical problems when I was just graduating highschool and starting college.
They really helped. I had lost track of that food supplement company….but I will actively seek them out now.
This is not an advertisement….it is my personal opinion. I will not give my son anything UNTIL I TALK TO HIS DOCTOR. —-PLEASE BLOGGERS….DO NOT TAKE ANY TYPE OF VITAMIN OR FOOD SUPPLEMENT UNTIL YOU CONSULT YOUR DOCTOR. I WILL BE TALKING TO MY SON’S DOCTOR TO DAY ABOUT VITAMINS AND FOOD SUPPLIMENTS…..YOU MUST ALWAYS CONSULT, CONSULT, CONSULT AND GET SECOND AND THIRD AND FOURTH OPINIONS ABOUT YOUR MEDICAL HEALTH AND NEEDS!!!!!!
Because I know my son is a picky eater…and he does expend alot of energy to play tennis and do school work.
He also is putting alot of energy into the video games. All though the kids appear to be couch potatoes…they are expending energy into concentration.
That is where the danger appears to lay with the 60 points of light flashing into the eyes and affecting the brain.
What to do what to do? My kid appears to be hooked to the games. But guess what?
The male EMS Tech guy said that he is hooked to the games too!
Lord save us ALL!!!!
Watch your child and the video games please….. !!!!!!
Take care….till next blog…..
RIVEROFLIFELISAJOY
5:00 in the Morning during A Snow Storm Medical Emergency just before the Holidays!
I sleep on the kitchen floor. I sleep on a mat with pillows, and a blanket on the kitchen floor. I am watching over my mother at night while she sleeps on her ten inch thick mattress from Sealy Posterpedic.
She had a stroke some years ago. But my concern is regarding her arthritis and waking up and needing assistance. I have a ten inch thick mattress too. But it is upstairs in my bedroom. So I sleep down stairs for the sake of my mother in case she needs me.
But one night recently I awoke with a start! I heard a screach, or scream or some sort of ungodly howl that sent shivers up and down my spine. You see, I sleep very light because I am the watchman in the night for my family. I used to have dogs, and the watching was their job…but I can not have pets anymore….so my sleep is very, very, very light.
I heard that screach and howl and I somehow flew to my feet and ran into the dinning room and found my child on the floor shaking and jerking. Daniel! Daniel! Mommy’s here! Daniel! Daniel! Mommy is here!
I tried to turn him on his side but he was very stiff. His eyes were wide open, but turned to the side and beet red. He did not hear me. I wanted to call for help. My mother heard the uproar and asked what was happening!
I told her that Daniel was having a seizure. It appeared that he was on the computer and was possibly sitting up in the dinning room chair and had fallen off the chair to the floor. He missed hitting the computer, and the china cabinet thank God.
This was a bad one. I was shaking internally, and I wanted to call 911. I was counting the minutes of how long this seizure was lasting. and praying that it would not go into stasis. (a non stop seizure which can be life threatening).
I watched him and prayed that this evil internal assault on my child of 14 years old would soon stop. It did. He closed his eyes and I ran up stairs to get the phone line adjusted.
You see I can not afford the expensive computer set up for the Internet like other people. I have the AOL phone jack. My son appeared to have been on the computer Internet and so I had to put the phone back on.
His bedroom has the phone jack in it so I had to go into his darkened room to fix the telephone line. The light bulb needed to be replaced in the ceiling. I had told him to replace the bulb the other day and he did not do it to my dismay!
I could not get the phone to work once I had fumbled around in the dark. I ran back down stairs and then banged on my landlords door. She came up and gave me her cell phone. I dialed 911! My son opened his eyes and sat up on the dining room chair and put his head in his hands.
I ran to the kitchen and dragged my mat, blanket and pillow to the dining room. I commanded my son to lay down and rest. He looked at me in a clueless way but listened to me.
He lay down. I continued to talk to him and he went into a sleep. I had to run to the restroom. I had been feeling sick myself but from more regular reasons, PMS. Ugh! Why does everything go wrong at the wrong time?
I wanted to stay by my child’s side…but instead I had to run to the toilet and tend to my own stupid needs! I was so angry with my body! I went back to my son and checked him. He was still sleeping soundly.
I went to the window and looked out and saw two EMS trucks approaching. It was bad weather too. 5:00 in the morning! Snow and slush was all over the place and the wind was blowing badly. The bare winterized tree limbs were straining against the wind.
I dreaded the next few hours of leaving the house in this bad weather, following the ambulance to the hospital, and answering questions that were asked by doctors and nurses.
Watching over my son and worrying about my mother and how she would feel knowing that her grandson had to be taken to the hosptial at 5:00a.m. in the morning! But for now I just opened the door. Three EMS techs came in.
My son was still asleep as they approached him. When they spoke to him he awoke with a start. He seemed dazed, but he knew where he was. They took him to the hospital and I followed behind in my car.
Since he was stable it would be easier to get him home. I talked to my mother and told her I would be back later. I left her with some breakfast food and then left.
The EMS techs warned me about the hazardous driving conditions. They were so nice…one of them actually helped me down the rather steep steps to the house.
When I arrived at the hospital I found my son and a doctor was talking to him. She was young, possibly in her mid thirties. She was a bit snippy too. She kept repeating herself that she wanted to get the story straight.
She was annoyed with my son because he had answered her incorrectly. I was beginning to get annoyed too….but at her not my son. I kind of gave her a stiff reply and then added a bit more to the response than she expected.
She then left the room and a more pleasant doctor came in and developed a good a rapport with me and my son. “Who wants to go the hospital at 5:00a.m.– during a snow storm!
My son had just had a seizure and was not able to express himself clearly. This doctor was better in his response. The otber doctor seemed not to have the right attitude at all.
She had stated that she was getting off of work at 6:00 and needed to leave so she needed the entire story! I was still upset about what had brought me to the hospital in the first place and I was not up to fighting with her at that time.
But looking back, I realize that she had been quite rude and not really as concerned with my son’s health as she was with the time she would be leaving work. The hospital I am talking about is NorthShoreManhasset.
I always liked the treatment my son received there. But for some reason this doctor was quite rude and had little or no compassion on my son who is still a minor (below the age of eighteen).
He did not committ any crime. He had had a seizure. So why was she not compassionate? Look, this is the real world….people do not care.
Some people do care…but most do not. Doctor or not, medical conditions are all they (some) care about. Generally I have found that North Shore Manhassett hospital would help my child….I was glad when this woman (Doctor) left my son’s side.
He was tired and not able to answer the questions clearly. She was impatient. We went through a series of questions that seemed to make no difference. I tried to explain his condition and all she cared about was getting out of that room.
Finally a new doctor arrived and then they did chest xrays, checked the heart and decided to have him see a cardiologist and Synder Children’s Hospital the next day.
The next day we went to all of the doctors that we were supposed to see. My son missed school, I missed work. I was worried about my job….but my child’s health does come first.
I have no body to help me —so off we went from one doctor (specialist) to another. The second day we went to see his pediatrician, who reprimanded my son for staying up so late.
He believed that my son had fallen asleep in the chair and fell off and then had the seizure. I cannot say what was the trigger….but it was Saturday night and my son was being a typical teenager.
I try not to baby him, but I see I have to monitor his hours of sleep….even if he does not particularly like it.
This blog is for those who have experienced this medical condition and want to know that you are not alone! My son is still going through medical testing.
So I just keep a close watch on him and my mother. I still sleep in the kitchen on the floor on my mat. (I constantly mop and clean and wax my floors so not to worry), and my son must go to bed atleast before 1AM.
Health conditions are made worse by lack of sleep and over extending the body.
Till next blog:
RIVEROFLIFELISAJOY
Charles Darwin and Natural Selection The Frilled Shark in Japan…It might have been part of your Dinner tonight!
According to the National Geographic there is a living “fossil” that may soon be extinct for real. But what got me was the fact that they are saying that it has been pulled from the sea by the ocean dredging sea trallers in Japan. They said that it gets put into fertilizer and animal food! It may have even shown up at my dinner table! UGH!!! I love animals and the circle of life….but I do not want to eat every animal in nature! This is getting ridiculas! The fishing companies appear to be so greedy that they are pulling animals out of the water and then throwing it on the table. Question: Did you ever see the movie called “HOST”? It is about sea animals in Korea being polluted by chemics dumped into the water and then being mutated into a new speicies and the terrible events that lead to a little girl that gets killed by the monster. But the monster of itself is not at fault. It is the polluting of the sea water natural enviornment that has caused the weird animal to attack and become an out of control negative in the world. That movie really did not mean much to me until I read this article about the Frilled Shark and how it may be in my own sea food and I not know about it. Because in the movie The HOST, the baby mutants were shown to the movie audience to be in cans of sea food like shrimp and squid that the Korean actors were eating during the movie. So when I read this article it kind of made me realize that all though the movie was a Sci-Fi–flict….it had some truth –to it. Art imitates life and life imitates art!
So take a look at my friend that nearly extinct Frilled Shark…..
Our CoExistence with Animals and the Conflicts that Arise:”To Dismay of Inspectors, Prowling Cats Keep Rodents on the Run at City Delis” by By KATE HAMMER (Article published in the New York Times on December 21 2007
I have had cats, dogs, guinea pigs, and a hamster as pets. Since I was a child my mother has had a love of animals. I have developed a love of animals too.
If I was a more intelligent human being I would have been able to take up a career as a Veterinarian, or zoologist, or even been like the poor deceased Steve Irwin, that was so famous for his care and interaction with extremely wild animals ( who died from the accidental Stingray stabbing).
I think I got this way of thinking from watching Mutual of Omaha’s “Wild Kingdom,” or Jacque Cousteau. One of my all time favorite cable programs is animal planet. As an adult I have come to love “Animal Planet” on cable.
I only have a difficult time watching the shows that highlight animal rescue based on animal abuse. I cannot stomach abuse programs. I become too emotional. But I stay glued to the television until the show is over.
But then I think about how my mother handily (with my help of course between the ages of 12 and 20 years old–believe it or not!***I used to volunteer and care for or walk animals at the Freeport Animal Shelter) saved cats and dogs on the streets. My mother would find organizations that would donate food, and spay for free and then she would place adds in the news paper to get the “saved animal a home.”
My mother developed friendships with two women who helped her with “newspaper”, and veterinarian’s that saved animals when injured or treated infections for a cheaper price (since it was based on the animal rescue.)
My mother would often go to car junk yards and find female dogs that had just given birth to puppies, or skinny male dogs wandering a neighborhood hungry — and bring them food late at night or early in the morning.
My mother was fearless! My mother never, ever got bit by animal! Never! Oh, and neither did I! Giving an animal space, and time to adjust to you as the helper takes time….but it can be done.
Because my mother assisted animals as a younger woman as I was growing up, I feel that it will always be my duty to maintain that mentality as much as possible. Thus the reason for the following article that I am highlighting here today. The above title tells it all.
We as humans have to co-exist with each other and the around us. It does appear to be a great idea for bodega owners to use cats to help cut down on the mice and rat populations that generally frequent food stores of any size.
However, the discussion on the health code is crucial. While I was pregnant with my son (who is now 14 years old) I was told that a pregnant woman should not handle cat feces!
Well, even when I was a kid, cleaning the kitty litter box…was my most dreaded chore! I could not stand the smell and the look of the old fashioned kitty litter box! I would look at the clumps of waste rolled up in the sandy mixture of the kitty litter box and feel sick to my stomach.
—But I understand that the doctors have explained that the bacteria is dangerous to a pregnant human. Thus my understanding of the Board of Health on the illegal practice of a cat being in a bodega!
Question: Which is worse, the cat in the store, or the rat on the floor of the store, and in the packages and on the shelves throughout the store ALL NIGHT LONG? When I was watching Animal Planet station I saw a program called “EXTREME ANIMALS.”
This program would highlight extreme characteristics of various animals from the tiny to the gigantic! One night I saw a highlight on rats. It showed how a rat can “swim” through the pipes of a house and even bore a hole through a household pipe that holds water in your own house. I could not believe it!
Then you know what happened? My mothers home, where we lived at the time had a strange occurrence! I noticed in the basement, where lighting was poor, there were mounds of dirt around by the corners of the finished basement walls and behind the toilet in the basement.
I said to myself….where did this stupid dirt come from???? I thought my dog had done something crazy, like bring dirt into the house.
But I found the culprit! It was a rat….or several rats! My mother as I have written in the past, owned a very large lot. Directly behind our piece of land in Springfield Gardens Queens, there had been an abandoned lot for many, many, many years. Suddenly money was pouring in from the banks and people developed the land behind our house and built two houses.
After the houses were built, now we received the fall out from the rats. My mothers home was in her possession at that time from the year of 1955 to the year 2006! Crazy Right???!!! My mother had that house many years.
I was told that rats can eat through the foundation of a house. I thought that a mole had gotten into the house….but it was a rat.
Look, I will not go any further….just know that I eventually MOVED OUT OF THAT HOUSE!— So in my defense of the store owners who keep cats…..I understand the conflict that they are having.
If they do not do something and the legal pest control methods do not work…What to do? What to do? Rats will RUN YOU OUT OF YOUR OWN HOUSE—IF THEY ARE NOT CONTROLLED!
I do not like to “kill any thing”—but let us be realistic. Safety, and protection for humans is a must. But the methods by which we control pests must be evaluated constantly!
Read the following article….respond and tell me what you think. It gives, *excuse the expression…food for thought!
To Dismay of Inspectors, Prowling Cats Keep Rodents on the Run at City Delis
Holly scares the rodents away at home, a deli in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
To Dismay of Inspectors, Prowling Cats Keep Rodents on the Run at City Delis
Holly scares the rodents away at home, a deli in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
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Amid the goods found in the stores, there is one thing that many owners and employees say they cannot do without: their cats. And it goes beyond cuddly companionship. These cats are workers, tireless and enthusiastic hunters of unwanted vermin, and they typically do a far better job than exterminators and poisons.
When a bodega cat is on the prowl, workers say, rats and mice vanish.
That is the case at a narrow corner store in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where a gray long-haired tabby named Halloween goes on regular patrols when she is not lounging on a plaid bed tucked behind dusty rows of Schweppes ginger ale and empty cardboard boxes.
“In the morning she is lazy, it is her nap time,” said Urszula Jawor, 49, the deli’s manager, a Polish immigrant who smiled with motherly pride at Halloween, adding that the cat was named for the day she wandered in off the street and claimed the Bedford Avenue store as her home.
“But in the afternoon she is busy,” Ms. Jawor said. “She spends hours stalking the mice and the rats.”
To store owners, the services of cats are indispensable in a city where the rodent problem is serious enough to be documented in a still popular two-minute video clip on YouTube from late February (youtube.com/watch?v=su0U37w2tws) of rats running amok in a KFC/Taco Bell in Greenwich Village. Store-dwelling cats are so common that there is a Web site, workingclasscats.com, dedicated to telling their tales.
But as efficient as the cats may be, their presence in stores can lead to legal trouble. The city’s health code and state law forbid animals in places where food or beverages are sold for human consumption. Fines range from $300 for a first offense to $2,000 or higher for subsequent offenses.
“Any animal around food presents a food contamination threat,” said Robert M. Corrigan, a rodentologist and research scientist for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. “And so that means anything from animal pieces and parts to hair and excrement could end up in food, and that alone, of course, is a violation of the health code.”
Mr. Corrigan did concede that some studies have shown that the smell of cats in an enclosed area will keep mice away. But he does not endorse cats as a form of pest control because, he explained, the bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites and nematodes carried by rats may infect humans by secondary transfer through a cat.
Still, many store owners keep cats despite the law, mainly because other options have failed and the fine for rodent feces is also $300. “It’s hard for bodega owners because they’re not supposed to have a cat, but they’re also not supposed to have rats,” said José Fernández, the president of the Bodega Association of the United States.
Luis Martinez, 42, has managed his brother’s grocery in East New York, Brooklyn, for two years. At first, despite weekly visits from an exterminator, the store’s inventory was ravaged constantly by nibbling vermin.
“Every night I had to put the bread in the freezer,” he said, pointing at shelves filled with bread and hamburger buns. “I was losing too much inventory. The chips and the Lipton soups all had holes in them.”
Then, last winter, a friend brought Mr. Martinez a marmalade kitten in need of a home. Mr. Martinez, who was skeptical of how one slinky kitten could fend off an army of hungry rats, set up a litter box in the back of the store, put down an old fleece jacket and named the kitten Junior.
Within two weeks, Mr. Martinez said, “a miracle.”
“Before you’d see giant rats running in off the streets into the store, but since Junior, no more,” he said.
Junior sometimes brings Mr. Martinez mouse carcasses as gifts, which he said bothers him less than the smell that permeates his store when the exterminator’s victims die and rot under a freezer.
In October, a health inspector fined Mr. Martinez $300 and warned him that if Junior was still there by the time of the next inspection he would be fined $2,000.
“He wants me to get rid of the cat, but the rats will take over if I do,” Mr. Martinez said. “I need the cat, and the cat needs a home.”
Because stores do not get advance notification of an inspection, Mr. Martinez is trying to keep Junior in his office as much as possible. Many bodega owners reason that a cat is less of a health threat than an army of nibbling rats. “If cats live in homes and apartments where people have food, a cat shouldn’t be a threat in a store if it’s well maintained,” Mr. Fernández said.
Some animal rescue groups, like the Spay and Neuter Intervention Project, support the legalization and regulation of store cats so that owners would be required to provide basic veterinary care and to spay or neuter their animals.
At a corner store in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Andre Duran, one of the owners, said he had kept a cat for six years and had never been fined.
“That’s Oreo,” he said, as he lifted a tiny black cat with white paws into his arms and carried her like a football. “No one’s ever complained about cat hair in their sandwiches, and if she weren’t here, you bet there’d be bigger problems than hair.”
As a line formed at Mr. Duran’s cash register and he excused himself to take orders, Oreo’s ears perked up and she slunk away toward the back of the store. She was, perhaps, in pursuit of something.
Well, what would you do as a store owner? Would you keep cats because they appear more affective than traditional pest control methods or would you follow the rules of the Board of Health?
If it is really true that cats keep mice and rats away…..it makes me wonder! Can there be a method that could be developed that would maintain a pristine, clean environment in a store and yet keep the rat and mice population down? Lets discusss it and maybe come up with a solution.
Till next animal interest blog—-RIVEROFLIFELISAJOY!
Cooking CHEAP, HEALTHY, QUICK AND NATURAL THE EASY WAY!—((watch that salt and sugar too!)) January 6, 2008
This is a serene picture, that a friend took many years ago. I will always cherish this picture. I always believe that a meal should be peaceful, and unrushed. Tranquil… so that the meal gets digested properly. Relax and enjoy… I have a treat for you. Quick, healthy meal ideas from Riveroflifelisajoy!
Often people ask me to cook for school functions. I do not offer food for those occasions.
Why you might ask? Well my mother always cooked very, very simply because my father was a diabetic.
I do not have a special meal that people rave about….you know what I mean….don’t you?
So I go to my old stand by….Italian Pastry! I go to Sapiensia’s Excuse the spelling.
My favorite Italian Pastry is Connolly’s! (spell check ) I love those…especially when placed in the cake.
The cake is vanilla with connolly creme inside and white or chocolate frosting. This cake I like to purchase for family birthdays!
It is my terrible little treat….once in a while….pssst but don’t tell anybody!!! LOL!!!!
I also like another pastry called lobster tail! That is great too. I also love a certain other little treat during the summer the REAL CHOCOLATE CHIP CONNOLLY ICES! YUMMY!!!!
And all other natural fresh and delicious icey treats. I love this stuff! I do not generally buy junk food for my house. I do not buy chips too much. My italian pastry treat is about once every 4 or 5 months or so. I am not a bing or secret eater type person….Ya know?
But I love juices. I love GREEN TEA by TURKEY HILL. I know, I know….maybe to much sugar right? Probably so. So I have to cut back on the Green Tea….but it is so REFRESHING!
I also love Welches Grape Juice. Grape juice is also good for cleaning your blood with the antioxidents as well.
I was told to go to Flushing Queens to get the REAL GREEN TEA LEAVES in stead of buying the premade stuff.
Problem…there is difficulty parking and I would like a suggestion of how to locate the place that sells the REAL Green Tea leaves.
LIPTON TEA MIX HAS a good GREENTEA MIX… —now that is not very sweet at all. I think you would have to put the whole dry mix into your pitcher to get that over sweet taste.
Every culture has it’s “staple” foods.
For example some cultures use rice, or pasta as the basic staple of every meal. some cultures use flavorings that are totally recognizable to that ethnic group. Well, I am African American.
But I do not know how to cook those culturaly known meals at all! Suprised? Don’t be.
My parents knew and lived cultural diversity before it became the”IN THING”!
My mother’s best friend lived with my family from the time I was five years old until I was fourteen. Irene passed away when I was fourteen.
My father was a practical nurse, and my mother was a stay at home wife.
My mothers’s friend Irene was Irish American. She had personal issues that she could not resolve so her children stayed with their father and she lived with us.
Irene was a wealth of knowledge of the fine arts, food, and creativity! She and my mother would set about to decorate my parents house every six months!
Irene and my mother with my fathers financial backing opend up a store on Jamacia Avenue in South East Queens called for Antiques and What Nots!
Irene also worked in the Post Office, so she would contribute to the household and assist my parents with the bills.
My mother and Irene were like Lucy and Ethel from the “I love Lucy Show”—they always had creative ideas (((back in the 60’s—that’s right!
A black woman and a white woman were best friends!— I did learn so much from that diverse family experience that I will always cherish and never forget!)))
My family was very middle class because my father kept two practical nursing jobs from the time I was born, until he died from diabeties at the age of 59.
So I was fortunate enough to have a happy early start in life. But my mother did not cook…traditional African American food!
My mother was raised as a Seventh Day Adventist! They do not eat P0rkor pork by products! They are similar to the Jewish belief in that they keep the Sabbath Holy and do not injestany pork at all.
If you know anything about the south, a lot of meals are cooked using pork. Vegetables –especially greens. I never ate greens or collard greens with pork flavoring until I was an adult and attended a party!
My mother did not even make macaroni and cheese. Not even fried Chicken! I grew up eating the Irish Ham, steak, chicken, steamed, or boiled vegetables, and white mashed potatoes! Funny— huh!
So read my receipes for simple meals….Please do not expect Soul food from me! But do understand….I am asking around and people are giving me the receipes to make good macaroni and cheese, or brown sugar kernal corn. I will tell you how it goes!
Tonights meal:
Fried fish and onions with egg noodles and vegetables!
How to of Riveroflifelisajoy Fried Fish:
Ingredients:
1 egg
1 cup of “America’s Choice Italian Style Bread Crumbs ( Waldbaums Brand)
4 “Captain Bob Whiting Fillets” (frozen) cut up two inches a piece
1 third of the frying pan filled with America’s Choice Vegetable Oil (Waldbaums Brand)
1 large onion cut up in 1 inch slices
How to:
First, pour the cracked open egg (yolk and all) over the cut up fillets.
Mix and cover all of the fish thoroughly. Then pour the 1 cup of America’s Choice Italian Style Bread Crumbs over the fish and mix well with a fork.
All of the fish should be covered in bread crumbs.
After heating up your frying pan on low, gently place the fish nuggets in the pan and cover with a lid. Let brown on each side.
After the fish nuggets have a golden tint place the chopped up onion in with the fish nuggets. Keep the flame on low a bit longer.
While this is cooking, get a sauce pan and bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Take one cup of America’s Choice egg noodles and place in the pan/pot. Let boil in the water for 5 minutes.
Take a bag of frozen mixed America’s Choice vegetables and pour one cup of vegies in the pot!
Whala!
In about 10 minutes you have noodles and veggies swirling around each other.
After they are completely cooked, drain and then put in a bowl.
Pour the America’s Choice Tomato Sauce over the veggies and noodles!
While veggies and noodles are complete—check your fried fish!
The onions should be browning lightly. The fish can be cooked until crispy!
Notice….the only salt added to this meal is the salt in the Bread Crumbs which is 430mg!
Also the other salt added to this meal is the Tomato Sauce which is 580mg!
Wow! That is high for salt isn’t it!
So to decrease your salt intake….You might monitor your salt and look for LOW SALT bread crumbs, and LOW SALT tomato sauce too.
I do not add any salt on my own….and I feel that salt in this meal is way over the limit even for me!
What do you think?
I will keep adding to this blog.
I will let you know of the next dinner that I create!—Remember Low Budget…does not mean tastless meals!
I have to cook short quick meals…because after a long day at work….my energy is very low. So I use pasta and vegetables. I also use alot of brown rice.
I love salad…which I did not discuss today. I like fresh green kale or spinarch.
I do not buy canned vegetables.. I generally get the quick frozen veggies instead at Waldbaums. Waldbaums always has a sale—like 10 packages for $10.00! Great for the single parent on a limited income! Excellent for life on a shoe string!
I try to stay with foods that have salt naturally from nature….not additives.
Hope your cooking is cheap, healthy quick and easy!
Till next blog entry…
Riveroflifelisajoy!
Charles Darwin Lives in Remote Places of the World—Green Jungles still Bring Forth New Animal Speices!!! Hip, Hip Hooray! There is hope for this World!
I drew this “Sunflower” with colored pencils during the summer. It was directly from a real photograph. I could not resist the natural contours of the flower petals. I hope I did it a tiny bit of justice. I am not as talented as some people….but I truly love nature and all of its wonders!
Upon viewing the Black Voice Aol News blogs, I found one of my favorite interests! New Animal Species! —And Giant animals too! I love it! Take a look!
And I am so happy that there are still people who love being a scientist.
I do not always agree with the concepts and theories of all scientists…but I love it when they prove that certain animals will survive if untouched or bothered by the modern world.
I hope this inspires you and big oil drilling, gold seeking, tree killing, coal mining, diamond, and precious stone mining, resource draining corporations of the fast paced global economy from ignoring the delicate balance of animal, plant, tree, and human kind on this beautiful earth.
SAVE THE EARTH AND ITS INHABITANTS TODAY!
Look at the simple beauty of even an oversize rat…. or pig-my possum, or the neon colored black and violet frog. How about the bird that looks like a beautiful suit form BARNEY’S THE MEN’S STORE, or Jones New-York.
I do n0t care what you say!!!!! God has had the best FASHION SENSE, AND DESIGNER before man knew how to sew a piece of fur together to make a coat for the weather and build tee-pees!
Animals are engineered without our help.
Yes there are people doing bio-engineering….they are going to find out that their methods may do more harm then good in the long run.
On that note…let me show you the beauties I found on that blog about the New Species! and Giant animals! Charles Darwin! Are you hearing this —where ever you are?
I know some people would say my chubby little friend here is quite ugly….but really, he has a face his mommy probably loved!
Bruce M Beehler, CI
The group also found this pygmy possum, calling it one of the world’s smallest marsupials. The international team has made previous finds in the pristine area, which it calls “the lost world.”
Photo Gallery: Recent Animal Discoveries
Conservation Leadership Programme / LiveScience.com
The “golden frog of Supata,” found in a remote region of Colombia, belongs to a group of poison dart frogs, which have toxins embedded in their skin. Scientist announced the discovery of the creature in August.
There are also huge animals that need our protection. They are big but they do not carry harpons, knives or any weapons but what comes natural to them.
It is up to us to maintain nature and the delicate balance between all creatures in the “circle of life” Look at these animals and realize….no matter how scary they may appear….they have no power over us.
It is we, the humans that can control the life or death of these beautiful, raw natural creatures.
They cannot jump up out of their natural habitat and start taking pictures of us! They can not research us and our existence.
They cannot place us in boxes and cages and steal us away from our natural environment only to sell us on the black market.
It is us who must take care of them. Let them live un touched by human hands as much as possible and uninterfered with so that nature takes it’s natural course so that these great and majestic creatures can live and die and keep this big old globe alive!
Take alook:
Colossal Squid:In February, New Zealand fishermen grabbed this 990-pound monster in the Antarctic. It was 330 pounds heavier than the next biggest ever found.
Gallery: Huge Creatures
Yomiuri Shimbun, AFP / Getty Images
Echizen Jellyfish: In recent years, the giant beasts have disrupted fishing industry operations off Japan’s east coast.
Gallery: Huge Creatures
Patrick Pleul, EPA / Corbis
German Giants:Breeder Karl Szmolinsky, here in January, breeds rabbits like this one weighing more than 20 pounds at his farm in Eberswalde, Germany.
Photo Gallery: Huge Creatures
Keith Srakocic, AP
Bubba the Lobster: The 23-pound crustacean came from waters off Nantucket, Mass., in March 2005. The Pittsburgh Zoo planned to take him, but he died.
The following is an excerpt from the black voice Blog on Animals of the Lost world.
Photo Gallery: Recent Animal Discoveries
Bruce Beehler, Conservation International / AP
During that trip, scientists took the first known photographs of Berlepsch’s six-wired bird of paradise, which was described by hunters in New Guinea in the 19th century.
More Coverage: Conservation International
More Coverage: Conservation International – Return to Foja
The animals were found in the Foja mountains rainforest in eastern Papua province in a June expedition, said U.S.-based Conservation International, which organized the trip along with the Indonesian Institute of Science.
“The giant rat is about five times the size of a typical city rat,” said Kristofer Helgen, a scientist with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. “With no fear of humans, it apparently came into the camp several times during the trip.”
The possum was described as “one of the worlds smallest marsupials.”
Please think of ways you can contribute to preserving the lives of these animals.
Staying informed is one of the best ways.
Or try telling people.
I have no money to donate….but I can blog about it and post these pictures that were taken to get the word out.
All of this really involves mankind around the world….not just here in the United States.
Photo Gallery: Recent Animal Discoveries
Paul Ouboter, Conservation International / AP
In March 2006, the Atelopus frog was found in the Nassau Mountains in eastern Suriname. It was one of 24 new species of wildlife discovered by scientists in the remote plateaus north of Brazil.
Photo Gallery: Recent Animal Discoveries
Bruce Beehler, Conservation International / AP
During that trip, scientists took the first known photographs of Berlepsch’s six-wired bird of paradise, which was described by hunters in New Guinea in the 19th century.
More Coverage: Conservation International
Think forward, “PAY IT FORWARD”, and help keep this global community of humans and animals and fish moving forward toward life and the future, and not backward to extinction!
Riveroflifelisajoy!
Six Foot Christmas Tree for $10.00!!! Never go Tree-less AGain! You can’t find this in the 99 Cent Store!!!!
$10.00 Christmas Tree Bargin
King Kullen saved my Christmass!~ Hallelujah! I bought a 6 Foot tree for $10.00 in Valley Stream New York. I think there is one left! Hurry up and catch up to the drive! I am so excited. I am short of cash as always! But Ifound a tree that can get me in the know of it all!
It has a detachable top. But it stands a full six feet tall. Oh! by the way the tree is fake! But who cares? I needed a tree. I was afraid that I would not have the money to buy my traditional LIVE tree…so I decided to pick up this tree instead! I might still go to my favorite LIVE tree place…a little florist on Linden blvd. just over the “bridge of the CrossIsland Parkway in CambriaHeights….in Hempstead. Go down Linden Blvd. pass the Hess Gas Station and you will find this florist place built like a shack and with a “back yard” I always get the best Christmas trees there! My tree stays up for about a month! And it lasts a long time. We put up our tree two minutes before Christams! So we basically keep it up for the month of January—you know the 3 Kings time period! Plus we are just loving the look and smell of a live tree.
But I purchased this 6 foot fake tree because wanted to really bring the holiday spirit home.
Tonight I wrapped presents for the Youth and Tennis Academy children -Santa program scheduled for this morning—Saturday. I took my son to practice and found myself enjoying the art of gift wrapping with other parents. Great! I think that is what got me inspired to buy that 6 foot tree. It was 10:00 last night when I decided to run to King Kullen off of Central Avenue in ValleyStream New York. I am so glad I got it. I also picked up some great tasting heat up chicken fingers, chop meat turkey, pop corn chicken, eggnog, green tea, lime tea, diet cream soda, and diet black cherry soda, and some goya yellow rice. I had a great night.
So go look for a bargin in King Kullen! YOu never know where you might find holiday bargins!
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