Independence Day, 28 de Julio

The 28th of July is observed as national day of independence in Peru, independence from Spain. Because I have many Peruano friends and also enjoy their food and culture I am making Chicha Morada today. As I am cooking this our house is filled with a wonderful aroma. The recipe for this drink is very old and was made by the Incans and other of the indigenous peoples of South America. It relies of the maiz morado or purple corn from the plains of Peru. In addition, pineapple, oranges, lemons, cinnamon and other things are added to it for flavoring. I will be drinking it to celebrate this independence day with my friends coupled with my prayers for the end of tyranny and oppression around the world including those of my friends who live here in the Estados Unidos. They live under the burden of ethnic prejudice, the fear of ICE agents and deportation, yet they are a happy and wonderful people. Here’s to you all y mi hijos en Peru Miguel y Renzo. May the Lord preserve you and protect you always. Thank you for the richness you have all brought to my life and my family.

We cannot forget...

Number one son told me of this this article on LDS.Org. September this year marks the 150th anniversary of the slaughter of the Fancher wagon train members at the site near Cedar City called the Mountain Meadows. A new book is to be available soon, written by insiders, Richard Turley and Ronald Walker. I have read the Juanita Brooks, Bagley and Denton books. Brooks was the best of the lot, but Bagley and Denton had information not available to Ms. Brooks. I liked this article and it deserves to be read and pondered. I hope it will get some attention in Church discussions. I am glad it will be published in the Ensign. We need to understand, if we can, how good people could do something so terrible. The capacity of unquestioning religious zealots and believers of that day perhaps helps us understand the death squads in Iraq and other places today.

As I have read the accounts in the aforementioned books I was struck by the similarities in how people are moved so efficiently in and out of the Conference Center and other Church venues and the efficiency with which the Mormons choreographed this very cold blooded massacre. It was chillingly altogether too familiar.

I met a great grandson of Jacob Hamblin recently at the Bountiful Temple. We discussed his grandfather and his role in bringing John D. Lee to justice. His was the sole testimony at the trial to convict Lee. Jacob had an Indian son who saw Lee cruelly murder two young ladies, shooting them at point blank range while they begged for mercy and their lives. The indians would not do the deed because of their beauty.

We owe it to the Fanchers and their descendents not to forget.

Back Pain is a Democratic Thing

This morning I had a two-hour session at the New England Baptist Hospital's Spine Clinic. It has been two months since I first came to NEBH and started therapy. I was measured and tested in several ways again today including motion and flexibility. Because of my progress I got lots of 'attaboys'. Couch potatoing and babying one's back I have found from personal experience are not solutions for lower back pain mitigation. In an earlier post I noted these people have been written up in the Wall Street Journal, LA Times and the NY Times. "Therapeutic exercise has been shown to decrease pain and is primarily used to provide the patient with the experience to safely and effectively function despite back pain," according to the head physical therapist Lisa Childs. I, like many other sufferers from back pain are or had become kinesiophobic. We were afraid to move or be active lest we further deteriorate already painful vertebrae and discs. Thanks to the folks at NEBH my couch potato days are over.

I have been going to the local Excel in Bountiful. Their trainer thought these people in Boston were a little nuts and told me I could injure my back from the exercises they had given me here. Few trainers and only 10% of the back docs in the US are aware there are better ways for treatment of back pain than surgery and painkillers. This new therapeutic approach is to stretch yourself and do more in terms of yoga like stretching, weight training and exercise. The rewards will follow. Of course everyone needs to see their own doc and have an MRI or x-rays. In consulation with a qualified doctor and a program like NEBH miracles happen. It has been more than a month since since my last Celebrex.

Our hotel where we stayed is in Brookline, not far from the clinic. Brookline is the birthplace of JFK who also had a bad back from a WWII injury. The National Park Service maintains the home where he was raised. Back pain is both Democratic and something that can be diminished with effort and guidance. Other pains in the backside will not diminish for another year and half.

Chicha Morada

Twice now in two days I have had Chicha to drink for lunch, both times at a Peruvian restaurant here in Boston. The food is terrific and I regret SLC does not have a good Peruvian place either to get Chicha or comida de Peru. When I get home I am going to start working on good recipes for making Chicha. Of course if I leave it at room temperature for a while before consuming it I will not be driving anywhere. I will consult with a couple Peruanos for their advice and testing. Bountiful does have a Peruvian store so I might find the necessary main ingredient, the blue corn. The stuff comes bottled already but I do not like it much. Good Chicha is really special. One Peruano also told me it reduces blood pressure so that is a good thing.

A little research tells me some interesting things about Chicha. It was part of the Incan culture and women went to schools to learn how to make it. It was made from several types of corn or maize, generally yellow corn. Only the Chicha Morada is non-alcoholic. Chicha is a Spanish word but predates the conquistadores and was found in other cultures including the Aztecs and Mayans. Chicha Morada is made with the blue corn but other things are added to it such as pineapple, or orange jucie, or strawberries. What we had here in Boston had apple juice and small pieces of apples added to it. The best I ever had was con mi hijo de Peru en Lima.

Most of all I enjoy drinking Chicha Morada because it is so pleasant and reminds me of the good times I have shared with mis amigos Peruanos.

Salud!

A little boy and his family need help...

If you are inclined and feeling generous to help a little boy with a big problem you can visit a web site and learn about his rare Rigid Spine Muscular Dystrophy. Through a PayPal link on that site you can make a much appreciated donation. Remember this could be your son or in my case a grandson. Be generous. In the face of all of the energy we all expend every day bashing Bush, Cheney, Hillary, Edwards, Rocky, managed health care, as well as the legislature, it is perhaps time to do something very positive and meaningful. Take a moment and think how good this will feel to have contributed to someone, largely anonymously, who is not listed on and neither a recipient of the fast offering deposit slip at your local LDS ward. There is something about being anxiously engaged and not commanded in all things to bring to pass good things. Here is a chance to help a little boy cough, to keep him alive. How much do we take that simple physical reflex for granted? How simple is it for us to cough?

Thanks for thinking and doing something about it!

Update on the reunion

Grandson J took along the DVD of 'Napoleon Dynamite'. We watched it on the laptop. It is a sweet movie. Gosh, we stayed at the Preston Plaza Motel, in the very room where Napoleon Dynamite slept. This is the motel where John Heder, like the star of Napoleon Dynamite, lodged during the filming of that movie. #1 daughter stayed in the 'Principal's' room. If you ever stay in Preston Plaza Motel be certain to ask for room #41. It was Napoleon's room. His likeness gazes down on you from a poster, just like this one, above the relatively uncomfortable king size bed.

The in-laws were great, a good time was had by all, and I hugged a couple Republicans.