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.

A family reunion can raise the BP I think

I saw a piece in Monday's Tribune about the deleterious effects of having ambivalent friends. Such friends raise blood pressure and increase the chances of heart disease. This is according to a new study completed jointly at the University of Utah and BYU to be published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine. BP and heart issues are at risk, quote, "In fact... blood pressure and heart rate rises by merely being in the presence of such friends." I have to wonder if this extends to in-laws as I am headed toward a family reunion this weekend. Maybe I will need to take some extra medication. Can I wear garlic around my neck, maybe have a crucifix in my pocket? The study also concluded that when people discuss past negative events with an ambivalent friend, their health suffers. This means for certain any discussion of past uncomfortable events with my in-laws is to be avoided at all costs. I plan on taking along a couple good books though. I am leaning toward secular humanist George Lakoff's "Moral Politics". He has some well thought out insights why R's hate gun control, support the Iraq War, deny the anthropogenic causes of global warming, think the GLTG community threatens mine or anyone else's marriage and believe George W. Bush is a God fearing Christian.

Solamente para mi esposa iré a la reunión, debido a amor. Muchas gracias mi esposa por todas cosas.

A view at the gym

Stanley Parrish is one of the executives with the Tabernacle Choir. He also happens to be a close friend of Orrin Hatch. I have read he gets paid nice sums of money for advice by Orrin along with Mac Christensen. Mac is the president of the Choir and owner of Mr. Macs. Stanley is my first cousin and a gentlemen. This morning at the gym I spied him using one of the nautilus machines. He had on an "Orrin" T-shrt. I complimented him on how well he looked except for that shirt. He responded that it was a great shirt. I advised him I was a Democrat and had voted against Hatch in every election I could. He chuckled and said he knew I was.

We discussed bad backs, politics and old age. Nevertheless, it was nice to see a member of the family even if he is a member of the dark side and close to the evil senator, emperor wannabe.

Dark water and KIng Salmon fishing

Darkwater is not the name of the largest and most well financed mercenary army in the world. That is Blackwater and they are getting paid big bucks in Iraq. The guy in this photo from the stern of the Trek II is known as 'Wally' to the locals of Ft. Bragg CA He is 86 years old and was on Admiral Kimmel's staff in WWII. To win the WWII trivia test you must correctly identify who was Admiral Kimmel without googling or other help. If you know the answer let me know. I knew the answer and told Wally where he was when Pearl Harbor was attacked. Because of that and maybe for other reasons Wally and I struck up a friendship. Later in the war Wally was a driver on a naval vessel off Iwo Jima. Every day at 8:00 AM they buried the American dead. Early on in the Battle of Iwo, Wally said, they were burying four hundred GI's every day. WWII was the 'last good war' a number of observers have said.

Wally has done a lot of things in the world and has seen a lot in his day. He is a master of many things. When I grow up I would like to be like Wally. He knows about catching salmon too and what kind of lure to use on any day. Salmon like dark water the best and the temperature they like off the coast of Northern CA is 52°F. I saw Wally on two days. We went fishing with him on our Friday before Memorial weekend and visited with him prior to our leaving the second day. Wally gave us a salmon to land and take home. He told us what lures to use and where to stand in the boat. #1 daughter and I complied. We caught two fish though one escaped when it was close to the stern. The deck hand did not quite grab it well enough. Tequila Sunrise is a good lure to use when the water is clear. Also the King Salmon like purple lures when the water is clear. Green is a better color when it is dark.

Thank you Wally for being a patriot, for being generous, for caring and truly being an 'officer and a gentlemen'. I am glad you survived the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the entire Pacific campaign. It was a pleasure meeting you and knowing about your past. The salmon on the grill was superb too.

I would recommend

Two movies I have enjoyed on my trip to Boston so far. The trip is not over yet. On the airplane I saw ‘Pan's Labyrinth’. It is an award-winning 2006 Spanish language film written and directed by Mexican film-maker Guillermo del Toro. The film takes place in pre WWII during the Spanish Civil War. It is both an accurate portrayal of the brutality of Fascist soldiers who are charged with guarding a mill in a mountainous region and neutralizing local insurgents. Juxtaposed in this story is a tale of fantasy that ultimately____________. It garnered several Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations. It was both enjoyable and good for my Spanish language studies. Not a film for kids though even though it was partially a fairy tale.



I also watched ‘Déjà Vu’ at the hotel. It is a nice Denzel Washington movie. Déjà Vu is a science fiction crime thriller directed by Tony Scott and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. I recommend both films.

What's on tonight?

The Hospital for the Boston Celtics and me...

I am vacationing in Boston at the New England Baptist Hospital. It is one of the top 10 or 20 rated hospitals in the USA by AARP and US News and World Report. The Spine Center at NEBH has developed a nationally recognized program for helping people with chronic and acute back pain when everything else has failed. They have been written up in the New York Times, the LA Times and a one-hour program appeared on the Discovery Channel last year. A number of their patients and the media have dubbed this program, "Boot Camp for Backs". It is not mainstream medicine yet. Only about 10% of back doctors across the country are on board. Folks in my classes have difficulty walking or climbing stairs, even carrying a bag of groceries in from the car. 'Boot Campers' are encouraged to overcome their fear of activity and follow punishing exercise regimens using Nautilus like machines that help strengthen and stretch back muscles, making them stronger and more limber.

20,000 folks have come through the boot camp at NEBH in the past 10 years. Most have been helped. Researchers are not sure why this taxing regimen works. Dr. Rainville told me this exercise program and physical therapy in addition to strengthening muscles somehow desensitizes people to pain messages sent out by the brain. Those of us who fear further deterioration or degeneration in our backs tend to baby them; by doing so the back gets worse. The rule used to be from the physical therapists, 'if it hurts, don't do it.' Not so anymore. By taking it easy and becoming more of a couch potato the back pain increases and our lifestyle decreases. This is called deconditioning. It is a very positive option for many others and me. According to an LA Times article the statistics for back surgeries suggests as few as 3% of patients are benefited. Side effects of infections, limited mobility and persistent pain are not uncommon following invasive surgical treatment.

The link here gets you to the Spine Center for New England Baptist Hospital. I was able to get in relatively easy and get an appointment in less than a month. The people are very friendly and attentive. And yes, few people like Mitt Romney, their former governor. I have heard a few cracks about Utah and when did electricity arrive in our state, etc.

Haagen Dazs and Lumbar Degeneration

Just got back to my hotel from my appointment at the Spine Center of the New England Baptist Hospital in Boston MA. The news was so good I decided to have a treat before lunch. I bought an ice cream bar, chocolate and dark chocolate. It is an 'all natural ice cream bar'. I think that is important. I never had much of a passion for 'unnatural' ice cream. The printing on the box says, "chocolate ice cream dipped in, then drizzled with fine dark chocolate." It was every bit as good as advertised. Haagen Dazs uses Belgian Chocolate too. I like Belgian Chocolate whenever I can find it. I prefer it as well for political reasons to the Swiss varieties, as the Belgian people did fight against the Nazis in WWII rather than collaborating with Hitler and laundering their murderous Fascist larceny.

Lest I get too far a field, I should return to why I am celebrating. In addition to arthritis, degenerating discs between L-3, 4, and 5 there is some evidence of stenosis. I had MRI's done 8 years ago and then again early this month. The Spine Center at this hospital is doing world-class work with backs and the good news is I qualify for their program called 'Boot Camp for Backs'. With a disciplined exercise regimen and guidance I can expect to have the level of pain significantly reduced, enjoy more activity and maybe resume some things I used to do such as back packing and hiking. The doc told me it would be fine to hunt more too. It seems counterintuitive but the more sedentary life style, to protect one's remaining back resource, leads to escalation of pain. Exercise and therapy will strengthen the back muscles and reprogram the nerves in the area to send fewer pain messages to the brain. 20 to 25% of their patients report freedom from pain after their 'boot camp'. 40 to 50% report significantly reduced pain and 20 to 25% have some improvement but still in pain.

It is a beautiful day in Boston. It is 70 degrees here and I am going for a walk to celebrate the good news.

Mormons should oppose the Iraq War

In the ongoing debate over the Iraq war, and it reached a new high or low locally last evening in the debate between Rocky and Hannity, it is useful to look back to another day in another war from a statement made by the Brethren.

“We renew our declaration that international disputes can and should be settled by peaceful means. That is the way of the Lord. We call upon the statesman of the world to assume their rightful control of the affairs of nations and to bring this war to an end, honorable and just to all. Animated and led by the spirit of Christ, they can do it…Hate driven militarists and leaders, with murder in their hearts, will, if they go through to the end, bring merely another peace that will be but the beginning of another war.

We call upon the Saints the world over to pray to God constantly in faith, nothing doubting, that He will bring His purposes speedily to pass and restore peace again to the earth to bless His Children.”1

For Latter Day Saints, at least from a historical perspective Rocky’s statements reflect most closely those enunciated in this First Presidency Message. Truly, the values we once cherished have been betrayed by the war mongering Bush administration and the attendant evils of illegal incarceration of combatants, torture and the challenges to our civil rights here in America. Remember WWII was the so called “last good war” and yet we have this inspired statement from President George Albert Smith, and his counselors, J. Reuben Clark and David O. McKay condemning it.

1 Message of the First Presidency, Salt Lake City, Utah, October 3, 1942

CP arrived

The second grandson this Spring arrived within a week of the first. He came Weds AM, the 11th of April, a little before 6:00. We are happy. Both mother and son are doing well. This little guy also has red hair. A few photos follow. I would have posted them sooner but we had been young man sitting J and A for a couple days and then I went camping with the Boy Scouts to Antelope Island. There were two highlights of the camp, a bag piper played from atop one of the hills we climbed at sunrise, and we saw the rings of Saturn through someone’s telescope.

The photos:

Yom Hashoah

Sunday is Yom Hashoah or Holocaust Remembrance Day. That such a thing as the Holocaust could occur is beyond my understanding. I have read a number of books on the subject and WWII in general. There was a line from a movie some years ago where one of the actors gives a line, a question, “How could this happen in the land that gave us Beethoven, Goethe and Schiller?” Given the ethnic cleansings and wholesale massacre of so many minorities in our own generation I guess one cannot, not ever underestimate, man’s inhumanity to man. Fortunately there are Schindlers and Rusesabaginas. Lest you do not know, Paul Rusesabagina was the hotel manager who saved more than a thousand Tutsis from Hutu butchers when war erupted in Rwanda in 1994. According to one UN source, within 100 days of war 800,000 people were dead. 'Hotel Rwanda' is worth renting at the video store.

Untoward and racist comments by a talk show hoast aimed at the Rutgers Women's B-Ball team, ('nap headed hos' or slang for street prostitutes), remind us that gender, cultural religious, and ethnic prejudices still exist in America. Maybe we have not made enough progress yet.

Sunday should be a day to reflect on Yom Hasoah and other things. I am profoundly grateful for the addition of two new grandsons to our circle and for other things.

LG arrived

The little guy arrived Weds. night, 7-1/2 pounds and 20 inches long. He was three weeks early but still a muy grande caballero. Note the sideburns between father and son. Enjoy the photos. Mother and baby will be home on Sunday. What an Easter present!

Flowers in our woods

Trillium flowers grow in one place on our four acres. We had not seen these flowers before growing in our woods. They are quite beautiful and we thought might be in the orchid family. Turns out that RA's book says they are members of the lily family and can bloom as early as March. They grow from Central CA along the coast to British Colombia. They should not be picked as it sets the plant back. They are, furthermore, impossible to grow in a garden. They prefer moist and shady wooded areas. The seeds are spread by ants, we read, who are attracted to oily structures attached to the seed coat. Thnaks to the ants for spreading these around our woods and hope you enjoy the photo.

A tragedy

A Silicon Valley engineer launched his dive boat north of us in Humboldt Bay on Saturday morning and drove it 20+ miles to a little north of us and about 5 miles out. His location was Blunt Reef. It is a dangerously beautiful place and the site of a number of wrecks off Cape Mendocino. It has strong rip currents, can have heavy seas and is home to Great White Sharks. Lots of reasons to not dive alone. The article about the loss of this diver and world class amateur photographer is found in today’s San Francisco Chronicle. I and family members have been diving along the coast for decades and attest to its beauty and pristineness. The Coast Guard found his 17’ Boston Whaler awash and half submerged, still anchored to a rock outcropping at Blunt’s Reef.

I have seen a number of underwater photographs over the years but never any as beautiful as these. They are posted on his
blog and we hope they will be there for a while. Our condolences to his family and friends.

The self image was taken by Kawika (David) Chetron with the unexpected harbor seal wanting to be in the picture.

Our neighborhood

Using the new Husqvarna chainsaw with a 20" bar I was able to whack some wood around the place include cutting that redwood log that fell some time back near our water tank. I counted the tree rings and it was more than 60 years old before it fell. Looking at the rings it is clear that there have been wet cycles and dry cylces in our neighborhood. The log is between 20 and 27 inches in diameter. In May we can drag thes pieces off the hill and have them planked. Maybe we will build some Adirondak chairs for the deck and panel a wall in the house. Keeping the wood for furniture preserves the stored C02 in the bank and not releasing it to the atmosphere.



RA did a lot of cleaning and we cut back some of the brush around the deck and one of the parking areas. We burned termited wood and gathered a couple pounds of nails from the ashes before we hauled it away.





Some years ago a shrine of rocks and an abalone shell were left at the base of the redwood tree in front. Anyone remember?



Kay, our neighbor gave us some dafodils and we added a couple wild flowers. They are in bloom around our woods.



We also planted an apple tree in the garden. Maybe it will survive and we will have apples or the animals.

The View is pretty nice...

We had the local rock and gravel place come out with five cubic yards of rocks and fill our giant sink hole in the driveway and also put road base in the ruts between our place and Kay's. The boys, who delivered the rock and road base, used a compactor and got it pretty smooth and very well compacted. It would have taken us a long time to do it the hard way with shovels and rakes.

We did not bring our camera so we cannot show you any new pictures just this view of the Mendo Headlands from an earlier trip. The weather was clear last night and the moon half full and the water was at 100°F in the hot tub. Que Bueno.