Beware of Rattlesnakes

It's that time of year again.  Rattlesnakes are out in great abundance.  Little ones are being born, and the weather is heating up.  April-October are the primary months for rattlesnake activity.  Generally rattlesnakes are not aggressive.  They become defensive if accidentally touched by someone walking or climbing.

Here are few things to remember when walking or hiking in the great outdoors.  Avoid tall grass.  Don't walk near crevices you cannot see.  Check stumps or logs before sitting on them.  Stay on well worn trails.

If you are bitten, stay calm.  Call 911.  Keep bite area below the heart until help arrives, or until you get to Urgent Care.  Rattlesnakes are one of the most maligned of all snakes.  Remember, they are one of the few snakes that helps control our rodent population.  We're invading their space, so be respectful and stay safe.

The Rabbits of Ravensbruck

I just finished a book called Lilac Girls, by Martha Hall Kelly.  It's a Holocaust book like no other I have read.  It is based on fact, and many of the main characters are real.  It was a story I had not heard before, and one I will never forget.  It's about the Ravensbruck concentration camp, the only camp for women only, and the lives of the women who were held there.  Here's a little more information on Ravensbruck concentration camp.

Ravensbruck was a German concentration camp built for women in 1938, by Heinrich Himmler.  130,000 to 132,000 female prisoners passed through the Ravensbruck camp system.  40,000 were Polish and 26,000 were Jewish from many countries including Germany:  Russian, French and Dutch.  About 50,000 of these women perished from disease, starvation, overwork and despair.  Others were killed in the gas chambers.  Only 15,000 of the total survived until liberation.

Starting in the summer of 1942, medical experiments were conducted without consent on the86 women.  74 of them were Polish inmates.  Political prisoners were experimented on by testing the efficacy of sulfonamide drugs.  These experiments involved deliberate cutting into and infecting of leg bones and muscles with bacteria.  The second set of experiments studied bone, muscle and nerve regenerations.  Many of the women experimented upon died.  Those with unhealed would were executed.  Also many women were sterilized.  They had been deceived into signing consent forms, being told they would be released if they complied.

At the Neurenberg trials, many of the accused were found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity and sentenced to death.  The one female doctor who was found guilty, was sentenced to 20 in prison.  However, she was released in only five years by the Americans, in a secret deal.  She returned to Germany where she practiced medicine for many years.  It was not until Caroline Farraday, a main character in the book, found out she was out of prison and practicing medicine, that something was done.  Caroline encouraged one of the Rabbits to go to the clinic where the Nazi doctor was working and positively identify her.  She did, and the German doctor finally lost her medical license, but never returned to prison.

This is a horrific chapter in history, but one that is told beautifully in Lilac Girls.  Such brave women.  It was almost impossible for the women to resist what was being done to them, but one form of resistance they were able to establish was the secret education programs organized by prisoners for their fellow inmates.  The most extensive were among Polish women, wherin various high school levil classes were taught by experienced teachers. The Rabbits of Ravensbruck were truly remarkable women. 

Zero Waste Grocery Coming Soon

We've gotten rid of some waste by using reusable cloth bags for most of our shopping.  This is a step in the right direction, but what's going on in Europe in cities like Berlin, Vienna and Barcelona will really reduce waste.  The shopper brings his own reusable glass jars or bags, and buys just what he needs.  For example, you are baking a cake and don't often use sugar except for baking.  You can bring a reusable bottle and buy just what you need, maybe one or two cups of sugar.  The same for honey, vinegar, oats and other cereal, rice, even milk.

Dispensers in the grocery store would be filled with these items, and you would buy just what you need.  In many cases, the milk and other dairy products would come from a local farm, in glass bottles, which shoppers could then bring back to the grocery store on their next visit.  The goal is to encourage shoppers to buy only what they need.  This would cut down on waste from unused food and unnecessary packaging.

The Fillery will open soon in Brooklyn and there's another zero waste grocery store set to open in Vancouver.  Just when you thought there was no room for more grocery stores, along comes the zero waste store.  This is something I had never thought of, but it makes perfect sense.  Americans waste more than 29% of the food they buy.  Granted, a lot of this is perishable food, but not all of it.  I thow things like oil and old spices out all the time.  If I'd bought just what I needed, much of this waste would be reduced.

Will it be more difficult for the consumer?  Absolutely, but just as bringing one's own bags to the market became a habit, so will bringing one's own containers to buy just what you need.  It will take years to convert people to thinking this way, but those that are concerned about the mounds of garbage we produce, will make the change.  Think of the packaging on cereal, rice, crackers and cookies.  The packaging is recyclable, but wouldn't it be better if you didn't need the package in the first place?  Many markets have already incorporated bins, which allow you to buy only what you need, and save the packaging, except for the bag.  Great idea, as it saves money, creates less waste, and allows you to buy just what you need.  The zero waste grocery store is the logical extension of this, and I look forward to seeing one in our neighborhood soon.

Wild Foodie Tour Of Tijuana

I'm always on the lookout for new and interesting places of interest for my Newcomers group.  You know I love food, so a foodie tour was in order.  I had already done several tours in San Diego, so when I ran across Wild Foodie Tours, which does foodie tours of Tijuana , I jumped at the chance to experience it.  I was a little concerned that some women would balk at the idea, possibly being worried about their personal safety and the safety of the food.  Why am I such a skeptic?  22 of us went to Tijuana with our guide Albert Chan, and had a ball.

Albert is a young Chinese man, in love with Tijuana.  He loves the people and the culture, and his enthusiasim  is contagious.  We all met at the San Diego-Mexico border, and Albert took over from there.  After crossing the border on foot, Albert had arranged a local bus to pick us up and take us to our first stop.  It was an old, disheveled bus, in need of a little TLC, but it ran, and got us to our first destination.

The tour featured street food of Tijuana, off the beaten path holes in the wall.  It did not disappoint.  We first toured an open market, or bazzaar, which sold everything from clothes, shoes and pots and pans, to chiles, fruit and sweet candy.  We sampled some fresh fruit there, which was so refreshing.  Coconut, papaya, mango, and melon, sprinkled with a bit of chile powder for an extra kick, was delicious.  We then went on to eat marlin tacos, cervice tostatados, carne asada tacos, battered and fried fish tacos, a special fruit drink, and hot, homemade churros.  It was all delicious, and we came away stuffed.

Tijuana has changed over the last decade.  People are friendly and helpful, and Avenida Revolution, the main street, is cleaned up and looking prosperous.  It's fun to explore new places, or revisit places you haven't seen in a while, and doing it though food makes it all the more fun.

Why Are Pilot Whales Beaching Themselves?

On a remote stretch of beach in New Zealand, hundreds of pilot whales recently beached themselves, resulting in over 400 dead pilot whales.  Volunteers worked round the clock to refloat as many whales as possible.  They were able to return about 200 of them to the water, but more pilot whales came the following day.  Why?  That has the scientists stumped.  There are theories that they may be following a food source, or taking care of sick whales in their pod.  Neither of those theories make much sense to me.

It's really tragic.  New Zealand has one of the highest rates of whales beaching themselves in the world.  This was the third largest whale tragedy in New Zealand history.  The largest was in 1918, when 1,000 pilot whales beached themselves.  The cause of this remains a mystery.

Pickleball Is Everywhere

Ron and I spent a week in Phoenix with some of his high school friends recently.  One of them, Ian, is an avid pickleball player, and he was kind enough to take me to the courts for a little exercise.  We arrived one morning around 8am.  All eight courts were full, and there were people waiting at each court.  There is no separation between courts, so it's a little chaotic with balls often rolling onto the court, but you get used to it.  The people were friendly, and there were lots of good players.

The interesting thing is that the players at the courts in Scottsdale came from all over.  Pickleball is everywhere!  Anchorage, Cleveland, Minnesota, Canada.  The guy we met from Anchorage liked the game so much he went home to Anchorage and built a court in his front lawn.  You can imagine how many new friends he has.

A friend of mine here in Oceanside recently returned from New Zealand, where he and his wife introduced the game to his brother.  They loved the game, and now it will spread in a small New Zealand neighborhood.

Somebody asked me the other day if I thought pickleball would ever become an Olympic sport.  I quickly said "No,"  but on second thought I think that is possible.  With the speed at which the sport has taken off, it's entirely possible.  If badminton can become an Olympic sport, why not pickleball?

Trump Is Busy Signing Executive Orders

Since Donald Trump took office 11 weeks ago, he has been very busy.  Signing executive orders, making proclamations and memorandums, and shuttling back and forth between Washington, D.C. and Mar a Lago in Florida.  What has he actually done?

His goal is to make good on his campaign  promises.  Repeal and replace ObamaCare, build a wall the length of our southern border, ban Muslims from immigrating to the U.S., rebuild our military, get rid of TPP and renegotiate other trade deals, and drain the swamp.  These, I believe, were his major promises.  Let's see what he's done so far.

He has made 45 executive orders and dozens of proclamations and memorandums.  The proclamations have to do with things like declaring national Greek day, National Heart Month and National School Choice Month.  The 45 executive orders are more significant.  His first major order was to stop immigration to our country by Muslims.  The first order was rejected, so he went back and rewrote the Muslim ban.  It too, was rejected, and it appears it will be settled in court.  Trump promised to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.  That hasn't worked out so well.   Another executive order dismantled Obama's climate change protections.  It included being able to dump coal into rivers that are used for drinking water.  This act will set us on a path of climate destruction, not to mention that the rest of the world is working to clean up the environment.  We will be out of step with the rest of the world.  Another major executive order that Trump has revoked is Obama's fair pay and safe workplace order.  Companies no longer have to disclose if they've violated Fair Labor Standard Act, Occupational Safety and Health Act, Migrant Agriculture Worker Act, or National Labor Relations Act.  This will negatively impact women.  He has also ordered funds to be cut for sanctuary cities.  Is this even legal?

No matter where you stand politically, you've got to admit that President Trump is off to a rocky start.

As for draining the swamp, I don't think he's done that either.  He's filled the swamp with millionaires and billionaires, most of whom have NO experience at the job they are now doing.  To quote Trump, "Things are a mess."  I come home each night and watch a new episode of As the World Turns.  It's a never ending soap opera, with intrigue no one could make up.  Let's keep our fingers crossed that level heads prevail, and no rash decisions are made.  The grownups must come forward and lead.