Another Devastating Syndrome

I was listening to the radio the other day and learned that the North American Bat population was in danger of collapsing due to a fungal disease called White Nose Syndrome (WNS).  Whenever I hear about any of the syndromes with three letter acronyms I am reminded of things like RLS, restless leg syndrome or business acronyms like TQM, for Total Quality Management.  There is even one called TLA for Three-Letter Acronym syndrome, but I am really getting off the path now.

Anyway, this White Nose Syndrome sparked my interest not because of my obvious love and concern for bats, which are our best natural pest control against things like mosquitoes, but because WNS causes bat’s metabolism to increase.  They don’t just increase, but bats don’t hibernate as long, they fly much more, to the point of losing all their body fat and starving to death.

This sound like a horrible way to go and scientist have not found any cure, which is serious, especially if you are a bat or a farmer who needs the bats to eat the bugs that eat their crops.

See, I think that pesticide manufactures don’t really have a vested interest in finding a cure for these bats.  If we don’t have bats people will need more artificial ways to kill insects.  Sure academia can get in on finding an answer, but we all know that those ivy tower folks are very thorough and methodical, so it might take a while.

My idea to this problem is to get the giant Pharma guys to study it to see how they might turn this bat killing fungus into a diet drug.  Nothing smells like money more than a natural weight loss program and what’s more natural than fungus?  While the Galaxo and Johnson & Johnson folks are at it they can find a cure for the bats because they are going to need to learn how to control the fungus.

It would not be good if they just gave humans the fungus and we stopped needing so much sleep and needed to eat a lot more forever.  I am just looking at this as maybe a weekday drug.  I could be so much more productive five days a week and then on the weekends I could drop back into Non-White Noses Syndrome mode so that I could rest and maintain just enough body fat to stay alive, maybe like Swedish body size.

Until WNS is under control do everything you can to help keep the bat population around.  Right now the word is that it is only passed from bat to bat contact, so consider putting up some single-bat houses and not those giant bat condos that would be a breeding ground for the fungus.  Also consider adding the bat population to your nightly prayers.  I’m adding the Pharma scientists to mine.

Don’t Wait

Tax day is coming.  I know it, you know it, every American knows it.  Somehow getting my stuff together for the account to do our tax returns is a job I hate.  I don’t know why.  It is not that hard to gather the paper work and turn it over to someone else to actually figure it all out, yet I still procrastinate.  We usually get a good return so it is not like I am putting off paying the government more money.  In fact I am letting them keep what they owe me a little longer.  So why do I do anything but my taxes?

Changing your eating habits and workout routine is very similar to doing your taxes.  You know you need to do it.  It is always right there hanging over your head, yet somehow other things keep you occupied just enough so you don’t do it.  Anyone who needs to lose weight knows it.  You don’t have to go to the Doctor or have a loved one tell you that maybe you should pay attention to your eating.  Yet even with it with you all the time, those extra few pounds, you do anything but diet.

I have been successful at the losing weight and working out thing by looking it straight in the eye and just dealing with it and you know it is not that bad.  SO today I am going to go ahead and get those taxes done, right after I pick Carter up from school, take her to the mall and go to a birthday dinner.  No really, I am not going to needlepoint tonight, I am going to organize the paperwork.  It’s not that hard.  Then tomorrow I will drop it off and I will not have that hanging over my head.

Taxes are so much easier than dieting.  Do it, get it done.  But then there are hard things that we don’t do that just hang around all the time.  When was the last time we updated our wills?  Cleaned out the attic?  Had our tetanus booster shot?  I am beginning to think that loosing weight is the easy thing.

The real message today is that thinking about doing something is so much worse than just going ahead and doing it.  Right now I am trying not to think of all the things I need to think about because I’m late for pick up.  So go forth.  You know what to do, just do it.

A Cup Of Coffee On The Wall

This is a story sent to me by my friend and fellow Food Bank Board Member Ed Carney. It was sent to Ed by his good friend Joe Leveille. Other than that I do not know it’s origin, but felt that as Lent ends it is a great story to share.

I sat with a friend in a high-class coffee shop in a small town near Venice, Italy. As we enjoyed our coffee, a man entered and sat at an empty table beside us.
He called the waiter and placed his order saying, “Two cups of coffee, one of them there on the wall.” We heard this order with some interest and observed that he was served with only one cup of coffee but he paid for two. As soon as he left, the waiter pasted a piece of paper on the wall with the words written ‘A Cup of Coffee’.
While we were still there, two other men entered and ordered three cups of coffee, “Two on the table and one on the wall.” They had only two cups of coffee but paid for three and left. This time again, the waiter did the same; he pasted a piece of paper on the wall saying, ‘A Cup of Coffee’.

It seemed that this gesture was a norm at this place. However, it was something unique and perplexing for us. Since we had nothing to do with the matter we finished our coffee, paid the bill and left.

After a few days, we happened to visit this coffee shop again. While we were enjoying our coffee, a man entered. The way the man was dressed did not match the standard nor the atmosphere of the coffee shop. Poverty was evident from the look on his face and his attire. As he seated himself, he looked at the wall and said, “One cup of coffee from the wall please.” The waiter served a coffee to this man with the customary respect and dignity.

The man drank his coffee and left without paying. We were amazed to watch all this when we also noticed that the waiter took off a piece of paper from the wall and threw it in the dust bin. Then it dawned on us what this custom was all about. The great respect for the needy shown by the inhabitants of this town welled up our eyes with tears.

Coffee is not a need of our society, nor a necessity of life. The point to note is that when we take pleasure in any blessing, maybe we also need to think about those people who appreciate that specific blessing as much as we do but they cannot afford to have it.
Note the character of the waiter, who is playing a consistent and generous role to get the communication going between the affording and the needy with a smile on his face.

Ponder upon this man in need. He enters the coffee shop without having to lower his self-esteem. He has no need to beg for a free cup of coffee. He only looked at the wall, placed an order for himself, enjoyed his coffee and left.

When we analyze this story, along with the other characters, we need to remember the role played by the wall that reflects the generosity and care of the dwellers of this town. What a way to show compassion and maintain human dignity for all.

Get It In Writing

As a woman of experience, that should read, a woman of middle aged, one who wears many hats; confident, confessor, laundress, chef, driver, advisor, fundraiser, writer, seamstress, animal trainer, maid, event planner, historian, communicator, comedian, gambler, public speaker, procurement agent, long-range planner, shipping clerk, scheduler, hostess, travel agent, proof reader, accountant, nurse, promoter, cheerleader, spiritual advisor, coach, secretary, therapist and some unmentionables.  I could summarize that list into two words, wife and mother.

One thing I have learned over the years of doing the many jobs that a wife and a mother does is that when someone actual thanks you or compliments you it is a great day and should be noted.  Now a thank you from my husband is great, but he is a serial thanker so it is not a red-letter day when it happens.  It is great to be appreciated by my spouse and makes me want to make sure I thank him more too.

But for all you people who have or have lived through having a fourteen-year-old daughter a compliment from her is a newsworthy event.  Yesterday was that day for me.  For what ever reason Carter was particularly happy with me and told me, in front of her friend Ashley no less, that I was the “Best person alive!”  I had not done anything extraordinary for her, just one of the things on my “hat list,” but she just appreciated me yesterday.

Knowing the importance of that moment I asked her if she would put it in writing for me.  Carter picked up a pencil and a pad of free from some hotel post-it notes and wrote, “You, Dana are the best person alive- Carter.”  There it is, evidence that for one tiny moment I was good in the eyes of my teenager.  Now, I am certainly spoiling it by writing it here.  Hopefully she won’t read this blog.  But I do forever have these words by her own hand.

I know that everyone out there has encountered a situation where someone paid you a compliment or told you something that made your spirit sing because it was rare and special.  Sometimes it is so out of the blue that after the fact you begin to question whether is actually happened or wonder if you heard it right.  Next time kudos come your way, ask for it in writing.  If your praiser was sincere they will be happy to write it down – It multiplies the accolade because you can forever reread it.  Not that I am encouraging you to go around singing your own praises, but having that little bit of paper can make you smile, cheer you up or remind you why you wear the one thousand and thirty four hats you do for the ones you love.  Better yet, write a note to your loved ones and tell them how you feel about them — Nothing too over the top, just one really good sentence.