Do Do the Potty Dance

I was “asked” Monday on Facebook, apparently the only place where real-world people like me hang out: What is one thing you would rid the world of?

There were your expected comments. Racism, hatred, drugs, Rednecks, in-equality all made the list. I had one answer that literally rolled off my tongue: “Poop!” I confidently responded.  I was not meaning to joke about the “often-stinky combination of fiber, dead and live bacteria and other cells, mucus, water and a gel-like substance,” according to everyday health.com, not to go into too much detail.

Anyway, not only is poop the only logical answer, (I did get 15+ likes), it is the ONLY ANSWER!  In the history of the world, (that we know of) poop has caused a lot of problems and continues to do so as people die everyday from dysentery.  Not to mention the embarrassment that poop can force. (See nurses et al.)

At first I suppose, poop helped in fertilizing crops, until some fecal matter was found unworthy of the land, sickening and leveling towns!  (Although llama poop is okay as it reportedly saved the Incan empire.)

And it slides downhill from there – poop is responsible for toppling civilizations, and causing more deaths than anything else. (I really have no scientific back-up for that, but I do remember stories of Roman poop fests, and English plagues.)

Remember a couple years ago, actor Matt Damon was on a crusade and promised not to poop in a toilet until there are no water problems worldwide? Damon said more than 2.5 BILLION people do not have access to toilets, so their poop leads to pollution, disease and death. (See Water.org) 

I wonder how Damon is doing with that pledge, but the most civilized way is not to talk about poop or its societal repercussions! Glad we are civilized – and the “toilet-less” live overseas! Amazing how our bodies know to get rid of waste, but as a community it is still a foul subject! Ha ha ha

Well, lo and behold, on Women’s Healthy Daily website, it goes even further to delve into the problem of poop in the world:  www.womenshealthmag.com/health/gut-mind-connection?cid=NL_WHDD_-_07062015_IsYourPoopEmotionallyDisturbed

Seriously, it’s all organic! lol If we took care of ourselves first, then our fellow human beings, everything would all flow!

(For the ultimate in poop news Monday: Bill Cosby finally admits to drugging women for sex! That took a hell of a long time for “investigative mainstream journalists” to find out what the rest of us Feminists’ already knew: We believed the women! Duh!?)

Animal's attack, shark week

As I write this, four Bison and eight shark attacks happened this year. There have been coyotes walking New York City streets and in Central Park and fish killing little girls in the South!

Maybe animals are nearing their breaking point and blame humans for ruining the way things were. Think about how we have forced ourselves on their land, and trashed their homes and habitats. We've been building them further in the hills, and not paying critical attention to problems we have caused, (poor polar bears which may become extinct within the next 10 years.)

Oil balls are still found on the beaches of Louisiana five years after that 210,000 gallon oil spill, and there is little media coverage about the problems being seen after the 3K oil spill north of Santa Barbara that hit more than 800 acres of ocean and 135 miles of coastline in May.

Those batches of water-based animals, if they live, are probably shaking their little heads and saying, “Jesus Christ,” (in the manner of Joan Crawford’s daughter Christina after the wire hanger incident in the movie, “Mommie Dearest.”)

When I was in the U.S. Navy, I got written up for having a monthly allotment going to Greenpeace efforts; and jeez, I have been recycling for 30 years (too bad that never took lol) and celebrating Earth Day even longer. I have written a lot of stories regarding our great outdoor neighbors, and wrote one of the first stories about fracking, (early 1990s).

I even remember the electric car in the 1970s which was squashed, literally and figuratively, by Big Business – which is why we are so dependent on overseas oil. Great film on that: “Who Killed the Electric Car?”

Americans spend more money on their pets than their children. A sad commercial can fund a shelter, which by the way is sort of a scam when you are paying $300 for a rescued cat. In my day, lol, we got our animals for free, just for wanting them. 

And there are certainly more sites online that cater to animals rather than helping humans.  And don’t forget the U.S. money being spent in other countries while nearly 2 million kids in America get one meal a day, if they’re lucky! I’ve always wondered why we bomb cities and then spend a lot of money to build them back up!

It's all a little skewered in my opinion. Wait until the trains start crashing and spewing their toxins, (which happened over the weekend, and are owned by Warren Buffet, which explains why we keep buying oil) Decks and bridges are falling down. I do believe human lives over anything else – money, business, exploitation, et al.

You know, it may be silly, but I still believe one voice, one vote can make a difference in how we treat this planet, humans and animals, forests, prairies, et al.  I’m just going to keep screaming for what is just right!

Everybody hurts sometime

Getting a Karma payback is a bitch. Getting one in the form of serious pain is ridiculous!

When I was around 11 years old, I would announce to anyone who would listen that I was never getting old. I continued that sentiment and during my teens, it sort of developed into a fear of the elderly. Seriously, I would ditch them as soon as they got near.

My grandparents were no different to me. I had no empathy for them walking slowly, or complaining about pain.  I swore I would not get old. However, once caregiver for my Grandma Ruth that sentiment started fading.

My family lives to be in their 90s, and I find myself at the dreaded Middle Age – which sounds awful – "the plaque is near!"

After refusing for many, many years that I was aging, I finally had to accept it – which I did very recently because I cannot just jump out of bed.

I would age like a powerhouse with graceful aging!  Yeah, right. That delusion ended last October, when my hips started hurting. Walking was getting a bit more difficult as I was in pain.

Being a Veteran, and broke, I depend on the Veteran Affairs and my local VA hospital, which I have been associated with for three years now.  I am being treated for pain in the jaw, but that’s another story!

If you are a Veteran, you know:  “Hurry up and wait.” It is a pain in the ass to get anything resolved through the VA. It takes months to get appointments and years to get what you actually need. We have a saying that waiting gets you dead. The squeaky wheel gets the oil, and I am a squeaky wheel. I hate to imagine how many have died due to VA medical treatment or lack thereof.

Anyway, my pain got worse, but was getting somewhat livable with ibuprofen, aspirin, Lyrica, muscle relaxer, cold and warm packs and especially acupuncture, which I can get about every 40 days!  The pain in my hips really helps me tolerate my jaw pain! lol

However, on April 16, I did a backward lunge, (probably my last) and knew instantly something was/is seriously wrong. Physical Therapy isn’t helping because I am in too much pain to do the exercises. This pain is constant. I literally hurt to sit, stand, or lay down. I just walk – averaging my 10K, so there’s a plus! But my sleep is so much worse. The pain is really unbearable. It is a unseen force but, in my case, it is definitely vocal. I yell out when it hurts, so my voice is getting hoarse.

Did manage to finagle an appointment with the Pain Clinic (!) Monday, and am hoping for some epidural steroids, which will dull the pain? It got me thinking when I heard epidural, if I was being a baby (pun intended) to the pain because I have never experienced labor. My PT guy, Chris, said no.

Elated after getting instructions what to demand from the VA from my sister today, who is a longtime nurse, I kind of jumped onto the couch, and tried to cross my legs. OMG! That pain I was just talking about – it has definitely doubled.