An Odyssey ... of a sort - Part 2 of 6 by KimB

I was left with knowing there was “nothing new” outside of health issues uncovered a decade ago and those health issues were not going away – ever. I was looking at a rather bleak picture of declining health, mobility, activity and freedom to do what I want, when I want.

When you have to plan an expedition to go to the market, you lose the fun of spontaneous outings.

I could barely face another day knowing that there was nothing outside of a lot of Advil, that was going to mitigate even a bit of the pain, so I decided to try something, anything, to minimize the discomfort.

I didn't know I was about to embark on an amazing journey.

Being assured by my doctors that, even though I had a lot of pain, I wasn't going to injure anything, I went to the pool at the local gym. I've been going to the gym off and on for years and like most people I would go for awhile and then stop. When I was younger, I could do a big workout but as my weight increased and health declined the workouts were less and less.

My local gym is extremely well equipped and has a lap and walking pool. I'd gone to their water aerobics classes in the past, so I decided to try to walk the pool again. I hobbled in with my cane and headed to the pool. I took my cane right up to the edge with me and began slowly going down the steps. I didn't know if I would be able to get up the steps when I was finished. I knew the gym had a disability chair lift available and that they would eventually be able to haul me out of the pool.

I did my walking routine and then headed for the steps. From the bottom, it looked like the top of Everest and the 3 steps were as difficult to me as the summit would be to a mountain climber. I put my foot on the first step and hauled on the hand rail. As I moved up out of the water I heard a loud POP! I froze in place. I wasn't sure what happened.

I took stock of my situation. It wasn't a backfire or gunshot. Everything seemed fine. There weren't any new pains. My toes and fingers wiggled OK. I stood on the step for a moment longer and realized: the pain in my back was GONE.

Getting out of the water with 210 pounds of traction, had realigned something.

I went home with no pain in my back and a realization that I COULD do something about this after all. I could make sure that this “kink” in my back did not return.

We went to Costco and I bought one of those memory foam mattress toppers. Friends had already purchased similar items for their back problems, so I knew that they had some benefit. We lugged the box home and got it placed on the bed.

The first morning was amazing. Not only did my back not hurt but the pains in other parts of my body had also decreased. Over the next few days, each morning the overall pain index was less. So much of the existing pain was inter-related that when those muscles were finally able to relax into a more normal state, the effect was instantly recognizable.

I wasn't pain-free, but I had a lot less-pain.

On a follow up trip to Costco I spotted some pillows with the same memory foam material and I threw those in my shopping cart too. I had no expectations about what such a pillow would do, as we normally use very good “health grade” style pillows.

More than 30 years ago, I'd gotten a whiplash from a car accident. The pain never really went away and over the years I'd sorted out a way to sleep to support my neck and head. On occasion, if I didn't get the pillows “just right”, I'd be in for a whole day of neck pain too.

I was taking a chance on trying these new pillows – it might not work out.

The pillows were hard as rocks and Allen tossed his right away. I didn't find mine uncomfortable and figured I'd try it for the night.

The next morning was amazing. After 30 years of neck pain – there wasn't any. The difference was astonishing. That rock hard pillow allowed some muscles in my neck to relax and after 30 years of “cramp” it was hard to believe that I could have that much pain free movement.

The amount of overall pain declined over a few weeks but didn't go away completely. I still had pain, a lot less than before, but I could deal with what I had. I made a decision that would change my views on a lot of things.

Having experienced what was coming in the future, I resolved to delay what was inevitable and heading my way, as long as possible.

More TIME is not an option in life; I had to do something NOW.

[Editor's note: This story was written by KimB and is part 2 of a 6 part series.]

Happy New Year 2015!!!

Happy New Year 2015!!!

An Odyssey ... of a sort - Part 1 of 6 by KimB

Every year I go through the somewhat obligatory review of achievements and failures of the previous year. Most often the win/loss columns are equal but in some years the columns are more lopsided and I make assertions to “do better” in the coming year.

Last year was no different... except is was.

The Greek epic poem about the end of the Trojan War, the Odyssey, reminds me of my journey this year. The story is full of adventure, romance, awe, sorrow, happiness, obstacles and surprising victories over everyday impediments. It's one that everyone experiences in different ways and continues until the last breath and the last heart beat. Mortality and the Ferryman capture us all, but before the Ferryman comes, demanding his payment, the Odyssey continues.

During the Trojan War, the Greeks and Trojans fought epic battles and the gods were divided about which side should win. The Greeks were promised ultimate victory but not an easy one. The war consumed both sides and at the end, Troy was burned, the city razed, their people slaughtered or enslaved and their heroes dead on the battlefield.

The triumphant Greeks headed home after a decade of war, secure in their victory with the spoils and riches of Troy as proof. They didn't live long to enjoy it.

Nearly every great Greek hero dies before or shortly after arriving home. Their doom is pronounced often but they ignore the warnings. One of the few that return home successfully is the hero Odysseus but not without trials and delays.

Odysseus' journey lasts another decade and there are many obstacles to his return. He is shipwrecked, attacked, delayed, held hostage. The gods fight over his fate as he persists in what seems to be a futile effort to return home. His homecoming is not without danger and he must overcome the effects of 20 years of absence to prove his identity and re-claim his lands and family.

Over the last decade my health has declined – a lot. The effects of illness and the required drugs with their numerous complications and side effects, led to a very large weight increase. Add in aging, with its increasing physical limitations, all made a recipe for “the worse”.

Oprah has nothing on me; I could beat her bag-for-bag in any cookie eating competition.

At the end of 2013, the state of affairs was on the “awful” side of the ledger. I could barely move without a cane, I was starting to seriously look at walkers and thinking of motorized wheelchairs. The pains in my joints and back made even simple tasks an Everest style challenge. I had been through more and more tests and spent hours in the MRI hoping that the doctors would find “something” and especially hoping that the “something” had a reasonable chance of being alleviated/fixed.

It didn't happen. They found nothing new.

That turned out to be “the good news”.

[Editor's note: This story was written by KimB and is part 1 of a 6 part series.]

Christmas Customs

End Homelessness by Marion 2014

A pagan tradition of using boughs of trees to decorate homes marking the winter solstice continued when Romans celebrated Saturnalia in honor of the deity, Saturn, on December 17th. Early Christians opposed the practice as pagan and Christian churches continued the opposition to the celebration of evergreens until mid-19th century.

Oliver Cromwell preached against “heathen' traditions and Puritans condemned the customs associated with Christmas- yule logs, holly, mistletoe, and carols. The Pilgrim Governor, William Bradford, a Calvinist, tried to stamp out “pagan mockery” at Christmas, and trees were not decorated during Colonial times.

Protestant Germans were the first to popularize the decoration of Christmas trees. During the 1840s and 50s, Prince Albert decorated trees for Queen Victoria. Out of love for the queen, the English began celebrating Christmas with tree decorations. In 1851, Pastor Henry Schwan of Cleveland, Ohio, was the first person to decorate a Christmas tree in a church.

The concept of trimming a tree at Christmas is world wide, but there is still opposition by fundamental religious groups as pagan observances. As late as Christmas 2000, the city manager of Eugene, Oregon, ordered no Christmas trees on city property since they are considered Christian symbols.

Hell in a Hand Basket

This is an expression often heard when people grouch about affairs of state. 'Going to hell in a hand basket' implies that the decisions made by those in charge of running and protecting the country are not up to snuff and their decisions are leading the country toward disaster. So called 'progress', paired with disapproval of policies opposite to one's own preference, also contributes to the universal complaint that the country is 'going down hill' or 'going to hell in a hand basket'.

Barbaric atrocities in the quest for religious dominance and struggles against tyrannical governments are aired on TV 24/7. These events have a cause and effect on a global scale, and forming policies that will combat such perverse behavior is frustrating. and never ending. Relationships between nations are always changing; becoming more complex as they vie for economic and political dominance.

There are no easy answers, but one can't help but ask if some policies will solve problems or create more.

• Will we ever get back to a peace time economy?
• Will all the country's adult males be veterans?
• Will all the country's young women soon be veterans too?
• Will NSA ever stop collecting data on American citizens?
• Will the internet ever be totally safe for banking or shopping?
• Will the country ever have protected borders?


• Is the country going to hell in a hand basket?

[Those people] who would rather ride to hell in a hand-cart than walk to heaven supported by the staff of industry.

Elbridge Gerry Paige (1813-1859)
Short Patent Sermons, 1841

Big Talk, Big Stick

Since the public airing of the Senate torture study, comprising details of the horrific methods used to cause human suffering, participants and those who approved the actions are defending the practice. Their hue and cry of innocence and accusations of misleading and false information in the report makes it seem as if torture is not only permissible, but standard behavior of captured enemies.

I'm astounded at the widely voiced approval of torture. To have willingly participated in actions of atrocity considered war crimes, or even having known and permitted the actions, belies what Americans refer to as our VALUES.

Writing Secret Language

I recently finished reading a novel based on the factual lives of women in China during 1820 to 1850, the years of Emperor Daoguang. The book, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See, describes in detail the lives of women, their relationships to each other, their superstitions, religious practices and forced acceptance of worthlessness.

The novel centers around Yao women, descendants of the Yao ethnic tribe who settled in Yongming county region during the Tang dynasty after fleeing Mongol armies in the north. The two main characters, Snow Flower and Lily, record their friendship and lives in Nu shu from ages of five, young adult hood, marriages and death.

Nu shu is a written language, used by Chinese women for over a thousand years, and kept hidden from men. It had been invented by women who were forbidden to learn to read the writing and classics taught to men. Nu shu does not represent a specific word. Characters are phonetic, representing sound. Each character may represent more than one word if they sound the same. Context usually makes the meaning clear, but much care must be taken not to misinterpret the meaning.

During the last half of the 20th century, Nu shu nearly became extinct since the reason for using it no longer existed. Few Nu shu documents, whether letters, stories, weaving or embroideries have survived since most were burned at grave sites for metaphysical reasons. In the 1930s Japanese soldiers destroyed many that had been kept as heirlooms. During the cultural revolution in China, Red Guards burned more texts.

Lisa See, author, of the book, relates an incident in her research notes about the hidden writing. One day in the 1960s, an old lady fainted in a rural Chinese train station. Police, searching her belongings in an effort to identify her, came across papers with writing they thought might be a secret code. She was arrested on suspicion of being a spy. Scholars, who deciphered the writing, quickly realized it was the written language used by women and hidden from men for over a 1000 years. The scholars were sent to labor camps.

Currently the Peoples Republic is making an effort to keep the language alive by opening a Nu shu school in Puwei, a village of Tongkou. The last remaining woman who used and spoke the language died a few years ago, but several of her students and various international scholars who are members of societies that study and preserve ancient languages are also trying to preserve and collect samples of Nu shu.

In the rules governing Nu shu: it can be used to write letters, stories, autobiographies, songs, lessons on womanly duties, prayers to goddesses and popular stories. It is written with a brush on paper or a fan. It can be embroidered on handkerchiefs, or woven into cloth. It can and should be sung before an audience of women and girls. It can also be something read and treasured alone. Two most important rules are: Men must never know it exists, and men may not touch it in any form.

The movie, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, made by a Hong Kong film maker, starring the famous actress, Li BingBing, was released in the United States in 2011.

"Nüshu" written in Nüshu (right to left).