A CAT SNUGGLED UP TO AN ICE PACK

 

  “SUNNY & 108”

Doctor Oz

By Uncle Hans

Uncle Hans rarely writes a serious blog, but here it is.

Rex's daughter, Amy, sent us all a copy of a recent "Dr. Oz” episode.  He is a cardiac surgeon that got started as a health and longevity expert on Oprah.  Now he has his own show.  The episode was on Alzheimer's.

        We all have been following Grandma's flight into old age with a nervous eye, thinking "could that happen to me?".  I think Amy's sending those DVD's is kind of that question for all of us.  First of all.  Dementia is a cognitive disorder of the brain that seems to affect memory the most.  If it happens in the 50's or 60's it is abnormally early and called pre-senile dementia or Alzheimer's.  If it comes, like Grandma, in the 80's when it is expected, it is called senile dementia.  The episode was very interesting in that it highlighted some new research into this problem.  The work is incomplete but very important.  It points to some causes for dementia without proving anything yet.  The problem is chemical and may be related to some foods we eat and their containing nitrates and nitrites.  These are used as preservatives in some foods.  The work is early, but interesting.

      I don't think dementia of this kind is particularly hereditary.  I think diet is a factor and these researchers will eventually unlock those secrets.  But I think dementia is related to external stimuli.  I think older people who stay connected to their friends and families, and stimulate themselves with reading, current events, and mind games or puzzles, are much less likely to develop the problem.

 "Use it or lose it".

     I see it in the older patients I have, I always make it a point to ask a few questions of the really sharp ones and they are all very busy with life.  They are aware of what is happening around them and have a wide collection of friends and family.  Grandma did watch the news and read quite a bit.  But she did not have the key factor.......close connection to friends and family.

   Isolation kills.

    Maybe it was our fault, but I think she could have reached out to many other people.  Through church, clubs, hobbies, crafts, etc.  My own bias is reading history as each book or article forces you to reach into your memory and connect the things you know and remember with the new stuff you are just reading.  Also you must connect today's current events with the history you are reading.  It is fun and it stimulates your memory automatically, without thinking about it.  Reading fiction or non-historical stuff is fun, but it ties only to that book and does not make any connections to other stuff inside your brain.

So Amy,  not to worry about Grandma's dementia.  At 83 it is expected and won't bother you if you follow the research, make the changes, and stay engaged in life.  It's easy at 35, but harder as your friends start dying at 75.

Begin to make a strategy for this today...............

By Uncle Hans

PORCH CAT

SUSIE, THE CAT, HATES THE HEAT WORSE THAN REX. SHE SIMPLY SHUTS DOWN, AND BECOMES VERY LETHARGIC. HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A CAT CUDDLE UP TO AN ICE PACK?

BUT LIKE US, SHE RETREATS TO THE PORCH AND MAKES THE BEST OF IT.

AT LEAST THE FLASH FROM THE CAMERA BROUGHT HER HEAD UP.

HER SHEDDING CAT HAIR MAKES THE PUZZLE PIECES EASIER TO FIND?

THIS WEEK THE WEATHER HAS SETTLED IN AT TRIPLE DIGITS, AND WILL HANG IN THE 100’S THRU AUGUST.  MAKES FOR A LONG SUMMER.  SUSIE IMMEDIATELY RECOGNISES THE SOUND OF EITHER A/C FIRING UP AND ASSUMES THE BEST POSITION TO LAY IN FRONT OF THE COOL AIR.

LUCKILY WE’LL ALL FEEL BETTER IN ABOUT 90 DAYS..THE COUNTDOWN HAS STARTED.

  “SUNNY & 100+”

SMOKING RANT

SEVERAL YEARS AGO, NEVADA PASSED THEIR NO-SMOKING LAWS, THANKS, IN PART, TO THE MANY CALIFORNIA TRANSPLANTS WHO LOVE TO LEGISLATE EVERYTHING.  SMOKING AND GAMBLING GO TOGETHER LIKE FISH AND CHIPS, PEAS AND CARROTS, POLITICIANS AND SEX …….

SO THE BIG AND POWERFUL CASINOS MANAGED TO GET THE LAW PASSED THAT THERE IS NO – SMOKING ANYWHERE THERE IS CHILDREN OR FOOD.  THIS LEFT THE BIG CASINO FLOORS SMOKING.  SURE THERE IS NO-SMOKING IN THE REST OF THE PUBLIC AREAS AND RESTAURANTS.

THIS LEFT THE $7 BURGER JOINTS AND TAVERNS TO CHOOSE BETWEEN FOOD AND SLOT MACHINES.  A TUFF CHOICE TO BE SURE, WHEN THEIR BUSINESS MODELS ARE BUILT ON THE PROFITS OF THE 15 BAR TOP, SLOT MACHINES, AND THE FOOD COMING OUT OF THE KITCHEN.

ENFORCEMENT OF THE NO-SMOKING LAWS WAS LEFT UP TO THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, AND IT WAS THE SMOKER WHO WAS ARRESTED AND FINED, NOT THE ESTABLISHMENT. 

OF COURSE AN INDIAN RESERVATION IS A SOVERIGN NATION AND IGNORED THE NO-SMOKING RULES. ISN’T THAT AN UNFAIR ADVANTAGE?

I WAS AT PT’S, A 24-HOUR, $7 BURGER JOINT WITH SLOTS, IN VEGAS, WHERE THEY HAVE ABOUT 30 LOCATIONS.  AFTER BREAKFAST I ORDERED A BEER AND ASKED FOR AN ASHTRAY?  THE BARTENDER SAID SORRY WE CAN’T PROVIDE YOU WITH AN ASHTRAY, BUT IMMEDIATELY SET UP A HALF A GLASS OF WATER FOR ME TO DROP MY CIGARETTE BUTTS IN.

IN ANOTHER EXAMPLE, MARY AND I HAD DROPPED THE HONDA OFF FOR SERVICE AT THE HONDA DEALER ON SAHARA AVE AND WALKED DOWN A FEW BLOCKS TO A NEIGHBORHOOD TAVERN. AS WE WERE SMOKING AND DRINKING THE BARTENDER CAME UP AND OFFERED US LUNCH.  WE BOTH HAD BLUE PLATE SPECIALS AND WERE ASKED TO DONATE A FEW DOLLARS.  SO, I GUESS THEY REALLY WEREN’T SELLING FOOD?

THE WHOLE SITUATION WAS A CAN OF WORMS.  LOT’S PEOPLE LOST THEIR JOBS AS RESTARUANTS AND BARS CLOSED, SLOT ROUTES WENT BROKE. THE SMOKING POLICE (HEALTH DEPT.) COULDN’T ENFORCE, AND THERE WAS A STIPULATION IN THE ORIGINAL NO-SMOKING LAW THAT IT COULDN’T BE CHANGED FOR FIVE YEARS.

TODAY, AFTER FIVE YEARS, THERE IS A SMOKING LAW PASSED BY THE LEGISLATORS LAYING ON THE GOVERNORS DESK TO ALLOW SMOKING IN ADULT TAVERNS WITH FOOD.

IT’S A SMOKING LAW !!! GOD I LOVE NEVADA !!!

 

Morel Mushrooms

On my recent trip to Wisconsin, I was  looking forward to having morel mushrooms.  May is prime mushroom time in Iowa and Wisconsin.  At a gas station just over the Iowa state line I found a T-shirt with this picture on it:



Due to the rotten spring weather in Iowa and Wisconsin these were the ONLY mushrooms I saw….

what a disappointment!!