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COLUMNS: Along
The Way... With P. Jay
Along The Way with P. Jay is entering its sixth year as a weekly feature in The Transcript and it has been well received throughout the county. As with any columnist who writes a lot of controversial stuff, the author has made friends and enemies during the past five years. However, judging by the letters and phone calls, it can be said with a certain amount of accuracy that P. Jay has made more friends than enemies. The responsibilities of a column writer who focuses on county government and politics is not completely understood by people in Northeastern Pennsylvania. One of my responsibilities is to keep you informed of what is going on behind the scenes so that you can make an intelligent decision at the election polls. It is up to you, the readers, to decide if you want to believe what is written here. I can put the words in front of you but I cannot force you to accept them. Fortunately, Americans have an outlet where they can vent their frustrations over a given issue or chastise a reporter or a columnist for what he or she has written. The Constitution of the United States grants all of us freedom of the press. This means you can write a letter to the editor and in most instances, if it is signed and contains a phone number where the letter writer can be verified, it will be printed. Of course, all editors reserve the right to reject letters that may be libelous or contain inaccurate or questionable contents and some editors reject letters simply because they do not like them or they dislike the writer. Having peeled and cooked the potatoes, permit me to get to the meat of this week’s column. In a recent column, I told you that Susquehanna County Commissioner Calvin Dean had not paid his 2002 taxes. I researched this pretty thoroughly and I have documents that support what I wrote. To the person who asked why did I have to put it in the newspaper, my reply is threefold. Number one, Mr. Dean has been feeding off the county coffers for more than seven years. One would think anyone who is paid as handsomely as our county commissioners -this year somewhere around $42,000 - could at least pay his real estate taxes. My friends, in 1992 my late wife had a major heart attack. The result was an immediate loss of one income and medical prescriptions that exceeded $400 in monthly drug bills. Do you think for one minute that my tax collector would tell me to forget about paying the taxes? Hell no, and I wouldn’t expect her to say it. The second reason why Mr. Dean’s tax situation should have been published is because he is one of the top ranking elected officials in the county. He is supposed to set an example for the rest of us to emulate. The third and final reason is because Mr. Dean is what the press all over the country would consider him, fair game. Politicians live in a fish bowl. And this is something that people in Northeastern Pennsylvania cannot understand. They laughed at the jokes that came out of the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky fiasco and watched the impeachment proceedings on television against a United States President who had an adulterous affair. However, they sympathize with a county commissioner who is paid $800 a week by the county for a part-time job and failed to pay his 2002 real estate taxes. "Mr. Amadio you are a (expletive) yellow journalist," one man called and told me. "All you do week after (expletive) week is pick on the county commissioners. And this week it was Mr. Dean’s turn. Mr. Dean is the best (expletive) commissioner we’ve had in years." Will the number of people out there who do not want to know what their county commissioners are or are not doing please raise your hands. Because if you do not care about what is happening in your county and in county government, then you are either very, very wealthy or eccentric, or both. If you do not care who is paying their taxes and who isn’t, then you are volunteering to carry the load for the delinquents. Did you ever stop to think of what would happen in your town, county or school district if everyone followed Mr. Dean and did not pay their real estate taxes? The gentleman – and I use the term loosely – who called me refused to identify himself. He called me a yellow journalist but he would not give me his name. What color does that make him? But I can understand his reluctance to reveal his name. You could almost smell his whisky breath over the phone and the curse words and other expletives he tossed my way were about as coherent as a Foster Brooks comedy routine. Slices
of Life
My daughter has been trying to lure me to visit again by advertising the upcoming Saturday writing seminars in her area. I’ve met the instructor and I’ve seen the magic she has accomplished with my daughter’s writing. So I am tempted to climb aboard that little silver jet that picks me up in Avoca and sets me down in Chicago for a long weekend. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Well, it’s a little more complicated than that. First, there’s my dear Mrs. Morris to consider. I know my friend will take wonderful care of her, but I also know she’s lonely without me. Then there’s the trip to and from the airport. Shall I take my car and a chance on the weather, hire a taxi, or tax a friend? And, while making the decision to go or to stay, we can’t forget the airplane ride itself. These little jets are fast and convenient, but they are compact with very few amenities. Food, which in my early days of flying, was real, tasty and plentiful, has now been reduced to a tiny foil-wrapped, nearly unopenable package of fun-shaped orange crackers with a salty fake cheese taste, accompanied by a beverage of limited choice. My last experience with the beverage was two four-ounce servings of orange juice which came in plastic applesauce-style containers with foil lids and needed to be poured into a plastic cup. Confined as I was, I dropped my cup on the floor and had to reluctantly request another. When airborne we needed to review with the stewardess the card detailing the emergency exits and how to make our seat cushion into a flotation device in case of a water landing. My seat is perfect. Right behind an emergency exit. But what good is that going to do me if the emergency happens over dry land? I don’t think I’ll open that door and step out. I’ve gone through this drill of emergency lights, exits, oxygen masks so many times now that I could disregard it if the pilots hadn’t looked young enough to be my paper boy. The non-stop talker with the loud grating voice has continued going all through the drill. I hope she isn’t sitting in the seat by an emergency exit. To get my mind off how far up I am, and to look for more writing markets, I check out the magazine pocket in the seat back in front of me. I’m out of luck. An earlier traveler has taken the magazine from my area, so I am reduced to looking out the window and being inspired by the puffy clouds. Folk singer Judy Collins’ rendition of "I’ve Looked At Clouds From Both Sides Now," kept running through my head, but I never really did figure out her point in that song. She didn’t either, because she ends up with, "I really don’t know clouds at all." I dig into my bag for the book I’ve brought along and suddenly realize the light has been completely blocked from the other side of the plane. Looking up I am confronted, not with an apocalypse, but a blue-jeaned butt in my face. Memories of my last trip now brought back into focus, I have to think long and hard about that writing seminar. Perhaps instead of improving my storytelling, I’ll just join Jack Nicholson as he comments to his fellow therapy patients, that maybe this is as good as it gets. 100
Years Ago – 1902-2002 SUSQUEHANNA: Joseph, the 15-year-old son of Engineer Michael Kane, met with a severe accident on Monday evening. He is employed on a steam hammer in the Erie blacksmith shop, and while putting on his coat to quit work his left hand was caught in the cogs of a machine and crushed so badly that amputation was necessary. AND: In the Erie shops the work is the heaviest in years. Many of the men are working 14 hours a day and about 30 locomotives are handled monthly. LAWSVILLE: D.W. Bailey recently had a desperate encounter with a gray squirrel. Armed only with a large club he made a gallant attack and the victory was soon his. AND: Prof. Thayer will hold singing school here and at Franklin Forks-four nights each week, two nights at each place. JACKSON: A Valentine Social will be held in Roberts' Hall on Friday evening, Feb'y 18th, under the auspices of the North Jackson Ladies' Aid - supper 10 and 20 cents. FRIENDSVILLE: Friends and neighbors of Michael Fitzgerald met at his home last Tuesday and cut him a nice lot of wood, for which he returns many thanks. UPSONVILLE/FOREST LAKE: The Peoples' Mutual Independent Telephone Co., running from Upsonville to Forest Lake, has made connection with the Bell Telephone Exchange in Montrose, so that patrons of either can have the benefit of the service of both. BROOKLYN: The Ladies' Aid Society of the Brooklyn M.E. church will hold an Apron Bazaar and a Martha Washington Tea in the Odd Fellows' Hall at that place on Friday afternoon and evening, Feb. 20. Tea will be served from 5 to 7:30 P.M. In the evening a musical and literary entertainment will be given. Supper and entertainment, 15 cents; entertainment alone, 10 cents. JACKSON VALLEY: F.M. Thompson, of Juaniata [?], Neb., is visiting in this vicinity; he formerly lived at Neath and Jackson Valley. He was a soldier in Co. I, 6th Regt., PA Reserves in 1861. Samuel Jessup was Chaplain. Mr. Thompson left Montrose in 1873 and went to Nebraska. MONTROSE: M.H. VanScoten left on Tuesday morning for Harrisburg and will return tomorrow. Mr. VanScoten is the originator of the monument bill recently introduced in the Legislature by Rep. Rose, providing for the erection of monuments at Antietam for the Fourth, Sixth and Seventh Regt's, Pennsylvania Reserve Volunteer Corps. GREAT BEND: Great Bend and Susquehanna are already beginning to talk baseball, and the sooner the Montrose Athletic Association takes up the matter of organizing a team the better. In the past few months some of our best players have removed, among whom are "Dick" Conners, Arthur Smith, "Shorty" Hollister and "Pete" and Bliss Lott, but there is still plenty of good material for forming an excellent team, and this will be strengthened by students from the colleges. The work should be taken up as soon as possible in organizing the club, and making plans for the coming season. Last year's team was well supported and so will it be this year. SOUTH MONTROSE: While E.W. Sloate was drawing logs last week and when passing through a lot full of stone, his dog caught and killed two snakes, one a large milk snake that lay on the ground in the sun. That was pretty early for snakes and no mistake. We are told it is a sure sign of an early spring. (Most people would make an "early spring," to see the ground covered with snakes.) NORTH BRANCH [Middletown Twp., etc.]- The dance at Randall Owens' was largely attended and a good time enjoyed. AND: There is to be a pie social at Neath, Wednesday evening. RUSH: There will be a Washington Birthday party at Haire's Hotel, Rush, on Monday evening, Feb. 23. FAIRDALE: Fairdale is booming. Adelbert Allen, of South Montrose, has rented a lot from Mrs. James Robinson and built a feed store thereon, so we have now three stores in good running order. THOMSON: Prof. Compton is ill with the grip and no school was held in his room last week. AND: Frank Hall Post No. 505, of this place, has sent a vigorous protest to our representatives at Harrisburg against the erection of the proposed monument to the memory of Robert E. Lee, on the Gettysburg battlefield. HOPBOTTOM: The high school has formed into two literary societies, with Leon Cool and Miss Ethel Titus as leaders. One of the societies give an entertainment every two weeks, the first one being given by Miss Titus in the school building. Considerable talent was shown by the members and all conceded it a pleasant entertainment. NEWS BRIEF: The Oldest Member: An Elaborate Sketch of Hon. Galusha A. Grow. The following extracts are from an article, which appeared in the Washington Post on Jan. 24, 1903. "In the winter of 1851, at the age of 27, he took his place in the 32nd Congress, the youngest member of that body. The days were pregnant with peril. The most 'startling drama of all national life' was just beginning. The fight over the repeal of the Missouri Compromise was near at hand. The south was boldly asserting that 'slavery must live and increase.' The north was resolutely muttering that 'slavery must be restricted or die.' The irrepressible conflict was approaching with a swiftness that made the nation quake. Wise men were trying to keep folded the 'wings of human strife.' Patriot hearts were making for harmony, but the waves of war broke over the dikes of peace and drenched a land with blood. With sublime determination to save the Union President Lincoln called the 32nd congress together in extra session on the 85th anniversary of our nation's birth. It was a notable assemblage of men and of them all, only one, Galusha A. Grow, who shared the gloom and glory of that session, is still a member of the house. There was Elihu Wash- Burn, afterward the 'Father of Congress,' who received Lincoln upon his entry into the capitol of the nation he had come to serve. There was the courtly Morrill, of Vermont, the memory of whose chivalrous spirit still pervades the capitol. There was the gallant Logan, whose memory is dear to every man who wore the blue. There was Thaddeus Stevens, the great commoner of Pennsylvania, and Roscoe Conklin, the brilliant son of the Empire state, and Blair, the bold trapper of the Rockies. There was Cox, the promoter of our life-saving system, and Pendleton, the earnest reformer of the civil service, and Holman, the 'burglar proof safe' of the national treasury. Among them all were five subsequent vice-presidents, four governors, seven senators and other distinguished men." To be continued... SMOKELESS Ireland: Ireland will ban smoking in pubs and workplaces next year, the government has said. Now a pint and a cigarette will not go together. WHAT’S BUSH’S Big Hurry: According to news reports the United States has the support of at least 23 countries in the event of war against Iraq. Big deal! If war happens, killing hundreds and hundreds of Allies, plus many, many Iraqis, then what? No doubt the United States will foot the bill to rebuild and take care of Iraq and its people. We are already footing the bill for Afghanistan and still fighting over there. All the president has on his mind now is to "get rid of Iraq and Saadam." When will Washington take a good look at OUR country. Hundreds are losing jobs. Taxes are going up. Gas prices are climbing every other week and it doesn’t look like they will stabilize. Nurses are going on strike. Doctors are limiting their practices due to high malpractice insurance costs. When will it stop? Is this the fault of politicians? If so, neither the Democrats or the Republicans are doing the country any good. The Dems "don’t like this" and the GOP’s "don’t want this." Well, it’s about time they thought of the United States and its people and not so much "who will get the credit for the good deed." TOURNEY "A Huge Success": A recent Scotch Doubles bowling tourney sponsored by the Susquehanna American Legion and the Riverside Bowling Lanes, drew a huge crowd on January 25, that resembled a "Rock and Roll" get-together. After all of the hundreds of pins "blown away" the winners were: High three-game series, Jack Beamer and Kristin Brady with a 569 total, with games of 207, 198pg and 164. The 207 was the high single. Second high single, Mike and Candy Kuiper 205; third high single, Dave and Tracey Dibble, 203. High team single, the Beamers, 876, along with high team series 2348. Members of the Beamers team: Chuck and Cathy Beamer, Leon and Sara Dubanowitz, Mark and Joan Swartz, Mike Beamer and Erica Terpstra, and Jack Beamer and Kristin Brady. (PS: Now that the Scotch Doubles went over "so big," how about a "no tap" tourney?) POLITICS "Heating Up": It won’t be long now when you will have a bushel of politicians, shaking your hand, knocking on your door, asking for votes for several offices open in the county this year. There will be several new faces on the horizon, some you know, others you will get to know; they will all be looking for "your help." Check the candidates out. Ask them questions. "What are your plans if elected?" HELP FOR WIDOWS: Sen. Hillary Clinton has reintroduced legislation that would allow widowed spouses of military veterans to remarry after age 55 and continue to receive their benefits. At present, if they marry they will lose their benefits. EVERY PLACE - But Here: "Hall of Fames" are in most every county/community but Susquehanna. Maine-Endwell Sports Hall of Fame will induct five high school members in their "Fame" hall from the ranks of football, baseball, basketball, etc. I know we had - and have- many outstanding sports athletes in the county. Who will ever know about them in coming years? Why is it so hard to get a Hall of Fame started in the county? ROSE Is Finally In: But not the real Hall of Fame (which is a blessing). He has been selected, along with Wade Boggs, Dom DiMaggio, Tony Gwynn and Ted Williams in the "Ted Williams Museum Hitters Hall of Fame." (Note: Williams did not want to be honored while alive.) WILL THIS BE a Trend? Hope Not! A school district in Indiana will no longer pay athletic coaches or teachers for extracurricular activities, to save over a million dollars. But, the school has created a fund that can accept donations from outside groups to pay the coaches, etc. CHAMPION EATERS: In recent contests world champion eaters were: Buffalo wings, Oleg Zhornitskly of Buffalo ate 74 in 12 minutes; Takeru Kobayashi of New York ate 50 1/2 hot dogs/buns in 12 minutes; Eric Booker of Santa Monica, CA, ate 38 hard-boiled eggs in 10 minutes; Rich LeFevre of Reno ate 1 1/2 gallons of chili in 10 minutes; Cookie Jarvis of New York ate 21 canolis in 6 minutes; Charles Harder of Alaska ate 6 pounds, 9 ounces of cabbage in 9 minutes; Joe Menchetti of Florida ate 45 conch fritters in 6 minutes; Crazy Legs Conti of New Orleans ate 168 oysters (hands free) in 10 minutes. "FAME" GAME In June: For the first time in its long history, the Hall of Fame baseball game in Cooperstown will be held June 16 and not during the induction of the Hall of Famers, Gary Carter and Eddie Murray on July 27. VETERANS CUTBACKS "Unacceptable": Denying veterans health care, particularly while young men and women fight the war on terrorism and prepare to do battle in Iraq. "This," said National Commander Ron Conley, "is unacceptable to the 2.8 million member American Legion, the nation’s largest veteran organization." NEW CURRENCY Coming: Some $53 million is expected to be spent over the next five years to educate the public about the new full-color currency scheduled to make an appearance this spring. The reason for the new design is to stop counterfeiters of duplicating the new bills, which will be entirely different from the present ones. NO MORE Executions: Maryland Attorney General Joseph Curran has joined the national debate over the death penalty by calling for the state to abolish its death penalty. Curran also said, "Many times the wrong man is executed and the cost of executing a person is "intolerable.’" "SHOE BOMBER" Jailed: Boston Judge William Young threw the book at Richard Reid, for trying to blow up a plane with a bomb in his shoe and 197 people aboard. Judge Young told Reid, "You’re no big deal. We are not afraid of you terrorists." He was sentenced to three life sentences plus another 80 years and a $2 million fine. A GRIEF STRICKEN man threw himself across a grave and cried bitterly, "My life, how senseless it is. How worthless is everything about me because you are gone. If only you hadn’t died, if only fate had not been so cruel as to take you from this world, how different everything would have been." A clergyman happened by and to soothe the man offered a prayer. Afterward he said, "I assume the person lying beneath this mound was someone of importance to you." "It’s my wife’s first husband," the man moaned. "SKIING? I do not participate in any sport with ambulances at the bottom of the hill." Straight
From Starrucca The following is an update of items the women need to continue their work in making the quilts for the homeless. Definitely no clothing or shoes. Needed are: blankets, drapes (no fiberglass), pillow cases, bedspreads, towels and washcloths, men’s underwear and socks, hats, mittens and personal items like toothpaste and brush, shaving cream, etc. Also any yard goods will be very welcome. Items may be dropped off at the Starrucca Baptist Church. Lori Wimmer and Jim Walker, Rochester, NY, were guests of Carl and Virginia Upright for four days recently after having returned from a lengthy trip out West. They were two of the thousands that were on hand for the Rose Bowl Parade. Attending Camp Archbald to have fun at the winter games last weekend were Danielle, Shannon and Cindy Williams, Wendy Bohannon, Rachel Janson and Billie Jean Wilbur. Their leader, Kristen Potter accompanied them. About forty Scouts from other troops were there also. The twenty-sixth of January, a very pleasant time was had at the home of Bob and Dee Martin, when Dee hosted a baby shower for her daughter, Shannon. Most any day now they will be grandparents. As I was going to the post office last Wednesday, I noticed a moving van at the Brownell house, now Toni Foy’s, who has sold it to Martina and Jeffry Schuler, as the closing was last Thursday. And so we regrettably say good-bye to Toni and welcome a new family. Roger and Barb Glover, after a business trip to Scranton, on the way home stopped and had lunch with Marilyn and Dave Czapnik at Cobb’s Preserve, Lake Ariel, PA. This weather recalls a few lines of William Cullen Bryant - "Come when the rains have glazed the snow and clothed the trees with ice, while the slant sun of February pours into the bowers a flood of light." Cheerio! MRI Provides Faster, More Accurate Way To Diagnose Heart Attacks Advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology can detect heart attack in emergency room patients with chest pain more accurately and faster than traditional methods. Researchers evaluated the ability of high-resolution MRI to detect acute coronary syndrome (heart attack or unstable angina) in emergency department patients with chest pain. MRI results were compared with three standard diagnostic tests: an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG), blood enzyme test, and the TIMI risk score, which assesses the risk of complications or death in patients with chest pain based on a combination of several clinical characteristics. MRI detected all of the patients’ heart attacks, including three in patients who had normal EKGs. In addition, MRI detected more patients with unstable angina than the other tests. Of the more than five million patients who visit emergency departments with chest pain each year, only about 40 percent can be immediately diagnosed with heart attack using standard tests. The majority of patients must undergo a number of tests and further hospitalization for a conclusive diagnosis to be reached. In the chest pain study, 161 patients whose initial EKG did not indicate a heart attack were evaluated with traditional diagnostic tests and a cardiac MRI after their condition was stabilized. The MRI lasted around 38 minutes. All patients were followed up six to eight weeks after the initial visit to the emergency department. Researchers studied the ability of each test to detect acute coronary syndrome (sensitivity) as well as how often an abnormal test result correctly identified a patient with acute coronary syndrome (specificity). MRI accurately diagnosed 21 of the 25 patients (84 percent) determined to have acute coronary syndrome – a significantly higher level of sensitivity than EKG criteria for ischemia (restricted blood flow), blood enzyme levels, and TIMI risk score. MRI was also more specific than abnormal EKG. MRI is a type of body scan that uses magnets and computers to provide high-quality images based on varying characteristics of the body’s tissues. The technology allows physicians to study the heart’s overall structure and functioning continuously in three dimensions. MRI addresses another critical issue in assessing patients with acute coronary syndrome: time. Patients can be scanned in under 40 minutes; if severe blockages are found, they could receive vital treatment to restore blood flow, such as clot-busting drugs, angioplasty, or coronary artery bypass surgery. Current recommendations are for such therapies to begin within one hour from the start of a heart attack for optimal effectiveness. EKG records the electrical activity of the heart to detect abnormal heart rhythms, some areas of damage, inadequate blood flow, and heart enlargement. Like MRI, EKG is noninvasive. Because of its low degree of sensitivity, however, EKG immediately diagnoses only about 10 percent of patients with acute coronary syndrome. It is not uncommon for an EKG to appear normal during a heart attack or an episode of unstable angina. Patients suspected of having a heart attack that is not confirmed by an EKG typically have their blood tested for enzymes or other substances ("markers") that indicate permanent damage to the heart tissue. Because the markers are not evident in the blood until several hours after a heart attack, patients whose EKG appears normal may need to stay in the hospital for 12 to 24 hours to ensure the blood test is accurate. Furthermore, because the blood test detects only permanently damaged tissue, it does not detect unstable angina. Unstable angina can be considered an "impending heart attack." Heart attacks are caused by a blood clot from a tear or break in fatty deposits (plaque) that have built up inside a coronary artery; when the blood clot suddenly cuts off most or all blood supply to the heart, heart tissue is permanently damaged. In unstable angina, the coronary artery has many or all of the same characteristics as a heart attack, except that the problems are not quite severe enough to cause permanent heart damage. Because no heart cells die in unstable angina, the condition is harder to detect with standard tests. Approximately two percent of patients with a heart attack are discharged home from the emergency department without the heart attack being detected and treated. In addition, many patients with unstable angina are sent home without diagnosis; they may progress to a heart attack after discharge or require urgent medical therapy soon thereafter. Patients with undetected acute coronary syndrome are twice as likely to die as those whose condition is detected and treated. In the study, three of the patients were not characterized as having acute coronary syndrome until their follow-up visit. Food
For Thought For many years there has been a great deal of controversy over electromagnetic fields. Are they harmful to the body or not? Can they be linked to cancer, mental illness, or any other disease, or are they merely a benign entity in our environment? When you stop and think about it, is there any such thing as a benign entity in the environment? I cannot think of one. If it is a natural entity, it is living, like a plant or animal, or it is essential to life, like the minerals in stones, the exact gas mixture of air. If it is not natural, it is manmade, and so has many environmental consequences, many of which are detrimental to life. Electromagnetic fields are both natural and manmade. Magnetic north is a natural electromagnetic field. Cell phones and high power lines are manufactured fields. Electromagnetic fields realign the energy forces within molecules. Realigning the energy forces can have varying effects on various objects, depending on the type of molecules, the force of the field and the sensitivity of the individual object. Electromagnetic fields have been used in medicine for over a century now. Around the turn of the last century, a small box with two metal probes and a hand crank was manufactured and sold as a cure-all for arthritis, the "rheumatiz," melancholy, and just about any other illness known at the time. The patient held the two probes in the hands, or applied them to opposing sides of the offending body part, while the "practitioner" turned the crank. This generated a small electric charge which sent a shock through the probe into the patient. Depending on how fast it was cranked, and how long the patient held on, quite a jolt could be created. Current therapeutic equipment uses small pads with some water-based coupling agent, and has several rheostats to adjust the amount of electricity applied and plugs into the wall. The principle is the same though, to apply an electric current to the offending tissue, to reduce inflammation and restore healing. While not a cure-all, electric stimulation has been highly effective for many things. The newest application of electrical stimulation therapy that I know of is for macular degeneration. A minute electric current, called microcurrentstimulation or MCS, is applied to the external eye. This MCS causes the retina to grow new blood vessels, and to heal, thus restoring sight to people suffering from macular degeneration. Electromagnetic fields are also used diagnostically. MRI is the most widely known. Nerve Velocity Conduction tests and Electromyography or EMG are also electromagnetic diagnostic tests. If electromagnetic fields can help diagnose and heal, how can we write them off as benign entities? If electrical stimulation of an inflamed tendon, as in tennis elbow, can cause the body to redirect its inflammatory response, and begin healing, how can we not also see that an electric current can redirect an inflammatory response to create tissue overgrowth that can result in a tumor. If electric current can cause the growth of new blood vessels in an eyeball, how can we not see that it can also cause the growth of new blood vessels that feed a tumor? If electromagnetic force fields can redirect the orientation of the hydrogen atoms in the body, thus creating the image for an MRI exam, how can we not see that it can redirect the orientation of hydrogen atoms, and create a chemical imbalance that leads to mental illness? Just as some natural elements are more susceptible to electromagnetic field effects, like iron and magnets, some people are also more susceptible to electromagnetic field effects, and thus more likely to develop tumors from cell phone use, or mental illness or leukemia from living near high power lines. We do not know our own susceptibility to any outside force, until that susceptibility is tested. For many things, the failure rate is too costly. I don’t think that cancer or tumors, or blindness should be the price anyone pays to talk on the phone, or light their house, or keep their food cold. While some of the uses of electromagnetic fields are so ingrained into our society, that we cannot imagine "life" without them, many others are trivial and self indulgent toys. Just know that the cost for some things can go far beyond the price paid at the cash register. NeTTalk.com For those of you who have just picked up this paper and look at my column for ideas; well, let’s call this NeTTalk Reviews for Valentines Day. I have run my fingers ragged to find the best places on the Internet for you to send e-greetings. Please do not join anything that requires money when you can get so much for free. I personally love www.riversong.com. I have sent a number from that site and just adore it. This site feeds out of www.flowinglove.com, and so it goes for romance. Others that are fun and some are downright beautiful are www.oneangel.net, www.yesgreetings.com, www.specially4U.net, www.Spiritsup.com, www.topgreetings.com, and www.passionup.com. Be careful of some the sites that are being made available for "love" these days. You don’t want to go to them, and most especially you do not want your young folks to go there. Now that you have put yourself and the one you care about in the mood, how about giving that person a gift of health – for yourself. Get the health check-up from your doctor, simple – very simple workout clothes – good sneakers for walking or running and you are ready. Get him or her to share with you in this new challenge; go to the following to check out a number of important items about exercise. I used one site and found it to be very informative; here are the breakdowns. If you are a beginner see www.exercise.about.com/cs/library/flexforbeginners.htm. For exercise and health get answers at www.exercise.about.com/cs/exercisehealth. If you are interested in workouts look at www.exercise.about.com/cs/exerciseworkouts/index.htm and for walking wwwexercise.about.com/cs/walking.htm. Next in line, do not do too much and if you do, check out the same site at www.exercise.about.com/cs/injurieshealth.htm. Do you need a calorie counter? See www.exercise.about.com/library/blank_calorie_counter.htm. Oh fellas, for romantic tips for men see www.doubleyourdating.com. Okay now for the food: go to www.epicurious.com for recipes with a flair and the www.santesson.com site does some fancy all-around cooking. A fun couple are found at www.cookingcouple.com and then the valentine meal that may win your special someone over is located at the www.gourmetstation.com. Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day! Be good to everyone you like and don’t like, and give a hug to your faithful companion dogs, cats, birds and any other critters that brighten up your life and love you unconditionally.
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A Day In The Life Of A Columnist
The Joy Of Travel
WHY SO HIGH? Two proposals
to replace the World Trade Center skyscrapers with even bigger ones
than were destroyed September 11, have been submitted. One will be selected
this month, out of nine submitted.