Former President Jimmy Carter, only 94, broke his hip last month at his home as he left to go turkey hunting. He had hip replacement surgery and is now back teaching Sunday school in Plains, Georgia. The former first lady, Rosalynn, was hospitalized around the same time for what was thought to be a stroke, but they found that it was something less serious. They are amazing people showing us how to live.
“A family stitched together with love seldom unravels.”Letty Cottin Pogrebin
This one made my head hurt: A 42-year-old woman was struggling with insomnia, nightmares and hallucinations, then she started having problems holding things, texting and much confusion. Doctors found a lesion on her left frontal lobe and decided it was brain cancer, but after they opened her skull, removed the lesion, sliced and placed it under a microscope, they discovered a tapeworm. The good part is that she requires no further treatment. There are two kinds of tapeworm Taenia solium. One form is the adult tapeworm which is ingested from undercooked pork and lives in your gut. BUT the other less common way to get the parasite is when someone has the adult form, they shed microscopic eggs in their stool and if they do NOT properly wash their hands, they can pass the tapeworm on to others. (At this point, I’m totally grossed out. FYI.) So, let’s just say that ‘these people’ prepare your food, then you unknowingly eat the eggs which then travel to your small intestine, hatch into larvae, penetrate your bowel wall and get into your bloodstream, where they migrate throughout the entire body. I’m never eating out again. Treatment for the adult form is with an antiparasitic medication but treatment for the larval form can be complex, depending on the location and stage of infection. What a nice, happy ending.
Sports Illustrated magazine sold for $10 million to the Authentic Brands Group which also owns Nautica, Jones New York, Juicy Couture, Frye, Frederick’s of Hollywood, Bandolino, Aeropostale, Drexel and more. SI has an audience of more than 120 million people online and in print but has struggled recently as print advertisers opt for the internet.
‘El Chapo’ aka Joaquin Guzman has lived in solitary confinement for the past two and half years. His defense team says he is now showing symptoms of distress and sleep deprivation and are asking for him to be allowed two hours of exercise every week, the same food and drink as other inmates, permission to buy six bottles of water a week and earplugs. Feds says, hmmm, maybe this is a ploy to make another daring prison escape. I say he buried people alive, tortured others, ordered mass killings, escaped from two maximum-security prisons – once with assistance from prison guards and once through a tunnel underneath the shower in his jail cell. There was one unsuccessful jail break in 1981 where an inmate arranged a helicopter escape for him. I think he’s lucky to have air to breathe. Guzman faces multiple life sentences when he is sentenced in federal court on June 25th.
A United Nations report from climate scientists now says that 1 million of the Earth’s 8 million species of plants and animals, are at risk of extinction. They are issuing a global distress warning. (If you think that I’m ever going to back down about telling you this…I’m not.) Humans are destroying our world and unless we take major steps now to curb consumption and reduce our footprints, we are basically cooked. We must eliminate overfishing, habitat destruction, burning of fossil fuels, pollution and invasive species. Thousands of tufted puffins, the cute little birds with the large orange beaks, starved to death on the Bering Sea. Scientists now say that climate change is the cause. The fish population which puffins rely on for food has declined in warmer water. The zooplankton which fish feed on has also declined. Listening? Polar bears are starving to death because the Earth is too hot, and they can’t find food. Are you paying attention to our weather?Pull up pictures of the polar bears and the puffins.
RECENT BIRTHDAYS: Britain’s Prince Philip is 98. Attorney F. Lee Bailey is 86. A member of the “dream team” in the O. J. Simpson murder case.Americana musician Bridget Kearney is 34. Lake Street Dive. Former first-daughter Sasha Obama is 18. Actor-comedian Jerry Stiller is 92.Musician Boz Scaggs is 75. Look What You’ve Done to Me. Cartoonist Scott Adams is 62. Dilbert. Comedian Jackie Mason is 91. ESPN Basketball broadcaster Dick Vitale is 80. His catchphrases ‘this is awesome baby’&‘diaper dandy’.
Rock musician Mick Box is 72. Uriah Heep. Film composer James Newton Howard is 68. Pretty Woman, The Fugitive, King Kong, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Bourne Legacy, The Hunger Games, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.Actress Virginia McKenna is 88. Born Free. Actor singer Bill Hayes is 94. Days of Our Lives. Sex therapist and media personality Dr. Ruth Westheimer is 91. Actor Bruce Dern is 83. Musician Roger Ball is 75. Average White Band. Actress singer Michelle Phillips is 75. Mommas and the Papas.
Actor Dennis Haysbert is 65. He is the guy on the Allstate commercials with the deep voice. Olympic gold medal soccer player Abby Wambach is 39. Rock singer Ian Hunter is 80. Mott the Hoople. Singer Pat Boone is 85. Singer Eddie Holman is 73. Hey, There Lonely Girl.Author Letty Cottin Pogrebin is 80. Founding editor of Ms. Magazine. I used some of her quotes today.
Dr. John, New Orleans singer-pianist, died at 77. His Top 10 hit, “Right Place, Wrong Time,” was the first single from his sixth album and in 1973, became his greatest hit. His words describe where all of us have been.
“Before devising any blueprint that includes the assumption of Having It All, we need to ask…why do we need everything?”Letty Cottin Pogrebin
A Florida woman was arrested on felony neglect charges after a school worker said that the woman’s second grade daughter had hundreds of bugs crawl out of her backpack in the lunchroom. The little girl didn’t know when she had last had a bath. When a sheriff’s deputy checked the family home it was infested with roaches, cat feces and there was no food in the cabinet. How very sad. I’m not sure I could be a lunch lady because it would break my heart.
“We need old friends to help us grow old and new friends to help us stay young.“ Letty Cottin Pogrebin
If you thought that’s it’s too far to drive all the way to Brenham to eat at Truth BBQ, then you’ll be happy to know that the second location at 110 S. Heights Blvd. in Houston is ready on first-come, first serve, so prepare to stand in line – they open 11am – 5pm (or until sold out) Tues.-Sun. Owner Pitmaster and Brazoria county boy, Leonard Botello IV, will be glad to serve you some of the best BBQ in Texas.
“Why hope to live a long life if we’re only going to fill it with self-absorption, body maintenance and image repair? When we die, do we want people to exclaim ‘She looked ten years younger,’ or do we want them to say, ‘She lived a great life’?”Letty Cottin Pogrebin
It’s that time of year again where most people pull out the Round-Up and start spraying. A better, safer alternative is vinegar, water and Dawn dish soap sprayed after the dew is dry in the morning. Within hours you will love the look of ‘weed-death’. Yes, you may have to spray more often but it’s so much better for our environment. Or you could quit whining, reach down and pull them out…not an alternative that I’m terribly fond of. In the past, I have used the mixture with salt added but now I’m reading that the run-off with salt can do some damage to your surrounding plants. Try it.
The American Bald Eagle is a national symbol in the United States. Celebrated annually on June 20th, the observance commemorates the day in 1782, when the bird was added to the Official Seal of the U.S.
Two South Carolina men were fishing about 70 miles SE of Charleston when they happened upon a bunch of debris along with a bag floating in the water. They were interested in the bag because a school of mahi-mahi were jumping around it. Every time they passed by, they caught a fish, so curious, they pulled the bag aboard and discovered 30 bricks of cocaine. The men turned the drugs over to the Coast Guard and it was estimated to have a street value of $1 million. All I ever get is sun perch.
Medical testing company Quest Diagnostics said a data breach on May 14th, has affected about 11.9 million patients after an unauthorized user gained access to social security numbers,medical data and financial data, but not laboratory test results. Hmmm.
“If the family were a fruit, it would be an orange, a circle of sections, held together but separable – each segment distinct.If the family were a boat, it would be a canoe that makes no progress unless everyone paddles.”
A truck driver in California swerved to avoid a little white mound in the middle of the road and kept driving. When he saw the vehicle behind him swerve to avoid the same mound, he decided to turn around to investigate. He found an unidentifiable animal – maybe a goat or a lamb, but it meowed like a cat. He wasn’t sure what he had. It had big ears, white hooves, red eyes and super-soft short fur. It ended up being a 3-week-old albino fawn. The picture of this baby is precious. She is now being bottle-fed by a rescue group and will later be released on a private ranch where hunting is prohibited.
California Governor Gavin Newsom overruled a parole board’s decision to free Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten, 69. Governor Jerry Brown has denied her release on two other occasions. Hooten (then age 19) and other cult members stabbed to death and carved up the bodies of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca the day after other Manson followers killed Sharon Tate and four others. No one who took part in the Tate-LaBianca murders has been released from prison.
Remember the beehives that were knocked over and burned near Alvin? Well, the nitwits killed about a half-million bees. BASF has donated $5,000 to help towards the $20,000 damages so the bee yard can be rebuilt. The beekeeper’s association is offering a $6,000 reward. ANY information?Brazoria County Sheriff’s @ 979-849-2441. To remain anonymous, Brazoria County Crime Stoppers @ 800-460-2222.
When you’re at The Galleria, remember the purple Zoned’Erotica sign (adult boutique)that has welcomed you into Dillard’s parking lot for quite a few years? It was built in 1979 and over the years has been a smoke shop, a Luke’s Hamburgers and a Roy Rogers Restaurant. Recently, the building was sold to Velvet Taco and they have some delicious tacos. Gage and I visited their Montrose location last week and what a treat. Four tacos and a very nice margarita for $24.00. The Cuban Pig taco has gruyere cheese, slow roasted pulled pork, shaved ham, peppered bacon, mustard, and house brined pickles on a homemade corn tortilla. Korean Pork taco. Slow-Roasted Angustaco. Shrimp & Grits taco. So good.
Walmart, famous for their blue vests that say,How May I Help You? are getting a redesign. Later this year, employees will receive new vests of a neutral blue/gray with a pop of color on the trim and spark logo. The nice part is each vest is made from 15 recycled plastic bottles which makes it lighter, more breathable and more stain resistant. Definitely an upgrade.
Thanks for taking the time to read this. It’s so appreciated.
Lisa
