The weekend before last we had a warm spell, and we were able to get done a lot of the outdoor chores we needed to do before the onslaught of winter. After cleaning up the property a bit, burning some brush, and splitting some more firewood, I surprised everyone with my stupidity by putting on my swim trunks and jumping in the lake … but not before insuring that the event was photographed. Of course, with all the cold weather we’ve been having, the lake was ice cold, and my dip lasted about ten or fifteen seconds. When I saw the pictures, I realized that there is nothing in the shot to signify that it was taken in the first week of November; it looks as if it could have been a warm summer day. If the shot was panned out, the viewer could see that all the trees were bare. One thing in the picture indicates the season: the dock is up. It’s a digital shot, and I’m pretty sure the date is recorded, but it doesn’t matter. I know I did it, and I have four witnesses. I never understood those polar bear clubs, where crowds of crazy people, jump into ice water in January, but now I think I could probably do that. Yes, I am an idiot … and proud of it.
Last week, our long absent builder showed up and dumped topsoil on our front and side lots to bring us up to finish grade, and he also spread gravel on the lower drive and under the carport so that we will no longer be constantly tracking sand into the house. After he was gone, Shauna and I seeded the topsoil so that, come spring, we might get an early start on some grass. I can’t imagine what that will be like because, for the past three years, this place has been a construction site, covered in sand, mud, clay, and construction materials. Now we’re slowly beginning to reclaim our property. Though it will be a long time before this place is landscaped the way we envision it, just getting all of the construction debris off the premises has made a world of difference.
Final thoughts … I went in for my annual physical a few weeks ago, and the doctor’s office was pandemonium. Phones were ringing off the hook, and though the office had just opened, the waiting room was full. Apparently, there was a lot of concern about the shortage of flu vaccine, and people were scrambling to find out if they qualified as “high risk”. I usually get a flu shot, and I’m not sure if it helps or not. Knock on wood, I don’t get sick that often. I’m certainly in no hurry to get the H1N1 vaccine. Save it for the people who are more vulnerable. While this swine flu does not particularly scare me, the word “pandemic” does. Based on the fact that there is a shortage of this H1N1 vaccine, at a time when it is probably needed the most, I am concerned that some more virulent and deadly virus might some day shake us out of our delusions of control. We in the West spend so much of our energy obsessing over our health – don’t smoke, don’t drink, disinfect everything, eat less salt, lose weight. What is becoming increasingly clear to me is how out of control we really are over our health. Sadly, in many cases it boils down to who inherited the best genes. Science has advanced considerably since the last deadly flu epidemic, but are we any safer now? Yes and no.
I’ll tell you this … there’s nothing like a dip in an ice cold lake to cure what ails you.
Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c 2009 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Last week, our long absent builder showed up and dumped topsoil on our front and side lots to bring us up to finish grade, and he also spread gravel on the lower drive and under the carport so that we will no longer be constantly tracking sand into the house. After he was gone, Shauna and I seeded the topsoil so that, come spring, we might get an early start on some grass. I can’t imagine what that will be like because, for the past three years, this place has been a construction site, covered in sand, mud, clay, and construction materials. Now we’re slowly beginning to reclaim our property. Though it will be a long time before this place is landscaped the way we envision it, just getting all of the construction debris off the premises has made a world of difference.
Final thoughts … I went in for my annual physical a few weeks ago, and the doctor’s office was pandemonium. Phones were ringing off the hook, and though the office had just opened, the waiting room was full. Apparently, there was a lot of concern about the shortage of flu vaccine, and people were scrambling to find out if they qualified as “high risk”. I usually get a flu shot, and I’m not sure if it helps or not. Knock on wood, I don’t get sick that often. I’m certainly in no hurry to get the H1N1 vaccine. Save it for the people who are more vulnerable. While this swine flu does not particularly scare me, the word “pandemic” does. Based on the fact that there is a shortage of this H1N1 vaccine, at a time when it is probably needed the most, I am concerned that some more virulent and deadly virus might some day shake us out of our delusions of control. We in the West spend so much of our energy obsessing over our health – don’t smoke, don’t drink, disinfect everything, eat less salt, lose weight. What is becoming increasingly clear to me is how out of control we really are over our health. Sadly, in many cases it boils down to who inherited the best genes. Science has advanced considerably since the last deadly flu epidemic, but are we any safer now? Yes and no.
I’ll tell you this … there’s nothing like a dip in an ice cold lake to cure what ails you.
Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c 2009 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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