Who Me? Biased?

 When I was still squeaky new at the reporter job I’m still doing, a guy from the forest industry came into my office to talk to me.  He had charts and all sorts of facts and information and wanted me to write an article about how great the forest industry is.  I figured I’d give him his say, even though I’ve always been a ‘tree hugger’ myself.  After all, we are supposedly writing an unbiased paper.  He pointed out the various ways in which trees are harvested, and explained selective cutting methods and the fact that he believed clear-cutting was the best method for forest health.

 

He talked at me for four hours.  I probably should’ve kicked him out long before then, but I was inexperienced, and still am.  When the article came out, I had a few of the facts wrong – nothing major, but he wanted me to write a correction, which I did.  The next week, a man who thinks like I always have, wrote a very well-written letter to the editor which we printed.  It was against the forestry practices we use in our area, and explains why.

 

In the meantime we printed a bunch of letters from folks in a nearby area who want to stop logging in an old-growth forest.  They are especially concerned with the pine mushrooms they pick.  Many of these folks depend on the mushrooms to augment their meager incomes.  Some elderly Native people go to this spot to pick because it’s accessible, now that they’ve got mobility problems.  The letter we printed which was a response to the forestry article was in support of their efforts to stop logging practices there.

 

When the paper came out the forestry guy flipped.  He wrote a long letter, insulting the guy who pointed out that his practices were wrong.  He said the man was living in a dream world, and that logging was the great hope of the future for our area – a view I disagree with entirely.  He left this letter on my chair.  He e-mailed this letter to my publisher.  He called me at home and left a message on my answering machine about this letter.  If it were my call, I’d have lost the damn thing.  I disagree in the first place, and that guy was really pissing me off.

 

So the editor, who’s been off with a back injury, is now back on the job.  She knows this guy, and has made the call to publish the letter, but has edited it to take out the insulting bits.  I can see her point.  We shouldn’t be publishing stuff that we agree with and ‘losing’ stuff we don’t.  We’re supposed to be a paper which appeals to everyone in this area, not just the people we agree with, but DAMN!  I’d love to write something to slam this guy.

 

I am not ‘out’ as a Witch at this job.  Didn’t seem like the best idea, given that it’s a small town and there’s nine churches here.  It isn’t that I’m scared anyone will find out or any of that – just hasn’t come up.  I don’t care if they find out by some other method.  I am who I am.  Besides, they publish things they probably disagree with religiously too – it really shouldn’t be personal.  Yet as a Pagan, it’s tough to separate out the things I disagree with, not commenting on them.  I’d like to join up with the folks protesting the cutting down of that forest, but there’s a geography problem that goes with time limitations.  But I’ve put everything they’ve sent me into the paper while I had a say.  I no longer have that say, since the editor is back. 

While I did, we’ve had complaints that the paper has become “too Native” in content.  That’s the best compliment I think I’ve had so far.  I think there’s still a gulf in understanding between Native and non-Native residents here.  By publishing more Native content, I’d hoped to fill that gap – a little anyway.

 

I suppose it’s really something I still have a job there, since the woman I was replacing is back.  I’m guessing it will last until the end of the summer.  I didn’t want that because my garden is suffering.  But I will keep with it as long as I can, and as long as they want me.  I hope it will be a spring-board to something else for me.  At least I know I don’t want to be a journalist.  Not that it’s a real option for me at my age anyway, except here in town.

Feeling the Fear and Doing it Anyway

I entered the job, knowing it was a temporary position.  I figured the newspaper could help me as I was helping it.  I want to publish some of my short stories, but I was terrified to send them off.  Reporting has helped me over that hump like a huge hand that has shoved me unceremoniously through a doorway.  It has also given me some insight as to how people use the media.

 

As a reporter you are, metaphorically, a walking microphone.  However, people are surprised when they suddenly remember they’ve been talking to a human being who has her own filter on what’s happening; a filter which could be much different than their own.

 

Depak Chopra says that critism is part of life, and that if you aren’t getting any, you’re probably not saying anything important.  Reporting demonstrates the truth of this statement.  For whatever the ’slant’ of the story, there will be some who think what was written is ‘good’, and others who have the opposite opinion.  A good reporter tries hard to ‘get out of the way’ of the story – not be involved.  Of course, this is imposssible.

 

Knowing the impossibility of this mission, the next step is to represent the point of view as close to ‘objective’ as can be managed.  It’s an exercise in letting go of ego, good for any writer.  And so is the critism. I am learning not to take either praise or critism to heart, but to listen as best as I can, and learn.  It’s never about me.  When viewed in this manner, the job becomes much easier.

 

This town is very lucky to have an experienced and trained journalist who usually covers the news.  Personally, I have not had this training, and the only experience is the few weeks during which I’ve thrown myself into the position.  I’ve been lucky to have had this opportunity, and even luckier that Wendy has been willing to help me through some rough patches and has been generous with her time and expertise.  I’ve had the priviledge of having a look into her world; whatever may happen once she is back on the job full-time.  I am one of the few in town who understands what it takes to do the job, and as a result, my respect for Wendy has grown tremendously.

 

I suppose in some respects I’m still doing battle with my own fear.  But fear can be a powerful motivator in life.  There’s a lot of self power in one’s own fear.  If you can force your way through it to discover the other side, that’s magic.  I think most of us are afraid of something we would like to do.  Our fears can hold us back in life.  But when we examine that fear and discover what it is we’re really afraid of, it becomes like the ‘boogey man’ of childhood – it evaporates in the daylight of reason and action.  However, there’s always some other fear that pops up to take its place. 

 

This is the challenge of life – putting yourself out there – just going for it.  I believe we all keep on growing and learning for as long as we are alive.  This reporting job has been an important element on my path of self growth, and I am grateful for the insightful gifts it has given me.

 

 

Don’t ‘Suck it Up’

One of the worst of modern expressions we’ve recently acquired as a culture is: “suck it up.”  We’ve got to stop telling each other this.  What do we mean?  It implies a lot of nasty messages, such as ‘hold it in,’ ‘tough it out’ and ‘don’t express your feelings.’

 

Not only is this ultimately impossible to achieve, it’s also a dangerous thing to try.  While one is ’sucking it up,’ all sorts of nasty things are likely occurring in the body and mind.  When you are repeatedly told to ’suck it up,’ you aren’t able to express feelings, and life becomes a lot tougher.  Tension builds from all the nasty things you have to hold inside.  Eventually there must be an explosion.

 

In the 50’s people were pretty good at ’sucking it up.’  It was post World War 2, and everyone was war-weary, and the desire for a peaceful life – the Amercian dream was common among people.  Generally people wanted to forget all the nastiness of war – even pretend in some ways that it didn’t just happen – at least for awhile.  They wanted to get on with the life they were busy building – the one with a house, white picket fence, two cars in the drive, or whatever the ideal fantacy was in those days.  It was an age of politeness on the surface, but nastiness under the surface.

 

When the hippies came along, they blew huge holes into that dream world.  I really liked the hippies.  One of the reasons I liked them was because they encouraged people to freely express themselves.  Most people associate hippies with the slogan: “Make Love Not War.” Not that the hippies were immune to the psychosis of living in a dream world – they weren’t.  But their dreams seemed much healthier.   And it was the hippies who first thought of the whole concept of health food.

 

We got more materialistic after the hippy era was over.  The eighties were all about the acquisition of wealth, even if this could only be done by charging up credit cards to their limit.  In the nineties, the bills came in, so to speak.  People weren’t throwing money around so freely anymore, but generally life was still pretty good.  The earliest years of the new millinium were more tense.  We worried more about things which never happened – Y2K – and later about things that did happen – September 11th.  Still, the common expression involving those who didn’t express themselves and were ‘uptight’ was “retentive.” 

So here we are now – in an age where we’re back to the whole idea of holding in our emotions.  I believe this is wrong and dangerous.  I will fight ’suck it up’.  I think it can only lead to violence, bad health and maybe death.  We’ve got to keep communicating with each other, and caring how each other feels.  This is the only way to survive tough times, and we certainly face that, given all that’s going on in the world today.

Earth Day Celebrations – Bitter Sweet

The recent Earth Day celebrations had a sad tone this year in our town.  In the face of the wars currently going on in the
Middle East, coupled with the federal and provincial governments currently faking green attitudes, there wasn’t much to feel optimistic about.  There are plenty of reasons for being unhappy with the Conservatives.

 

Conservative governments have always balked against
Kyoto, not only in this country, but in the
US as well.  They argue job losses, but never take increase in technology into consideration when tallying up jobs.  As well, they are shockingly myopic about all issues regarding climate changes.  They value the creation of wealth today, but won’t acknowledge they’re hassening the death of human kind.  By refusing to cooperate with
Kyoto, they fail to impliment laws with teeth to protect the environment.  Not that
Kyoto is such a great document, but it is much better than the pitiful solutions the Conservatives have shown us so far.

 

One gets the impression that Conservatives don’t believe in global warming.  Climate change is ’simply a phenomenon of nature, nothing to do with man’s activities,’ some people argue.  But all reasonable evidence supports the fact that humans are not likely to survive much longer unless we pull a rabbit out of our bag of tricks right now.  Technology offers the best hope so far, but there are problems.  Heavy metal use has increased drastically alongside home computer use, for one.  Only recently have serious efforts to safely recycle computer waste been implimented.

 

Part of the denial factor is humans just don’t live very long compared with the timeline of the planet.  Certainly there’s plenty of concrete proof that the Earth’s been through drastic climate changes before.  The last one killed off  the dinasaurs.  Are we next?  Many of us worry it’s already too late.

 

Since humans have only been around for a few million years – a mere tick on the clock with Mother Nature – our climate records don’t go back very far.  Scientists have been finding a variety of clever ways to discover what’s happened in the past in order to allow us to accurately predict the future, but there’s much we don’t know.

 

What we do know is that the day for using quick and easy fossil fuels for energy has to end.  None of us want to go back to simpler times and freeze in the dark, so we’ve got to find cheap, sustainable, renewable and clean energy sources.  There’s lots of good ideas, but many are still in the experimental stages.  Geo-thermal energy from the earth sounds promising.  If the cost of setting it up could be drastically reduced, it would eventually be free energy, as would wind power and solar energy systems to name but a few well-known alternatives.  If the government was seriously green, they’d be heavily supporting research into these and other alternatives, giving citizens more options and tax breaks for green enterprises. 

Writing for a Living

I might actually have an entire day off.  Haven’t had one of those in awhile.  The reporter job is taking over my life.  The garden is a mess with tulips coming up through last year’s old stalks.  At least I got my peas, carrots, onions and spinach planted.  That’s a big deal, but there are many things I should have started weeks ago which I haven’t had time to do.  Probably I’ll do those things today, unless they call me in.

 

You wouldn’t think there’d be much to report on for this small town I live in.  But the surprise is – there’s lots going on, especially as the weather warms up.  My job sometimes is a lot of fun and other times a real bore.  I hate School Board meetings because its really tough to figure out what’s going on.  Everything is initials for everything, and I’m scrambling trying to get interpretations for all the initials so I can write about whatever later.  I’m getting the hang of council meetings – not as many initials.

 

I work with a small group of wonderful women, but none of them are writers.  This sometimes presents problems because they don’t understand that I can’t always just write on the spot, but then other times I can.  My job is a little every day – that is – there’s something going on daily which should be reported on, but that means it’s tough finding a day off.  Once the (real) reporter returns to work, perhaps they’ll let me stay part-time.  I found out that all the stuff I hate doing, she loves.  I love doing the stuff she hates doing.  I think she & I were made to work together!  She can cover all the boring meetings and I’ll do the “dog and pony shows.”

 

One thing I appreciate very much about this job is the fact that I’ve got to write every day, and my production has gone way up.  If you’ve got deadlines, you’ve got to find a way to write.  Some articles are much better than others, but the town seems pretty forgiving.  I think they actually like the ‘non-professional’ reporting I do – I’ve heard a number of people say they enjoy my articles, and one woman said it was like curling up with a favorite book.  I thought that was the best compliment of all. 

I never wanted to be a journalist, but this is the first writing gig I’ve ever had in my life.  Getting paid to write – I’m amazed.  Writing was always something I just enjoyed doing.  Now I feel it’s opened up another world for me.  I will try to pursue jobs now.  I’d love to write a book, and I’ve started several, but ran out of confidence.  This experience has given me some.

 

I wonder about the other writer I’m filling in for.  I’ve always been a fan of her writing and I wonder if I could help her move along with her writing career.  She’s a younger woman than I am, and she’s SO good!  Maybe we could help each other more.  She’s got training which I don’t have, but she’s working in a small town paper that doesn’t even need a journalist with training.  I wonder what else she’s dreamed of doing?  I think she and I should go for lunch one day, as soon as she’s able to comfortably sit down that is.

 

As for me, I think I’ll try to get a few magazine gigs as soon as I’ve got more time.  I’d like to freelance for some gardening mags to begin with.  No reason I couldn’t write some articles while working on a book and working part-time – if I’m lucky. 

It’s been a long time since I’ve blogged and I really miss it.  It seems like I have to do such specific writing now – and that’s a good thing – but it’s also good to have this forum for just writing whatever.  Life is always full of surprises, and mine has been one surprise after another!

It’s Not Easy Being Green

I’ve been writing quite a lot of ‘green’ stuff as well as health related stuff on this blog and for the paper.  However, I feel a need to explain something:  although I try hard to be ‘green’ in my daily life and eat a well-balanced diet that is low in bad fat and enough good fat, I’m certainly not perfect; nor do I expect anyone else to be. 

I feel that if we all give each other enough information it becomes easier to move toward an ideal – what we all want to live like, for the health of our own bodies as well as the planet.  However, there are lots of barriers in all our lives.  We’ve all got to get to work – and for many of us, this means driving our cars and burning fossil fuels.   

We go to the store and receive more plastic bags all the time for the food we buy.  We can use cloth bags, but still face the same problems when it’s garbage day.   

The items of ‘convenience’ in our lives aren’t built to last anymore, and we’ve got to replace them.  These frequently go into land-fills after being pitched into the garbage.  

 It isn’t an ideal world.  We all want to change, but can’t give up convenience because our entire lives are built around schedules – only possible to keep because we’ve got ‘conveniences’.  It’s a vicious circle, and any way we can get out, even just a little, is a good thing. 

We’ve got to support each other in doing green activities though.  One way to support is by giving and sharing information.  Other ways might include sharing how we find time or alternatives to anti-green activities we’re trapped into doing.  None of us need to feel we’re ‘bad’ or ‘wrong’ in any way because we aren’t living a totally green lifestyle.  This is very tough to achieve, unless you’re living way out in the middle of nowhere, hauling your own water and living off the grid. 

Even the computer technology we all enjoy and use so often in our lives isn’t pollution free.  Heavy metals go into the making of computers and parts.  Now there are ways to recycle used computers, if you’re living in a city.  If not, you can only recycle when you get to one – which might be a seldom as a few times a year. 

So, my diet isn’t perfect and I’m not totally ‘green’ either.  Both are ideals I’m trying to live up to as best as I can.  I assume most other people are doing the same.

Interesterified Fats – The New Poison

Just when Canadians were beginning to feel safe and food companies’ labels proclaimed ‘trans fat free’, a new danger has arisen.  The very foods we may think are free of this poison might contain interesterified fats – even worse than transfats.  The food manufacturers can still proclaim the food is ‘trans free’, while listing ‘canola oil’ as an ingredient.  It’s a way of preserving and lengthening the shelf life of foods and still follow the new labeling requirements since food manufacturers aren’t required to list it on labels. 

Interesterified (IE) fats have had their molecules rearranged unnaturally which hardens the fat until it is more like coconut oil or baker’s lard.  It is worse than trans because it alters fat metabolism in humans and could raise glucose levels by as much as 20 percent in a month.  It is found to depress the levels of good (HDL) cholesterol even more than transfats, and  it may decrease insulin levels – especially bad for diabetics.  Generally it’s bad news for metabolic health. 

Its important to know what is meant by ‘hydrogenated’ fats.  The fat molecule has been changed by subjecting the fat to high temperatures under pressure along with hydrogen gas.  A metal catalyst – frequently nickel – is also put in the chamber and the metal, gas and oil are left to interact for several hours.   

This creates a hard oil that’s closer to plastic than the original oil.  It is unusable to the body and simply gets deposited into the artery walls.  It is sometimes mixed with a liquid vegetable oil to get a consistency much like margarine.  If this is done, ‘partly’ hydrogenated oil is created. 

Food manufacturers unfortunately aren’t interested in ‘healthy foods’.  Their interest lays in making food look fresh, have a long shelf life and maintain flavor stability.  There’s one natural fat that fits that agenda and IS healthy – extra virgin coconut oil – but food manufacturers won’t use it because it’s expensive, even though many specialists agree it’s a very healthy oil.    

We do need fats in our diet to be healthy, we just need to be careful which ones we use.  Fats rich in omega 3s and 6s are absolutely essential in the human diet.  Fats in their natural state, such as unrefined freshly pressed flax, hemp seed, pumpkin seed, extra virgin olive oils and extra virgin coconut oils are all good dietary choices.  Cold water fish are also a good source of omega 3 fatty acids. 

 Besides the vitamins and trace minerals we need on a daily basis for good health, we need good quality healthy oils for proper adult brain function, as well as proper brain development in growing fetuses and young babies. 

To be on the safe side, it’s best to eat food which is fresh, rather than packaged and prepare it yourself so you know what’s in it.  Doing this does require more time out of busy family activities, but it is worth it for the long-term benefits of good health throughout life. 

 

 

 

Go Ahead – Eat the Flowers

One of the great things that springtime brings to each of us is a natural food found nearly everywhere: dandelions.  Dandelions or tarazacum officinale, which means ‘official remedy for disorders’ is an excellent food source.  Our ancestors ate them as a tonic for health.  The leaves, flowers and roots have been used for medicines and food sources since time out of mind.  Dandelion leaves are now found in commercial salad preparations you can get in most any grocery store.

 

In my research of this plant, I found claims that dandelions could do many miraculous things from curing certain types of cancer to detoxifying the liver, cleansing the bowel, reducing acid build-up in the stomach and generally being an excellent health tonic.  Some of the claims made about dandelions sound pretty far-fetched since there is no ‘magic bullet’ which can cure disease.  Disease usually manifests as a result of several things an individual does and doesn’t do – lifestyle being the key factor and genetics are also important in determining health.  However, there are a large number of health benefits gained by eating dandelions.

 

According to USDA Bulletin #8 – Composition of foods, Haytowitz & Matthews 1984, dandelions rank in the top four in overall nutritional value.  They are the third richest source of Vitamin A and they are also rich in fiber, potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, the B vitamins, thiamine and riboflavin, and are a good source of protein.  Dandelions are also rich in micronutrients such as: copper, cobalt, zinc, boron, molybdenum as well as vitamin D.  Dandelions contain apigenin and luteolin; two flavinoid glycosides which have been demonstrated to have diuretic, anti-spasmodic, anti-oxidant and liver protecting actions and properties, and also strengthen the heart and blood vessels.  They also have anti-bacterial and anti-hypoglycemic properties.  Because they contain linoleic and linolenic essential fatty acids required by the body to produce prostaglandin, they have the capacity to help regulate blood pressure and reduce inflammatory conditions such as arthritis and help to lower blood pressure.   

Since dandelions are plants found everywhere in most parts of the northern hemisphere, free for the picking, they are even more appealing.  The flowers can be picked and washed up to adorn a salad along with the leaves.  In the fall, the entire plant can be harvested.  Fall is a good time to harvest the roots since most of the nutrients go into the root system during the fall.  These can be dried, ground up and used as a coffee substitute.  The flowers can be also be used to make dandelion wine. 

In addition to being good to eat, dandelions are also beneficial for your garden.  They attract ladybugs, providing a rich source of pollen early in the season.  In turn, the ladybugs will eat aphids which destroy many of the plants in the garden.  The long dandelion roots help to aerate the soil and the plant itself helps the nutrient content of the soil for other plants when they die back for the season.  So go ahead – eat the flowers! 

Re-adjusting to Life

Now that I’m working full-time – at least for now – I must say that it’s much tougher to find the time to spend with my doggies.   The garden needs attention too – getting ready for the season ahead.   

The job’s been very interesting and fun so far, but tiring.  Most of the real work I do is at home, writing.  But during the day I get to go around town and ask all sorts of questions to all kinds of people.  I tried to write at work, but the magic isn’t there.  I missed my own computer, keyboard etc.  I even missed my little attic office.  Thankfully it hasn’t been an issue – I’m allowed to work here.  I’ll be working this weekend on several articles. 

In the meantime, my little friends have been spending too much time on the couch.  The weeds are growing and the seeds remain unplanted.  Once again I vow I’ll fix all these things this weekend.  Since my best writing is done in the wee small hours of the morning, I think I’ll be able to at least get my peas into the ground.  I’ve realized that since I’m a morning person, I can take an hour or so in the morning before work and get some yard work done.  Tried this yesterday and it works fine.  As the daylight hours get longer, this should become easier as I go along. 

As to the dogs – a morning walk is what we all need.  The earlier we can manage to do this, the better.  Since I haven’t been exercising as much, I feel the results too – stiffness.  Not exercising can make you quite sick.  Not only do your muscles get very tight and stressed but your digestive system doesn’t work as well as it should and you don’t sleep very soundly.  If all the work you do is mental, you aren’t balancing your energies well.  You tend to think when you should be relaxing and sleeping and not be able to think well when you need to.   

My original reason for wanting dogs was so that I’d have someone to go for a walk with.  ‘Me hubbie’ doesn’t like to go for walks much.  Sometimes he comes with us if it isn’t going to be a long walk, and we consider it a real treat when he does join us.  He’s a hard working man, but his work involves sitting, so he sits lots.  Around here, we’re lucky because there’s lots of space for free runs.  I hardly have to have leashes.  I only bring them in case of unforeseen emergencies.  My little buddies love to run around, sniff gross things (eat them too – yuck!).  I worm them every three months since there’s no way I can stop them from eating some of the things they select as yummy.  If I were living in a more urban setting training them would’ve been more important.  Here in this location it seems unnecessary.  They’re pretty good girls, but not trained.  I guess that means I’d better not move! 

The cats miss me too.  Ringo likes to lay down on my chair when I’m no there.  I’ve got to move him to the cushion nearby, which is what he likes.  He knows that when I do that, he’ll get a pat and a cuddle.  Allie is quite miffed with me.  I used to give her time in the morning, but lately my time’s been all spoken for.  I suppose as I go along, I’ll come up with ways in which I can get everything done and still spend the time needed with my animal friends.  Thankfully my hubby has stepped in somewhat as far as the pats and attention goes.  He’s also been wonderful, helping with housework and cooking dinner every night.  Wow!  What a lucky woman I am!  I think I’m the only working woman I know who’s husband cooks her dinner every night.  And he’s a good cook too! 

Ah, today’s Friday and I’ll have the weekend to finish my work in the mornings and hopefully get caught up on everything else later in the day.  I hope that soon, when I get more used to what I’m doing, I’ll blog every day again – just like I used to.

Sorrel Soup

 

 

One of the first veggies harvested out of the garden in early spring is sorrel.  This tasty green leafy vegetable is loaded with nutrition and has a number of uses.  It can be used raw in salads and sandwiches or cooked into a vegetable dish or a soup.  I usually like to make sorrel soup at this time of year when the temperature tends to bounce between warm and cool.  Sorrel soup is easy to make and very tasty.  Here’s my recipe:

 

Ingredients:

1 medium onion – diced

1-4 cloves of garlic – (your taste) – cut into small pieces

1 tbsp. sunflower oil

soup starter – homemade or commercial

2 potatoes, with skins on, scrubbed and cubed

3-4 cups of fresh sorrel – sliced into strips or cut up into pieces

6-8 cups water

 

1.  in a skillet, fry up the onion using the oil.  Add the garlic near the end of this process.

2.  in a soup pot add six cups of the *water and the soup starter.  If using homemade starter, measure total liquid to reach approximately six cups.  Add the potato and cook until potato is nearly cooked – when you can pierce it with a fork.  Add the onion/garlic mixture and the sorrel.  Cook these altogether until the potato is soft and the sorrel is cooked.  The sorrel will change colour from bright to dull green as it cooks.  Serve as is, or put soup into a blender or food processor reheat and serve.

*Note: if you use bottled water, the soup will taste that much better.