Down Memory Lane

Recently I have been reminiscing about my childhood. I think this was spurred by an old movie video I bought at our library branch's book sale. "Bright Eyes " with Shirley Temple, filmed in 1934.

I bought it so the grandchildren could watch it when they come over. The littlest one ,M, who is 9, reminds me of Shirley Temple. Same blonde curls and dimpled smile. I love and adore M,but when I was little I detested Shirley Temple. My hair was brown, stick straight, and cut in a Buster Brown hair style with bangs. I always wanted Shirley's curls. I wished and wished for blonde curls.

Once when I was about 6 the merchants in Athens had a "Shirley Temple look alike contest on the stage of the Palace Theater. My mother "curled" my hair with a curling iron and topped my "curls" off with a bow ribbon.I competed and lost. A tiny 3 year old girl with "stick straight brown hair" won the prize which was a new outfit.

Not long after that, my mother let her beauty parlor talk her into bringing me in for a "Permanent Wave." Now don't think of rollers, end papers and a solution. That is a "cold wave" and had not been invented yet. Think of a machine with wires and clamps,resembling an electric chair or some invader from outer space with tentacles. The wires and clamps were attached to my head-hair and the juice was turned on. I remember the smell of sizzling hair.

Boy, was I scared. Finally the ordeal was over. When I looked in the mirror I started crying. My hair had turned into a frizzy, scary steel wool mess.

I managed to "live" until I had had enough haircuts to get rid of the mess.

I never had another perm until the "Toni Home Perms" (cold wave)
came out and my girlfriends and I curled each other's hair.

Now, after all these years, my hair has decided to curl on its own. I suppose it is the texture of the grey hair that lives underneath all the sandy blond "Miss Clairol" I get now at the beauty salon.

Wait long enough and wishes can come true......:)


PS: This Thursday I have an appointment for a "body wave" which is what they call perms now. It is not that I am still desperate for curls at my "advanced age." My hair,especially on top has thinned and will do nothing but lay flat.

Wish me luck.:)

Atlanta Flood

Our son and his neighbor took this video from a canoe not far from their homes. It is of a neighborhood club with the playground and pool completely submerged. Their homes are on higher ground and are OK.

This is near the Chattahoochee River in the close in suburb of Vinings, Ga. The rains were unreal and came down in torrents. The river and the local streams all overflowed their banks.

Our townhouse is fine. No water. The sun was shining today. It rained for days and days. The Atlanta metro area got 19 inches of rain in 24 hours. A record.

Incredible.

I feel sorry for the people whose homes were flooded. And 8 people lost their lives.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHDWhwXtDew

There's Always Something

Yes there is:



But this is one I never expected.



I have a tendency to high blood pressure, hereditary I think, and I have been on two HBP drugs for some time now. The last time I saw my doctor, my BP was still too high so he put me on an additional drug, an ACE Inhibitor, Lisinopril.



I got it filled at Kroger for just $4.00 as it is on their list of less expensive drugs. The helpful pharmacist asked me if I wanted to know the possible side effects and I said yes. She told me that a common side effect of this drug, Lisinopril , is a dry cough.



I had been taking this medicine for about 3 weeks now and at night I did have a slight dry cough but I decided I would not concern myself with that and just popped in a Hall's Honey Menthol cough drop and went to sleep.



Then night before last I got up for a routine pit stop and decided my bottom lip felt strange. I turned on the bathroom light and sure enough my lip was slightly swollen on one side. Hmm, I thought could it be the cough drop or what?



The next morning when I woke up I could tell before I looked in the mirror that the lip swelling was worse.



I looked in the mirror and I was HORRIFIED



My cheek was swollen. My lips were swollen at least 6 times normal size.



I showed hubby and he said ice it and call the doctor.

I waited a couple of hours until the lip swelling had reached GIGANTIC proportion and then called and went right in.



I took the Hall's cough drops, a box of probiotics I had just started taking and the Ace Inhibitor pills because by then I felt it must be an allergic reaction to a medication. The meals I had eaten the day before was just normal standard food.



Dr G. took one look at me and the bottle of medicine, Ace Inhibitor, I had brought in with me and he said this is the culprit.



He said this only happens rarely maybe one in a thousand cases. But it was good I came right in because otherwise my entire face might have doubled in size. He said he rarely sees this sort of reaction, maybe once a year if at all. It is possible, also, to have airway swelling and constriction and breathing difficulity which I did not have.



He immediately gave me a cortisone shot and an anti allergy shot of some type and of course said to discontinue the Ace Inhibitor med. He prescribed oral cortisone for 4 days.



Today the lip swelling is somewhat better but not gone. I have a lingering hoarseness and feel a bit under the weather.



From what my doctor said this reaction can happen right away with Ace Inhibitors or years later while on the medication.



Just thought I would bring this to your attention if you are ever prescribed this medication. I would say,



"Just say no"



PS: I just read an article by a reasearch MD at Vanderbilt who said drug companies do not do enough follow up on side effects of drugs after they are given the initial FDA approval and released to the public.

And from
From WebMd.com:
"An allergy to ACE inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers can cause dangerous swelling of the face and of the throat that blocks airways, referred to as angioedema. "It's a generalized, sudden swelling, usually beginning around the lips and face, sometimes with shortness of breath and wheezing," says Jones. "It's life threatening. The patient needs to get to the emergency room."

Ancestors

Johann Adam and his wife Catherine traveled up the Rhine river to Rotterdam and there boarded the Griffin, a ship bound for the New World.



Their two small children skipped and shouted as they walked up the gangplank.



“Shush”, said Mama, you be quiet or they will throw you in the water.”


After 4 long weeks at sea they arrived in South Carolina to start a new life in the New World.


And almost 270 years later, here I am.

Little Red Wagon

Little Red Wagon

Bright red
Strong and sturdy
Childhood companion

Pull me
Please

Let ME pull it
Now

Look
I can walk
And pull

He toddled on
Short chubby legs

Up the
Steep,steep
Driveway.

I can do it
He said.

Up he went.
Slowly
Slowly

Pulling
Pulling

Uh Oh
Uh Oh

Little red wagon
Got away.

Look at it go......
Wheeeee.......
Look at it go......

Over the hill

Over the wall

On to the sidewalk

Below.

Is it broken Papa?

Run and see

Why no.
Landed on its wheels

Good as new.

Little red wagon
Strong and sturdy.

Little boy
Strong and sturdy
Too

chancy(janet)

"Fibrillations"

In the current New Yorker magazine there is this witty piece of satire about "health insurance"



That is ; I guess it's satire...could be true to life.



Excerpt below:






"Fibrillations
by Bruce McCall September 7, 2009

"Health Insurance;


"Welcome to the monthly newsletter about your health-insurance problems, not ours.


Note: Charges for the enclosed Supplementary Health Insurance Reminder will appear in your next billing cycle, for which payment is now past due.


Something to Think About: Contracting a serious illness can mean days off work just lying in bed, new adventures of the mind and body through medication, overdue personal attention from loved ones, and new friends in the hospital ward and the clinic waiting room.



And you may be the one who catches a disease that’s making world headlines and brings television crews to your bedside.





Sentences set in small type make a handy eye test.
If you can read this without difficulty, your eyes may be too strong and you will need the prescription drug Corneac R (dollarmycin-B) to return your vision to normal. Consult your pastor about the choice between sightlessness and personal bankruptcy.


Policy Updates
—All of you “Far Horizons” Fifteenth Tier Plan subscribers may now choose any doctor you like, who will then refer you to the list of approved cheap doctors, ex-doctors, doctors-in-training, and veterinarians.


—“Near Horizons” Sharing & Caring Plan members: Some misunderstandings about this plan have arisen lately. Sharing your hospital bed does not reduce the per-day costs of your hospital stay, and you will be legally liable if your bedmate contracts a communicable disease.




—Be sure to ask about the new “Invisible Horizons” Plan, providing discounts and a free ballpoint pen on hospital bills of more than a million dollars per week for any fifty-two-week period when you cannot get out of bed.
.
Explanation of Benefits
Skip this section. No benefits are included."

to read more go here:

http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2009/09/07/090907sh_shouts_mccall