Serendipity

There have been times over the years that I have seriously wished that I could step out of my life, walk away if you will, for a while, to ease the racket that overwhelms me in my mind. It’s not that I necessarily hate my life as it’s been or is, but rather it’s wanting to get in touch with the person inside. I became lost with the death of my mother in 1975, when I was 16 years old…and although I’ve come close to re-finding that person within, I’ve never fully made the complete trip because life, as it too often does, took over and some things, like this, were set on a back burner until…. When I had my breakdown in 2001, I wished as deeply as I could wish, that I could go away for a while to a Buddhist monastery to heal, to finish that long journey of discovery, and to step away from my life as it was, out of the person that I was, and start over…from the inside-out. Of course, it’s just a wish…one that I’ll never see become reality as I have no funds to get myself that far, and I’...

I cannot improve or add anything to this anonymous letter received in May, 1982 from a mother in upstate New York. She belongs in this book. --Erma Bombeck “ANONYMOUS” Dear Erma, You feel like my best friend. The only thing that surprised me was to find out that I am taller than you. Anyway, I have something I want to talk to you about. There is no solution to this. I just want you to know we exist, we are human too and we hurt with the helplessness I can’t begin to describe. I belong to a group of people that doesn’t even know it’s a group. We have no organization, no meetings, no spokesperson, we don’t even know each other. Each of us, as individuals, are way back in the closet with the rats and cockroaches. We may not even be any different than our neighbors. We look the same, talk and act the same, yet when people know our secret, they shun us as lepers. We are parents of criminals. We too love our children. We too tried to bring them up the best way we knew how. There is small sol...

In hospitals around the country, a new threat is lurking. Clostridium Difficile or C. Diff isn't a household name but is growing into a new epidemic needing to be dealt with. The bacterium is becoming resistant to antibiotics and disinfectants. Sunnyvale, CA - Clostridium Difficile , or C. Diff has been around for some 30 years but in the last handful of years has begun to spread through hospitals across the country, in what's being considered an epidemic. According to a recent study, at least 7000 patients are suffering with a C. Diff infection daily. It's been estimated that 300 will die from this superbug. Clostridium difficile is a bacteria that causes symptoms like "diarrhea to life-threatening inflammation of the colon." It is found frequently in older adults that are under hospital care or residing in long-term care facilities. It typically shows up after a round of antibiotics. Dr. Fred Tenover of Cephid, a Sunnyvale company that has developed a DNA test ...

An Oregon woman fell for the well-known Nigerian email scheme, which defrauded her of $400,000. She doesn't feel that she was an easy mark, and because the email identified a long-lost relative, she thought everything was on the up and up. Sweet Home, OR - We've all heard of them or at least knew someone who has received an email from an individual in Nigeria claiming that there were funds from a now-deceased relative waiting to be dispersed to them or some variation of that theme and that help was needed to get the money out of the country. Most of us simply hit delete, but Janella Spears told AP that it only made her became more curious. The particular email that she received stated that "if" she helped this long-lost relative, her grandfather "J.B. Spears", she would then be entitled to $20. million. "That's what got me to believe it," She said. "So, why wouldn't you send over $100?" Spears sent the first $100 through an untr...

**The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is considering using Renovate, a chemical designed for European milfoil, to kill the invasive seaweed. Although the DEC says that it should control the milfoil, but not completely eradicate it. **Bath, NY - Between two of the Finger Lakes, Keuka and Seneca, lies two smaller lakes, Lamoka and Waneta , where many people, live, vacation, boat, fish and swim. But with the lake's usage, came unwanted invasive species of plants, namely European milfoil. ** European milfoil has clogged these lakes every year, becoming a danger to both boaters and swimmers. The Lamoka-Waneta Lakes Association vice-president, Dennis Fagan, told Steuben County officials Monday that plans were again being considered to eradicate the non-native weed this year. The Department of Environmental Conservation is considering the use of a chemical called " Renovate " (pdf) to kill the weed. **In 2003, the herbicide SONAR (pdf) was used, and it took 59 ...

Friday, the family of Marine Cpl. Jason L. Dunham took part in the "keel-laying ceremony" which begins the construction of a Navy ship that's being built and will be named after their son. Jason Dunham of Scio, NY, was 22 when he died in Iraq in 2004. Maine - Marine Cpl. Jason L. Dunham died as the result of trying to save his fellow Marines' lives, by throwing his helmet over a grenade. He sustained injuries on that fateful April 14, 2004. Two years later, President Bush awarded Marine Cpl. Jason L. Dunham the Medal of Honor. That medal was "the first Medal of Honor — the nation’s highest award for battlefield heroism — bestowed on a Marine in the Iraq war and the first earned for combat action since 1970, during the Vietnam War." Dunham was assigned to of the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, at Twentynine Palms, California. The 22-year old machine gunner was manning a checkpoint near Karabilah, which is...

The Virunga National Park, is home to a bit more than half of the world's last 700 mountain gorillas. Here, a senior park official has been arrested due to claims that he organized the killing of ten rare mountain gorillas in 2007. Democratic Republic of Congo - Honore Mashagiro has been charged by the Congolese Nature Conservation Institute (ICCN), which he was a member of, for ordering and allowing the killing of ten of these rare gorillas in 2007. The Virunga National Park is one of the Unesco world heritage sites. Each World Heritage Site is the property of the country on whose territory the site is located, but it is considered in the interest of the international community to preserve each site for future generations of humanity. The protection and conservation of these sites are a concern of all the World Heritage countries. Unfortunately, the park is located in an area where rebels have set up base making it a volatile region. Reports say that there are six other foreste...