This site is best viewed using Mozilla Firefox browser.

What's New

2009-06-01 10:29:00

Shame and coincidence

Question: So, what’s new?

Answer: Thanks for asking. In my role as Editor of The Q & A Times, I get to express a lot of my opinions about a lot of things. I am sure some of you wish I would not, or at least, express them differently if they differ from your opinions…but it is what it is. Further, because of this position and being CEO of my own marketing company, I get to see a lot of deals…you know like business deals, inventions, widgets, etc. These two areas set the stage for my column this month. The first is a bit “heavy” and the second is on the “lighter” side. I don’t know how you will be left when you finish the entire article, but here it goes. First, let me make a statement. I am pro-life. I am proud of it. If necessary, I will suffer anguish because of my position. People on the other side of the issue are what they are. I am sure they are proud of their position too, and those more proud than others might be willing to suffer anguish because of it as well. That’s the way it should be in this great country of ours on any and every issue. People on one side or the other are not bad people because of a position they hold. Both sides can differ without disrespecting the other, name-calling and showing anger, hatred and violence. Please keep in mind…I am not comparing anyone to anyone as I say what I’m going to say. The only thing I am comparing is the terrible, sick feeling I get in the pit of my stomach, at being part of this human race, when I witness some of the things some people do to others or to our country. When I get this feeling…without any disrespect to God for Him giving me what He has given me…I am ashamed…and would rather be a part of the animal world than the human race. If THEY do something like this to one of their kind, it is seldom without the influence of us. I have felt this feeling all too many times throughout my life. Maybe you have too. Among those I most remember are: My 13th birthday, November 22, 1963, when Lee Harvey Oswald shot and killed President Kennedy. A few years later, when James Earl Ray shot and killed Martin Luther King, and when Sirhan Sirhan shot and killed Bobbie Kennedy. I felt it a few years later when Nixon lied under oath and disgraced the office of President. I felt it when John Hinkley, Jr. shot President Reagan. I felt it when Clinton lied under oath and had impeachment proceedings brought against him. I felt it on September 11, 2001 when 19 Islamic terrorists decided they had the right to murder 2,966 people. I felt it when I watched the beheadings in Iraq and felt it and feel it each time I saw and see the terrible tragedies occurring against mankind in places like Angola, Liberia and Somalia. I felt it on April 6th of this year when President Obama declared to the world that we were not a Judeo-Christian nation (I wonder when we stopped). Most recently, I felt it when Scott Roeder shot and killed George Tiller, and when Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad shot and killed Private William Andrew Long. How do human beings do things like this to other human beings…and to our country? How can one human being think they have the right to snuff out the life of another, or be so selfish and prideful as to think they have been commissioned to do damage to our country or one of its highest offices? We must be some sight to God. Here He is, watching what we do and what has been done throughout history – the beheadings, impalings, crucifixions, shootings, stabbings, stranglings, hangings, poisonings, abortions, starvings and disgraces we have brought on to ourselves, our families, our friends, our constituents and our country. We are supposed to be the most intelligent species, with an immortal soul, made in the image and likeness of God. When I hear about or witness things like these, I get that sickening feeling and would rather be a dog. May God have mercy on us all. As I said, the second part of this column is a bit “lighter,” but there is not much of a segue. It goes from hot to cold…or cold to hot…whichever you prefer. When you have a marketing company, you get to see a lot of deals. Inventions, new services, new products and all kinds of different ways of doing things. I doubt I have ever seen more than I have these past few months. Perhaps tough economic times breed invention. Maybe there are so many people out of work, they have more time to devote to things that have been running around in their heads for a long time. Here are just a handful of them I have seen since January 1st of this year. I won’t say which ones I have pursued or have worked on, as it may be perceived to be an affront to those I dismissed. 1.Digital worm finder 2.Video morphing software program 3.A light that attracts pigeons 4.A bubble lamp 5.Retrieval training aid for dogs 6.A compass that points south for use when the poles shift in a few thousand years 7.Lastly, a bottle of stuff that when taken, puts the body into complete balance with nature I suppose the most intriguing part of most of these is the passion the people have when they present their ideas to me. Many are not interested in doing research to determine the marketability of their product, or a prognostication of repeat purchases…or a study to determine the size of the potential market. They are already counting their money and asking how they can sell 25% of their undeveloped idea, for “x” millions, and if I think it’s a good idea for them to retain a small percentage of their idea once they sell out. That’s all okay though. This is still America…and where else in the world could you even get the chance? So let me tell you what happened on the 20th of April. I was sitting in my recliner watching the news, as I usually do in the early evenings. A friend of mine stopped in and asked if he could show me something. I said, “Sure.” I put down my remote by the bubble lamp and set aside the leaflet I was proofing on the video morphing program. He began to tell me about a fella I know, who lots of people know, who has been most successful in business (like in making hundreds of millions of dollars), who was getting “high behind” a new product in a bottle, unlike any other concoction there has ever been. It was a good lead off to get my attention because I had been going outside about every 10 minutes to check how many worms were on the counter of the finder…and as he went on…I forgot all about that project. Anyway, this concoction is a big bottle of kind of purplish liquid (consistency of water) that contains extracts from 7 different botanicals (plants) from all over the world. Their scientific names are: momordica cochinchinesis euterpe oleracea lyceum barbarum morinda citrifolia spaerotrichia divaricatap garcinia mangostana bippophae rhamnoides I’m sure most of you don’t know any more than you did, but if you have time, you should Google these and read about them. I predict you will be impressed with your findings. This stuff tastes like a combination of weak grape juice and prune juice. It’s not that bad…or I should say…for the coincidental things that might happen…it’s not that bad. For thousands of years, these botanicals have been known to treat things like indigestion and digestion related afflictions and illnesses, aging and wrinkles, sleep disorders, blood pressure and vascular problems, aches and pains from arthritis, sugar levels, kidney ailments, energy loss, nutritional problems, pulmonary disorders…and literally dozens of other things you hear about the problems humans have. He kept on talking. It was getting dark now. I hadn’t seen even one pigeon all evening. Further, Trixie, our oldest dog had just about chewed through the training aid…so I got even more interested. He said, “Someone would have done this a long time ago, but all of these different botanicals reside on different continents and no one had ever put the idea together of collecting them and combining them.” The story sounded plausible…even to me…who is considered to be skeptical of most everything (smile). So he went on and began to tell me about some people he knows, and knows I know, who have been taking this stuff…some for a few weeks and some for just a few days…and relating to me about what they had been experiencing. I made several comments like, “Really?” and “No kidding?” It all sounded good, but I am one who has to try things for myself. And…I will pretty well try anything that someone has taken for 72 hours, hasn’t had major complications, and there is no “skull and bones” icon on the label of whatever it is. He said you take a shot (like a whiskey shot…3/4 to 1 ½ ounces..) of this stuff morning and night for three days, then a shot before you go to bed each night from then on. Instead of just drinking it down, he said it is better to slosh it around in your mouth a bit…then send it down the hatch. I guess there are nerve endings in your gums that by doing this, you get more rapid absorption into the body. Okay, that’s enough of my visit with him. Now, let me tell you a little about my health. I seldom talk about my health because so many people I talk to…or ignore…talk about theirs...but in this article I must tell you a little for you to get the reason behind why I wrote about this stuff. I am 58. I must have been in a dozen car accidents (mostly all my fault from inattentiveness) when I was in high school and college. From playing sports to jumping off haystacks, I have broken at least one bone in every arm, leg, hand, wrist and foot that I have. I have gone up and down in weight since the 8th grade, from a high of 277 to a low of 197. I had a heart attack when I was 36. I had 5 heart bypasses in 1993. I developed staph infection from this surgery, which I still have today. I must take 300 MG of antibiotics (my 5th kind as my body has become immune to the first four) or I won’t be around too long, certainly not long enough for this upcoming “pole shift,” so I need to quit fooling around with this darn compass. I have had six stent surgeries, three rotoblades and probably 15 heart caths. I have had abdominal aneurysm surgery. In mid-2007 my PSA went from a .5 (what it had always been since I had been checking it) to a 4.6 in six months. Since then I have been taking a powerful green tea extract (I have written about it before in this column), and still do. So now my PSA stays right around a 1.0. Considering the alternative, I recorded this as a major, good move on my part. My mother is a diabetic and has had to watch what she eats for many years. Her disease used to be diet-controlled, then pill controlled, now it is insulin controlled. She has to watch everything she eats or drinks. I don’t like watching what I eat or drink…as you might have guessed, so this is not something I want to have to endure like she has done. For years, this has been the first thing I look at in the results of my blood work. It has always stayed in the 80 to 97 range. In January of this year it was at 103. In early April it was 114. I don’t like trends moving in the wrong direction. So, what has happened since I’ve started taking this stuff? COINCIDENTALLY, my blood sugar level from the lab work I took on June 6th, is now back to below 100. My average three month sugar level is 10% lower than what it was three months ago. My good cholesterol is up and by bad cholesterol is down. My PSA is lower than it’s been in months. My Creatinine and BUN levels (two tests to do with kidney function) are both at least 12% better than they were. I have been going to sleep at around 7:30 PM for many years, as I get up around 2 or 3 AM to begin my day. Lately, I still get up the same time but I don’t get sleepy until about 8:15. I then fall asleep like a baby. I was getting up at least four times a night to check the plumbing, and now I get up once or twice, then sleep soundly until morning. Here are a couple of things that are less desirable to talk about but important to me. You can now run a train schedule on my regularity. Every three weeks, for 16 years, my chest (which is the area of concentration of my staph infection) swells up to about the size of a disc off a 12 foot tandem disc, like the one I used to pull with a WD 45 Allis Chalmers tractor back on the farm when I was young. First it starts getting hot, then sore, then real sore, then really sore, until I have to do something I don’t want to talk about here to relieve the pressure. I then wear darker colored shirts for about a week to 10 days while things get back to normal. I have had just one small episode of a very small swelling and soreness since my last episode on May 8th and it only lasted three days. Here is what else that has COINCIDENTALLY happened. You might recall articles I have written on some patches a guy told me about more than 3 ½ years ago. This particular technology is based on the 3,000 year old practice of acupuncture (you will have go back and read the articles again as restating everything here would lose the rest of those who haven’t read them). I began wearing them in November of 2005. In less than 6 weeks, while not watching what I ate or drank…and I mean nothing…I dropped 17 pounds. I was blown away. I have continued wearing these patches since, but have stayed between that weight, plus or minus 1.5 pounds ever since. Yes, my scale records decimals as it is a digital scale. I used to have a digital, TALKING scale that said, “One at a time please”…another invention deal I checked out. Seven weeks after taking this stuff, I’ve dropped another 11 pounds! Now, maybe it was from taking this stuff, and maybe it was COINCIDENCE…I don’t know, but it’s the only thing I’ve done differently. I continue my regimen of not watching anything that I eat or drink. Have I begun to exercise? No. Okay, I AM trying to stay on the cart path by the green instead of driving my cart up on the second cut…so I guess I am getting a few more steps in there…but nothing else! Now you know the reason for the title of this column. This may be the biggest bottle of COINCIDENCE man has ever known. I’m sure, it has to be some kind of a fluke, but it’s a “fluke” in the right direction for me. AND, just the other day, I saw a couple that I hadn’t seen in two years. Her first words were, “Charlie, you look younger, healthier and better looking, than I can remember you looking in years.” I first thought to myself, “Do I owe her something?” Realizing I did not, I thought, “All that other stuff that has COINCIDENTALLY happened is on the inside. She’s seeing something on the outside. You don’t suppose this stuff has something to with one’s looks too, do you?” Now THAT would be TOO much! Or, maybe it makes other peoples’ eyes go bad. God willing, I will be back and tell you more about what happens in future articles.