January 13, 2003

From the Inside Out
AN OLD BLACK CAT
WHO LOVED ME

"It is really cold tonight," I thought to myself as I pulled on the pieces of plastic and cardboard which I was going to use as bed covers for the night. Still I shivered, and I shook for hours and hours, as I laid inside that large green, rusty garbage dumpster, out behind one of the restaurants located at the Southgate Plaza Shopping Center in Jacksonville, Florida. I was a big boy now. I had just turned twelve years old.

I dug a hole further down through the garbage and began to cover myself with the food and hundreds of cartons which had been thrown away during the day. All of a sudden I heard something scratching inside the dumpster. "I hope that's not another big rat," I thought to myself. I had been bitten several weeks earlier, by a large rat, over on Riverside Road when I'd slept in a dumpster behind the large red brick church.

I took out my package of matches and struck one and held it forward. Sitting directly in front of me was a large black cat with big green, shiny eyes. He flipped his tail several times and just sat there looking at me. "MEOW," he said. "Are you hungry?" I asked him. "Meow," he said again. I reached over and found the container which held four, half eaten tacos which I had found when I first arrived at the dumpster. I carefully unwrapped the tacos and began removing the bits of hamburger. I laid the meat out onto a cardboard box next to me and the cat slowly moved over and began to eat the meat. I finished off the lettuce, tomato and cheese. I reached up and closed the dumpster lid and I laid down trying to keep myself warm. The cat moved over and curled up by my neck. I began to pet his back and he started making this sound like he had a little motor inside him. "Do you like me?" I asked him. "Meow," he said. "I like you too," I said, as I hugged him real hard.

"WHO'S IN THERE?" hollered someone standing outside the dumpster. The lid slowly opened and I saw a big man was standing there with a gun in his hand. "What you doin' in there?" he asked me, shaking the gun around. "I was just sleeping, Sir," I said. "Where you live?" he asked. "I live in the orphanage over on Spring Park Road, by San Diego," I told him. "Why ain't you there then? You a runaway?" he asked. I lowered my head and remained totally silent. He raised his flashlight up from the ground and shined it onto the dumpster. "How long you been coming outs here anyway?" he said. "You all alone in there?" he questioned. "No sir. There's a black cat in here with me," I told him. "He's my friend," I said.

"You leave that cat in there and youse get out here real slow like." I reached over and picked up the only friend that I had in the world and I held him in my arms and began to climb out of the large garbage can. "You don'ts listen very good do you boy?" he said. I continued climbing out of the dumpster with the large black cat in my arms. "I gotta keep my cat. He's my friend," I told him. "Put him in the truck" he ordered, with a strange smile on his face. About a half an hour later we drove up to this old house located somewhere in Jacksonville. When we walked into the house, he took me by the arm and led me into the bathroom and told me to get into the tub and take a bath. I sat the cat down on the floor and the woman came in with the towel and laid it down on the toilet. I took a hot bath and washed real good with real soap. When I was all done, I dressed and picked up my cat and walked back into the front room.

"Have him take his shirt off, Bill," said the woman. "Take off your shirt," said the man. I sat the cat down on the couch, stood up and began to remove my dirty shirt. "Turns around," said the woman, spinning her finger at me. I turned slowly around and stood with my back toward them. "You right. Someone done got this boy," said the man. "Who done got you?" I just stood there with my head down, looking at the black cat, who had laid down in one of the large holes in the couch. I knew very well what they were talking about. Two weeks before, I had been caught eating a box of raisins. Mrs. Winters, the head matron, had beaten me on the breezeway porch with a stalk of bamboo because I would not tell her who had taken the raisins out of the locked pantry.

"You hungry boy?" the man asked me. "No, Sir. I had some tacos earlier tonight," I told him. "You gonna eat anyway," he stated. We walked into the small kitchen and we sat down at the table. I don't exactly know what it was that I ate, but it was hot, and it was good. I stayed the night with the man and his wife. I slept on that couch with the big old holes in it and it felt warm and safe.

The next day the man drove me, and the cat, back to the dumpster at Southgate Plaza. He handed me four whole dollars and a bag full of cornbread. "This kind of life better than the orphanage?" he asked me. I opened the truck door, picked up my black cat, and I said not a word. I closed the door behind me and I turned around to face the man. I just stood there kissing my cat on the back of its neck. The man shook his head and he drove away. Having to live in garbage dumpsters was not the issue. Having an old black cat to love me was worth it all.

~Roger Dean Kiser, Heartwarmers.com

 

ORPHAN: A True Story of Abandonment, Abuse & Redemption Click for Book Details & Reviews (A portion of your purchases here helps support Inspiration Line programs.)

Yes You Can!
PROTECT YOUR BRAIN

Once again, mom was right — carrots, broccoli, and fish really are good for your brain, especially if you want to protect it from Alzheimer's disease. The opposite is also true, so avoid foods that are bad for your brain's health, says Robert P. Friedland, MD, a professor of medicine at Cleveland's Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. High fat and high salt are two components of a brain-unhealthy diet, but the main problem is "eating too much meat," he says.

Filling up on meat usually means there is no room left for "at least five servings daily of fruits and vegetables, which are high in antioxidants" — a fundamental component of a brain-healthy diet. Friedland also warns against extremely low-fat diets. Trying to eliminate all fat from the diet is a mistake because both mind and body need a diet that gets 25-30% of its calories from fat.

Our rural ancestors living in the late 19th and early 20th century had the right idea. "If they wanted butter, they skimmed the cream off the milk and drank the milk. They didn't add fat when cooking meat. Our ancestors also didn't add salt," says Friedland.

Only about half of the people with the ApoE, the so-called Alzheimer's gene, actually develop the disease — a fact that sent researchers looking for other Alzheimer's risk factors. They've been conducting dietary studies of both Alzheimer's patients and carriers of the gene who haven't developed the disease.

They found that people who have the Alzheimer's gene and eat a high-fat diet during their 40s are seven times more likely to develop Alzheimer's than people who don't have the gene. When these same genetically predisposed people ate a low-fat diet in mid-life, their risk of developing Alzheimer's dropped to four and a half times that of people without the ApoE gene.

In other research, Alzheimer's experts discovered that antioxidants are especially effective at fighting Alzheimer's disease, perhaps by helping to prevent the development of the protein plaques that block signals between brain cells. Some researchers suggest taking vitamin E to boost antioxidant protection. Friedland also recommends taking vitamin B supplements.

William H. Thies, PhD, Alzheimer's Association vice president for medical and scientific affairs, says that while the Association doesn't endorse a specific diet. "What we are willing to say is that people need to know their numbers — blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar. We know it's bad to get overweight, we know that exercise and a healthy diet are good for you," says Thies.

"And while it has not been proven, it is fair to say that social isolation is also bad for your brain." Just as exercise is good for the body, mental activity is a kind of "flexing" that is good for the brain. Read a book, do a crossword puzzle, play a board game, balance a checkbook, and turn off the TV, is the way Friedland puts it.

~Peggy Peck, WebMD Health.MSN.com

Burundi is a small French-speaking African country in the heart of the continent. Travel the shores of Lake Tanganyika and up into the mountain foothills to see their world famous drummers. The art of drumming is a privilege handed down from father to son, and glorifies Burundi's rich musical tradition. Experiencing the Drummers of Burundi is like standing at the base of a giant waterfall, senses overwhelmed by the power and rush of sound hitting you ... only able to catch the briefest glimpses of the smiles, energy and sounds each player is contributing, before you're washed away by the next drummer. Their sound and vibrancy are truly to be experienced firsthand.

LINKS
THAT SHINE

"STAND UP FOR KIDS"

Their purpose is to empower homeless and
at-risk youth toward lifelong personal growth
through an on-the-streets outreach program, and
to create in these youth a sincere caring and belief
in themselves through open, straightforward
counseling and educational programs.
www.StandupForKids.org

Fascinating Facts
"WELL, DUH-H-H!"

Why do we respond to something dumb or obvious with "duh?" "Duh" has a cartoon connection. It is first recorded in a 1943 Merrie Melodies cartoon. There it was used as an expression of inarticulacy and confusion. The insulting use, to comment on another's moronic statement, dates to the early 1960s.

"Red sky by night, sailor's delight. Red sky by morning, sailor take warning." Is it true? Variations of this ancient saying turn up in Shakespeare and even in the Gospel of Matthew. Some meteorologists have estimated that the "night" part of the proverb can be as much as 70 percent accurate in forecasting rain — not bad, as folk wisdom goes, but not good enough to drive the Weather Channel off the air. There's no consensus on why it works as well as it does, but here's the basic concept: Sunlight comes to us through more miles of the atmosphere at dawn and dusk than at other times of day. When the sky is clear, the atmosphere scatters the light at the blue end of the spectrum, leaving mostly red. But if the light passes through larger particles, such as water droplets, you tend to get paler light. A ruddy sky at sunset, then, can indicate that there is little moisture in the upper atmosphere west of you, where tomorrow's weather generally comes from — and thus sunny skies are in the forecast. It might also be a situation in which the setting sun is simply reflecting off the underside of clouds on the eastern horizon, which suggests that rainy weather has already moved beyond you. The second part of the proverb is the subject of endless speculation among professional meteorologists. More importantly, it isn't the least bit reliable. So when morning comes, sailor, don't even bother looking for red in the sky: you'd do just as well to flip a coin.

Why do we call our little finger a "pinkie?" There's nothing politically leftist about your pinkie, since you have one on both hands. In fact, its origin is colorless (yet still interesting). Pinkie began life in the Dutch phrase, 'pinck ooghen,' meaning pink eye, a condition in which your eye is almost shut. The "pink" in this phrase had the sense of "small," as in a smaller opening. Pinkie was first used in English for the small finger in Scotland in the early 19th century.

What does "ZIP" in the U. S. postal code stand for? Zone Improvement Plan came into use in 1963. The lowest ZIP codes are in the east (00210 is in New Hampshire), and the highest in the west (99950 is in Alaska).

Why do we graduate from college with a "bachelor's" degree? It was only in the 14th century that the word was applied to college graduates and unmarried persons. It originated a century earlier as a description of a young knight or aspiring knight — thus a soldier low in the military hierarchy. So, a college graduate as "bachelor" would be earning his or her spurs academically, but only at the lowest rank in academia.

~Fact Master, Top Greetings.com

Laughing It Off
ANDY ROONEY TAKES ON ...

(1) Grandmas:

My grandmother has a bumper sticker on her car that says, 'Sexy Senior Citizen.' You don't want to think of your grandmother that way, do you? Out entering wet shawl contests. Makes you wonder where she got that dollar she gave you for your birthday.

(2) Prisoners:

Did you know that it costs forty-thousand dollars a year to house each prisoner? Jeez, for forty-thousand bucks apiece I'll take a few prisoners into my house. I live in Los Angeles. I already have bars on the windows.

(3) Fabric Softener:

My wife uses fabric softener. I never knew what that stuff was for. Then I noticed women coming up to me, sniffing, then saying under their breath, "Married!" and walking away.

Fabric Softeners are how our wives mark their territory. We can take off the ring, but it's hard to get that April fresh scent out of your clothes.

(4) Phone-In-Polls:

You know those shows where people call in and vote on different issues? Did you ever notice there's always like 18% that say "I don't know." It costs 90 cents to call up and vote and they're voting 'I don't know.'

"Honey, I feel very strongly about this. Give me the phone." (Says Into Phone) "I DON'T KNOW!" (Hangs up looking proud.) "Sometimes you have to stand up for what you believe you're not sure about."

(5) Vegetarians:

Vegetarian - I think that's an old Native American word meaning 'lousy hunter.'

(6) Answering Machines:

Did you ever hear one of these corny, positive messages on someone's answering machine?

"Hi, it's a great day and I'm out enjoying it right now. I hope you are too. The thought for the day is: 'Share the love.' ....Beep.

"Uh, yeah...this is the free clinic calling....Speaking of being positive, your test results are back. Stop sharing the love."

~Contributed by Denys Cope

Untangling the Web

WHAT A SITE!

Like to get the latest consumer news?
We all need to determine the best prices for the best quality of goods. There are a number of consumer magazines and web sites available, Consumer Reports being the most famous
Another excellent source is
www.ConsumerWorld.org

COMPUTER-EASE

Saving Outlook Express Stationery:
Saving an especially desirable stationery for
personal use is very easy in Outlook Express 6.
Just open the message and then choose
File|Save As Stationery. Note that the message
must contain a background image to constitute
useful stationery. If you save a message that
lacks a background image, you'll end up
with blank stationery.

Look at THAT!
PANGOLIN IN PERIL

 
Photo: Sukree /REUTERS

An animal caregiver feeds a baby pangolin
with liquefied food from a syringe at Bangkok's
Dusit Zoo. The word pangolin has a French origin
and refers to the animal's ability to curl into a ball. This species of scaly anteater is one of Asia's most endearing mammals and it is being hunted to the brink of extinction. Thailand is mostly used as a transit point for the smuggling of the pangolin. The Wild Animal Rescue Foundation of Thailand is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the welfare and preservation of endangered native species.

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we can change ourselves from the inside out and improve our relationships, our community and our planet."
Editor . Chelle Thompson ~~~ Associate Editor . Geri Merrill
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