Peanuts, anyone?

I've been busy traveling and writing - and blogging was way down on the list. But reading a recent news release (Dec. 10,2008) from the British Medical Journal on "nut hysteria" brought a big smile - and the need to share this with friends.
Dr. Christakis at Harvard Medical School wrote that "measures imposed to reduce exposure to nuts are often based on irrational fears of nut allergies and are becoming increasingly sensationalist"
I love peanuts! They're great for snacking (preferably in small bags to limit my intake). I used to pick them up in Continental's Presidents Club in between flights - and over the past year or so was told by various personnel in the lounge that they were no longer available because "so many people are allergic to them". Really?
Statistics from Dr. Christakis: In the US each year, 45,000 people die in motor vehicle accidents, 10,000 are hospitalized for traumatic brain injuries from sports activities and 150 die - from ALL food allergies.
Hmmm - wonder how many of the 150 died from eating or being near peanuts?
Christakis wrote that a peanut on the floor of a school bus led to evacuation, decontamination and the school reassuring parents that they were "nut free".
Maybe we're getting a bit too nutty.
Fueled by media - we've become pathologic about our fears. How about less hysteria and more reason?

Politics as Usual

Lots of kvetching: Campaigning for the Democratic nomination he proclaimed a "new" era in politics; now that Obama has clinched the nomination he's beginning to sound as "old" as the hills. Placating religious and other groups, the big money givers and more.
How sad that politics takes away the courage to say what you really think or do what you really believe is right.
Kvell: Returned to Caramoor Music Festival (Katonah, NY) after a 50 year absence. Music is not only alive and well there - it's exciting, exhilarating and therapeutic. Heard El Amor Brujo sung by Vivica Genaux; fantastic dramatic performance. Hard to believe that this magnificent mezzo hails from Alaska - she sounded and looked like a true Spanish gypsy.

So What Else is New?

A recent scientific paper from a prestigious Medical School released figures on a large study of maternal and infant deaths in Nepal due to lack of handwashing (water and soap) by persons delivering babies or the moms. Wow - in 1847 Dr. Semmelweis suggested that obstetricians washing their hands in between deliveries could reduce puerperal fever - cut down on maternal and infant mortality.
Fast forward to the present: we're still oblivious to the benefits of washing hands - really washing - using soap and water for about 20 seconds!
And especially food handlers - love the signs in washrooms - advising workers they "Must wash hands before returning to work" - so how many follow the rules? If what I encounter in public restrooms where so many women just leave without going near the sink - not enough!

Pharma, Culture and Illegal Drugs

Kvetch: I watched the Tony Awards program on Sunday, June 15. Best way to describe the show: A couple of hours filled with ads for drugs/medications interspersed with a few song and dance routines and a spot of humor now and then courtesy of Miss Whoopee.
Kvell: Patti Lupone was the star of the show - outdoing Ethel Merman's memorable performance the first time around

How ironic that the best play (August: Osage County) was about a dysfunctional family - they obviously didn't get the opportunity to load up on the advertised drugs to cure their ills.
Kvetch: Here in El Paso - reading about the drug cartel murders every day across the bridge in Juarez - what does it take for those in charge to treat the drug problem the way we treated alcohol in the Capone days? MAKE IT LEGAL AND COLLECT TAXES on all sales.

2008 - what's in store?

A recent column in my local newspaper chided people for "whining". I didn't agree with the author; non-stop whining or kvetching can be tedious but an occasional kvetch is good.
If you keep quiet and stew - nobody will know there's stuff out there that needs fixing.
My 2008 kvetch list starts with hope:
Hope that we all recognize the value of older adults, treasure them and not make snide, supposedly funny, cracks. (Many older adults are the worst perpetrators of stereotyping.) Hope that media remembers there are many more accidents caused by drivers under 50 - yet their age is rarely mentioned in an accident report.
Hope that the level of hypocrisy in government and politics goes way down.
Hope we can get the middlemen out of health care - (like private insurance companies) and recognize that we spend more on health care than other countries and get less for our dollar!