SPRING SALADS AT LAST!

I truly feel spring has arrived when I can walk into my garden and pick fresh greens for salads. And with that comes the desire for daily fresh salads gracing our meals, in fact their being the focal "entree" of our evening meals. I hadn’t even ever considered using lettuce “flowers” as part of my salads in the past and the other day when I wandered out to see what I’d like to include in that nights salad, eyed the tall, pretty, white flowers from last falls lettuce. Why not? I thought!




One of the things I enjoy so much about living in the moderate winter climes of southern California is that certain vegetables not only “winter over” but remain a constant producer all winter long. Vegetables such as my rainbow swiss chard, my beet tops (I left a few remaining beets in the garden last fall and have picked the baby leaves as they continuously emerge after each “picking“, my prolific parsley, sage, rosemary, and chives, (I always have the melody of Simon and Garfunkles timeless song play out in my mind when I put those 4 words together, although I have to substitute “chive” as I have no thyme at this “time”) and cilantro. All chopped up and tossed with store bought greens or spinach, along with toasted nuts of every kind, make for wonderful gourmet eating. Bon appetite!


I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden. ~Ruth Stout

Out with the Crew

Taft Prison Camp has whats called a Work Release Program, or “Outcrew”. At long last, since it seems we’ve all been waiting for this opportunity for Corey for years (!), Corey has earned a spot on the crew. Very few inmates at the Taft Camp are eligible to participate in the work furlough program, of the 600 inmates at the Camp, only around 25 or so inmates work in the program. He finally became eligible a few months back and put in a request to be considered…I’m still not sure what all the criteria are that must be met, but no doubt includes one’s Custody Level, time remaining on sentence, no recent infractions, etc. Several months passed before he received notification he had been accepted into the program. It then took several more weeks before he was actually on the posted “Call Out”, this was two weeks ago.

His first “outing” was to do landscaping tasks in the local community of Taft, at one of the many school parks. I cannot recall which Park the crew went to on that particular day, but suffice it to say Corey said it was very large and had 3 baseball fields, large grassy areas and LOTS of trees! The day he was out, the weather was a wonderful sunny, southern California day, mid 80’s with clear, sunny skies. Because he was the tallest in the group his assigned task was to trim the large trees. Unfortunately a week prior Corey had torn a muscle in his upper back while doing pullups as he and a few friends were working out, and this particular task was all the more challenging for him. But he was determined to not let the stiffness and considerable pain hinder him, or be visible to his supervisor, he had looked forward to this opportunity a long time and wasn’t about to slack on the job and not be called upon again!

When I asked for all details (“tell me everything!“ I’d exclaimed the next time I saw him) he told me it felt incredible to be outside the prison grounds, working within a community, where “civies” were mulling about, where “life as normal” was carrying on. To not be surrounded only by other inmates all wearing the same clothing, to know you were a part of the “real world” if only for a few brief hours.

One of the big “perks” of being out with the Crew is the fact you will eat “real food” for lunch! On this day the guys were all treated to Dominos pizza and cokes. This alone is prized pay for the work done!

Corey also relayed to me that though wonderful the outing was, the fun they’d had in addition to the feeling of doing a good days work (something they never have a chance to do in the Camp, real “work” is scarce, all are assigned 7 hr jobs, but most generally only take about 10 - 20 minutes to complete each day), he still felt somehat “odd” and overwhelmed by being out in the wide open spaces, that a small part of him felt he “didn’t belong” there, and he was anxious, towards the end of the day, to return to the Camp…he stated he felt a sense of “relief“ once they were all deposited back on Camp property. He understands of course, the source of his uncomfortable feelings.

Iinstitutionalization comes with serving lengthy sentences. The result of having someone else restrict and control your every move, the result of having had all decision making taken from you, having had all your freedoms, freedoms we all take for granted all our lives, stripped for such a long time. Corey is in his 8th year of imprisonment for a first time, non-violent, marijuana offense and although my husband and I relocated to Taft when he was designated to serve his time here, in the hopes of limiting that “institutionalization” by remaining an integral part of his life, we all knew a certain amount of institutionalization would be inevitable with a 12 ½ year sentence. Over the years he’s relayed stories to us of friends he’d made on the inside and stayed in touch with, who upon release would go through feelings of intense claustrophobia when among a crowd, such as in a mall, or at a movie…they would find themselves walking the perimeter next to building walls to avoid being jostled about in the midst of the crowd. In prison one gets used to always “looking out,” always knowing when someone is right behind you, of being highly sensitive to the “feel” of the space you and the people in it with you occupy at all times. Certain primal “senses” of survival, become more fine-tuned. Senses we all have but have lost touch with in the civilized “real world”.

Despite the feelings of being out of place, out of his element, Corey had an opportunity he would not have missed, and today I got an email from him happily stating today he would once again be going out with the crew! I look forward to hearing all about his day when we visit this Sunday.

Oh, my friend, it's not what they take away from you that counts. It's what you do with what you have left. ~Hubert Humphrey

BRING IT ON! VISITS FROM FRIENDS

March was a busy month for us. For some reason friends and family from “back home” (I don’t really consider it “home” at all anymore, but labeling it as such is simpler) all divurged on us in "record" number...meaning more than one LOL...this one short month. And we couldn’t have been more pleased!! Seeing friends we’d not seen in years, long time friends from our home town, from our son from Oregon who doesn’t make it down but a few times a year, and from the wife of another inmate was a welcome treat. "Bring it on” is our motto when it comes to visitors to our home.

Following Ted and Susans visit from “back home”, Derek flew in, sans family this time, for a weekend visit with his brother. I know Corey was happy to see him, and much as he likes to see the “entire family (Dereks wife and his little niece and nephew) having his bro, just the two of them, meant plenty of relaxed time to catch up on their lives, to talk about all those things especially of interest to them both, sports (!!!), family, their ongoing life experiences. There haven’t been enough of those visits, sadly, with the distance that separates them, the rising costs of air fare, and the difficulty in managing Dereks work schedule AND family life with two small children, finding these opportunities has been difficult. Both the boys lives have moved forward these past 7 years in distinctly different directions and finding their way back to each other, to the close relationship they once shared as brothers, takes work, as with any “relationship” worth preserving.

Following on Derek’s heels, literally, friends from Canada came to visit. Audrey and I have been friends for more years than I care to count, and whenever we do manage to see each other again (this has been the first visit since our move to California) we seem to just pick up where we left off…which seems like just minutes ago! Funny thing about that, how easy it can be with some friends. I share a lot of memories with Audrey, dating back to before first grade when we lived in rural Osoyoos, and at that, "just over the hill" from each other. On and off over the years we’d be best of friends, with detours along the way as “life” would get in the way, and its so much fun when we come together again, no matter how many years have passed in-between, to recount some of those memories. At moments they will sometimes jump out and beg to be “re-lived“ in conversation.

One of my fondest memories with Audrey was a summer in the early 70’s (a “summer of love” type of summer, so “ 60’s/early 70’s, right?) she and I, both in our very early 20’s, strapped on our backpacks and hit the road to California from Vancouver, B.C. Hitchhiking, back in those times, was more common, we did it daily in the city to get from A to B, and rarely dangerous (or so we believed in our perhaps naive oh so young minds!), IF one used common sense and took certain precautions. And maybe it was mind over matter because we lived to tell the tale LOL.

Anyways, we had a never to be forgotten, wonderful, very “freeing” summer, that summer of ‘70, as we backpacked all over beautiful California (and even into parts of Mexico), mostly west coast California, meeting and staying with other alternative life-style, peace loving folks we’d meet everywhere on our journey. We both have many “stories” from those days, some we look back and shriek “WHAT were we thinking???!!!“ and others we just smile silently in rememberance.

I digress, following on the heels of that visit was one by Rikki and her little one year old baby, here to visit from Salt Lake City, Ut, to spend time with hubby and father, Stan, who is Coreys cellmate. Staying with us is less complicated and relaxing, naturally, than a hotel room and we are happy to help ease the stress that can accompany her visits, her long trip out with a baby in tow. Rikki is a wonderful mother, and delightful young woman we enjoy very much.

But the “company” is all gone and April so far appears to be a blank page. But with it comes “spring” and all things are possible.

I make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes. ~Sara Teasdale, "The Philosopher"

Friday with Corey

Inside the prison visitation room last friday I was at the machine that exchanges dollars for coins (the food vending machines mostly just take coins) when Corey came into the room. I was surprised when I saw him as he’d shaved his head, I hadn’t seen it like that since his early “prison days” in the Taft Low facility next door. Apparently he’d gone to the inmate barber and asked to have it cut short enough to get rid of all the gray he’s seeing in it….well to do this, apparently ALL of it had to come off.

I laugh and tease him when Corey worries about the amount of gray in his hair, I tell him his grandfather (on my side) was a “silver fox” by the time he was 30, but for my son, who was incarcerated in his mid 20’s and won’t be released until he’s 37, seeing the gray take over, and seeing more lines appear on his youthful face, reminds him of how long he’s been away from his life as-he- knew-it, from the life that awaits him down the road, the life that can’t come soon enough for him. He also acknowledges that though he has matured physically, on the outside (he’s lean, more fit than he’s ever been in his life, and his handsome face is more “chisled”) he understands in many ways he’s probably still a 26 year old inside…that “time“, emotionally and intellectually, was put on hold the moment of his arrest, and that when he walks out that door to release, he may not be ready to meet the expectations of society for his “chronological age”.

I understand what he is saying, and in some ways this will figure in his re-integration into society, but in so many ways my son has matured emotionally and intellectually far beyond what he realizes. In mph, he went from 0 to 100 in learning how to deal with fear, loss and with heartbreak. He’s learned “expectations” mostly lead to disappointment, he’s learned to be patient when control over every aspect of his life has been usurped, he’s learned to deal with stress beyond measure, he’s learned to deal with every possible personality type. He’s learned a new set of priorities, he’s learned what makes a real friend and what doesn’t, he’s learned life is short and turns on a dime and he won’t be taking anything for granted. These things he’s learned place him at the head of his class for his “real age/chronological age”, and though he wonders how he’ll fit in once again post-release, I have no doubt my wonderful, amazing-in-so-many-ways-son, will do much better than he expects when that day comes.

Never believe in mirrors or newspapers. ~Tom Stoppard

EMERGENCY MEASURES

As I sit here looking at pictures and reading articles on the disaster unfolding (for the past week now) in northern Japan, I realize but for the grace of God go I…for the past decades we’ve all been warned of the next “inevitable” BIG ONE, the earthquake that will at some moment in time strike the west coast. Like most I suppose I live in a state of denial, that this won’t happen in my lifetime, but as the horror unfolds in Japan, not just the earthquake and the following Sunami, let alone the nuclear catastrophe unraveling as I write this, I’ve had moments of extreme clarity…picturing an all out disaster here in California, be it nuclear fallout from a meltdown of Japanese nuclear plants, born on eastward winds across the Pacific or our very own “the next BIG ONE“.

We are getting little information as to whether we are in any danger of radiation being blown over here, that is either good news (as there is no perceived threat) or very bad news (the situation is grave and they don’t wish to cause panic) but I decided it was long past time I remedied a few things here at home, like getting a Emergency Prep kit, some potassium iodine iodide tablets, a few boxes of N95 face masks, and an emergency food stock. I figure it can’t hurt, everything that I am purchasing can be used up in the normal course of events should we avoid such an emergency, and renewed as needed. One can go online to buy from the Red Cross Store (www.redcrossstore.org/Shopper/Product.aspx?UniqueItemId=3). They have a very good backpack, filled with emergency supplies for one adult reasonably priced for $70. Or one can hit the dollar stores/Walmart, etc and stock up on items in this kit…check it out to see what the Red Cross lists as essential items.

Oh, and Good Luck to all of us. And may God help Japan and all its people in their terrible time of need.

We cannot command Nature except by obeying her. ~Francis Bacon

A NEW “NORMAL”

Hikes in gas prices are affecting everyone and everything. Today I read how airlines are raising their fare prices for the sixth time this year! They report no decreases in passenger travel …yet (I guess people who need to fly will continue to fly…until they don’t!) but state fare increases aren't keeping pace with fuel cost increases," FareCompare.com CEO Rick Seaney says leisure travelers may now have to pay $260 for a ticket that cost $200 back on Jan. 1.

I mentioned in an earlier post an article I’d read re the rising cost of food. Rising oil prices cause rising food prices in three ways. First, increased equipment fuel costs drive higher prices. Second, transportation costs increase retail prices. Third, higher oil prices are causing farmers to switch from producing food crops to producing biofuel crops. The law of supply and demand predicts that if fewer farmers are producing food the price of food will rise.

We’ve been warned for decades now of the need for alternative energy sources, not just because peak oil had already been reached in most of the biggest oil fields in the world (since the mid 2000’s all the worlds major oil producing countries were producing at maximum capacity and many have now peaked) and we are now on the downside of production; not only because of the adverse affects to our environment (global “warming“); but to also avoid what we are beginning to see, fast rising and unaffordable prices (in these times of economic distress) due to unrest in other parts of the world where most of our supplies of oil come from. In the US we produce only 25% of the oil we use. I suspect until every last drop of oil, and the profits from them, is extracted by the greedy oil corporations and all who benefit from the market, we will see them buy our politicians support and be assured an “alternative” energy source is not viable in any significant way.

The American Petroleum Institute estimated in 1999 the world's oil supply would be depleted between 2062 and 2094. That’s only 50 years away, my sons would be alive and in their early 80’s…my grandchildren only 56 and 58, without an alternative energy supply what will their quality of life be? What will planet Earth look like in just a short 50 years time?

A study published in the journal Energy Policy by researchers from Oxford University, however, predicted demand would surpass supply by as early as 2015. The world's oil supply is fixed because petroleum is naturally formed far too slowly to be replaced at the rate at which it is being extracted. So don’t be looking for those prices at the pump, or in home fuel costs, or at the grocery checkout to go back down to “normal” anytime soon. We have arrived at a “new normal".

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. ~Abraham Lincoln

Melatonin

Most people don’t realize how much DNA damage from free radicals generation occurs as they get older. One of the strongest antioxidants to fight free radical damage is Melatonin, a hormone produced in our pineal gland that plays a role in sleep, aging, and reproduction in mammals, it is released when we sleep in very dark environments.

Melatonin is available as a supplement, an over the counter hormone, and is the best choice when looking for a sleep aid, a natural alternative to pharmaceuticals such as ambien and with no disagreeable side effects.

I used to take melatonin regularly many years ago when, due to declining hormone levels as I got into my early 40’s, I was finding it harder and harder to fall asleep (or to stay asleep). Insomnia was a problem for me for many years. Unfortunately I knew nothing back then of hormone depletion, and how it would affect my entire body. My doctor's "solution" back then was to put me on pharmaceutical Premarin, the worst thing I could possibly have done as I've learned over the years. But more on that another time. "Pharmaceutical HRT" did nothing to help me sleep, and the ambien and other sleep aids I was prescribed were successful in the short term only with undesirable side effects...aside from the fact they only put you in a sort of "sleep limbo"...you are unconscious, but not going through the necessary sleep cycles required for true restoration and cell renewal. Eventually I came across information and studies on Melatonin …thank God! It was only then I was able to finally resume a more normal sleeping pattern and get the restorative sleep my body was craving so desperately.

Then just a few (3) years ago I started bioidentical hormone replacement of estrogen (triest) and progesterone and found my natural ability to fall asleep had also been restored. I stopped taking melatonin until I was reminded once again, through various articles and books I was reading, of all the benefits of the hormone and I have since started supplementing with it again. I take a low dose tablet of 3 mg every nite at bedtime.

When one decides to supplement with melatonin as a sleep aid, not everyone will see instant results, fortunately I did. Remember also there are SO many other reasons to supplement with Melatonin, aside from as a sleep aid, so consider taking it for those reasons alone. Many things contribute to insomnia and you should vigilantly explore what could be the reason…perhaps you are eating too late at nite, perhaps your room is not dark enough (sometimes even the light from a smoke alarm is enough to disrupt sleep!) or you are watching tv or being on the computer too late at night, or are dealing with too much stress (work, personal, whatever). But sleep, good, deep, restorative sleep is vital, don’t kid yourself. Everyone needs at least 7 or 8 hours of sleep a night for for the body’s restorative processes to take place.

If the reason you can’t sleep IS due to a lack of melatonin for whatever reason (age, stress, many things can disrupt our melatonin production) without melatonin, sleep - deep, restorative sleep - in all its necessary cycles, is not possible, and you might consider supplementing with low doses of over the counter Melatonin. I take 3 mg every night, should you decide to try this supplement do your homework first, perhaps talk to your doctor or a good anti-aging, health and wellness expert before doing so.

Many experts believe anyone over the age of 50 should consider Melatonin supplementation as, aside from its anti-aging properties, sleep promoting properties, free radical fighting measures, it is also considered a neuron protective, and there are studies that show how it can prevent Alzheimers disease.

How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were? ~Satchel Paig

Sunday Family Dinner

Rod and I spent the last Sunday of the month with Corey. Despite the chilly temperature of the visitation room (did I say "chilly"? It was damn COLD!) we enjoyed hours of great conversation and the hours seemed like minutes, the day passing all to quickly (why the AC is on when the temperature outside is below 50 degrees is anyones guess (surely its not to discourage visits??? No, the prison wouldn‘t deliberately do something that mean-spirited, that’s just my “conspiracy” thinking again).

We consumed too many calories as usual today, easy to do when the over-priced food offerings in the vending machines all have ingredient lists that take up most the back of the package, and contain words one can’t even pronounce let alone understand. But suffice it to say, toxic ingredients and all, at least it is a change of pace from the “usual“ fare the inmates get inside, and magically tastes just fine. Today we purchased double cheese burgers, red and white checkered pkgs advertising “Deli“ salami sandwiches, NY Cheesecake, and a few assorted sodas and “vitamin” water. I can always count on feeling (and looking!) bloated and uncomfortable when I leave for the day, but it’s a small price to pay for these little “picnics” we love to share with our son. Theres just something about “breaking bread” together with loved ones. A time honored family tradition that brings us closer and paves the way for good conversation.

Speaking of food, Corey was telling me how a new friend has joined their “car” for dinners. James seems to especially enjoy Coreys cooking, and on a few occasions has praised his entrees as “the best he’s ever had!“. High praise considering he is a relatively new inmate, not one who’s become bored or jaded with the usual bland offerings of the chow hall cuisine yet. He wondered how Corey came up with all his recipes. My son explained how he’d long ago sent his mom (me :)) his Commissary list (all the various items he can buy from the prison “grocery“) and received back many recipes using (or "adjusted" to use) what limited items he had access to. A few of my sons’ (and his friends for whom he often cooks) favorite recipes include Paprika Chicken over rice, Beef in Red Curry sauce with either rice or noodles (angel hair pasta is all they can get), Beef Stroganoff (using cream cheese in lieu of sour cream) among many other dishes I can’t immediately think of. Of course there are his Cheesecakes, he has "mastered" the decadent dessert and is sought out for it and advice on how he does it so well! All in all Corey's “repertoir” has grown over the years and I am so happy he has found joy in coming up with his own recipes as well, something most consider a "chore" has become a creative outlet for him and I know he takes pride in what he turns out.


It would be nice if the Food and Drug Administration stopped issuing warnings about toxic substances and just gave me the names of one or two things still safe to eat. ~Robert Fuoss

A Quote by Sam Harris on marijuana, faith, belief, inacarceration, prison, court, pot, and alcohol.

Sam Harris, born 1967, is an American neuroscientist and best-selling author. He is the author of The Moral Landscape, and The End of Faith which won the 2005 PEN/Martha Albrand Award for First Nonfiction).

The fact that people are being prosecuted and imprisoned for using marijuana, while alcohol remains a staple commodity, is surely the reductio ad absurdum of any notion that our drug laws are designed to keep people from harming themselves or others. Alcohol is by any measure the more dangerous substance, It has no approved medical use, and its lethal dose is rather easily achieved. Its role in causing automobile accidents is beyond dispute. The manner in which alcohol; relieved people of their inhibitions contributes to human violence, personal injury, unplanned pregnancy, and the spread of sexual disease. Alcohol is also well known to be addictive. When consumed in large quantities over many years, it can lead to devastating neurological impairments, to cirrhosis of the liver, and to death. In the United States alone, more than 100,000 people annually die from its use. It is also more toxic to developing fetus than any other drug of abuse. (Indeed, “crack babies” appear to have been really suffering from fetal-alcohol syndrome.) (reference).

None of these charges can be leveled at marijuana. As a drug, marijuana is nearly unique in having several medical applications and no known lethal dosage. While adverse reactions to drugs like aspirin and ibuprofen account for an estimated 7,600 deaths (and 76,000 hospitalizations) each year in the United States alone, marijuana kills no one. (drug war facts)

Its role as a “gateway drug” now seems less plausible than ever (and it was never plausible). In fact, nearly everything human beings do – driving cars, flying planes, hitting golf balls – is more dangerous than smoking marijuana in the privacy of one’s own home. Anyone who would seriously attempt to argue that marijuana is worthy of prohibition because of the risk it poses to human beings will find that the powers of the human brain are simply insufficient for the job.

sam harris

*Note ~ for anyone new to my blog, my son is currently serving a 12 and a 1/2 year sentence for selling marijuana, his first time, non-violent offense. He is one of our nations 2.4 million prisoners, most serving long sentences for non-violent drug "crimes".