Our group of hikers decided to climb North Carolina’s Mount Mitchell, the tallest mountain east of the Rockies in a three-day adventure. Following was recorded as it happened.
Monday Oct 12 – Staters stayed overnight halfway to N.C. while Jerry picked up Reed at his house at 6:00 am (in the morning), and Nick and Rick arrived to drive together. Stopped in Kentucky for Liquor Barn’s two bottles of Gordon’s and expensive St. George’s, a “uniquely Californian gin with real terroir made from 12 botanicals redolent of California’s might Mount Tam, juniper, Douglas fir, Cal Bay Laurel, fennel, coastal sage, Orris root, angelica root, and other profoundly aromatic botanical ingredients all come together to create a forest in your glass.” Tasted like pine cones, echh! Arrived Black Mountain campground, Briar Bottom section, Dogwood campsite 6:30 pm in time to set tents and have a happy hour with martinis with real martini glasses. Jerry proudly hung GMI flag beside Stater MSU flag. Rick, Nick, and Doc grilled Costco steaks, baked spuds, baked beans, and special onion-garlic-mushroom compost. Rick produced Trader Joe Grand Reserve Yountville Cabernet Sauvignon. Campfire discussion regarding upcoming UM-MSU game. Harbaugh and Dantonio are intense, and we would be in tents, too. Overnight rain made midnight bathroom runs most difficult. Did everyone put the food away?
Tuesday Oct 13 – Awoke to clear dawn, and French toast with Cajun bacon (yum). Rick’s blue tub mysteriously missing but soon discovered. What could have happened? It was 25 yards away in the brush without Tupperware and two dozen ginger snaps (oh, the loss), one bag of caramel corn, a box of raisins, and a bottle of Maalox. Could only be an overnight black bear now satiated but constipated. Hmm. Decision? Place food in vehicles and keep very large knives next to sleeping bags from now on. Nick and Rick have cots (can you believe it) so they will never be bothered by bears. Jerry, Jon, and Pat decided to climb 6684 ft. Mount Mitchell and be picked up at the top. Pat hit forehead on low branch, receiving “stinger” neck and dead arms, before dropping water bottle over cliff. Pasties for lunch on the mountain. Finally summited Mount Mitchell, exhausted, to discover parking lot full of cars and curious visitors. Back at base, Nick flew Quadra-copter-don’t-call-it-a-drone from campsite launching pad with overhead videos of surrounding mountains. Totally unflappable Stanley the Southern campground-keeper, that no one could understand, stopped to say hello and was amazed at the sight. We think. Hot free showers, woo hoo. Grilled Salmon with strawberry, pineapple, orange, lime juice/zest salsa, and Cline Old Vintage Zin and Raymond Hill Chard. Midnight hoot owl screeching (maybe bobcat) but no bears TG. Held knives closer. Sometime overnight, insane ghost chipmunk invaded Jerry’s truck bed and began eating a favorite wool sweater. Pat discovered something had invaded his van’s arm-rest cubbyhole and made a nest of seat fabric and twigs. What IS it with these crazy animals?
Wednesday Oct 14 – French toast and bacon breakfast before Jerry and Reed tackled Green Knob, while Nick, Rick, John, and Pat tackled Biltmore estate and early wine tasting. Another cocktail hour by a real campfire (friggin’ firewood more expensive than ever) before dinner of Rogers City smoked pork chops, stewed tomatoes, quartered potatoes, and Plum Mkt Russian Valley MacMurray 2013 Pinot Noir with lots of appreciated John belching. Overnight temps in mid-40’s made midnight runs a challenge.
Thursday Oct 15 – Pancake and Cajun bacon breakfast, before Lower Toe River group hike. Pat relates, the “critter” that shredded Jerry’s sweater and ate various foods in van came back to Michigan. The little bugger ate an apple Tuesday night. After multiple times to let him out (window open and doors open all day and night twice), finally got him on stick’em mouse trap w/ seed mix; a field mouse, not a chippy-munk.” Thursday’s 5-year-old freeze-dried chicken and rice lunch wasn’t bad. Relaxing afternoon with showers and doctored-Cincinnati chili (mit bacon) dinner and Sangiovese wine. Packing up for early departure, had a flawless black night and Milky Way casting shadows. Fell asleep laughing insanely about the seven cuss words. No bears, TG.
Friday Oct 16 – Awoke to dark cold and wind. Broke camp and departed 6:15 am. (in da morning). Stopped in Kentucky for lunch and discovered Pat’s and John’s van sides covered with multiple bear paw prints from trying to get in overnight. Inspected inside of van and other vehicles for lurking bears before proceeding. Good weather all week and great time had by all.
Going through airport security through the pre-check line is usually fast and efficient. I typically get through in 5-7 minutes from entering the line to leaving for the gate, although Atlanta and Washington Dulles take longer. For those unfamiliar with this great deal, pre-check passengers have gone through a rigorous background check. The result is that they go through a separate security line that is typically shorter. Shoes and belt stay on. You can even wear a light jacket or sweatshirt. Wallet stays in your pocket. Only phone, electronics, and anything metal still needs to go through the scanner. Laptops stay in the carry-on. The result promises to be a fast walkthrough.
Unless you get beeped walking through the metal detector. That signals one of two things. Typically it means you’re wearing or carrying something metallic, such as in some boots, belts, or jewelry. Or, you forgot to unload one of the prohibited items mentioned previously.
Occasionally the second reason for the beep occurs, which given my travel I’ve had to experience on several occasions: The randomly selected person in the pre-check line has to go through the scanner machine that everyone without pre-check goes through.
In my case during a very recent experience, it meant waiting. And waiting. Aaaaand waiting. The TSA officer at the metal detector had to radio five times for a colleague to come over to take me through the process. I can tell this irritated him, as it did me. Just to be clear, I’m fine with this random selection. It “feels” inconvenient, but in the big picture it’s still faster than going through the regular line, and if it helps with the overall safety of people passing through airports—I’ll live with a little inconvenience.
The problem was that there were several TSA officers in the area who were not scanning or engaged with passengers. They were walking around, perhaps patrolling. By the 4th time the radio request went out, I started to show my irritation.
Rule #1 regarding TSA Security: Follow their instructions.
Rule #2: Do not show impatience, irritation, or any other emotion that may be perceived as negative. Better to take yoga breaths and whisper to yourself “Ommm”.
When a TSA officer finally showed, he had me go through the scanner. Here is where I broke the 3rd rule by checking my watch and huffing into the scanner. That would be Rule #3: Always remember Rule #2.
Just a side note, when going through the regular scanner, it’s best not to wear a belt or light jacket. These will pop up on the scanner and you will be put through a frisk. This is a bit conflicting for someone in pre-check who does not have to take off belt or jacket. I’ve gone through such experiences, which tend to be quick and non-invasive, as the TSA officers seem to recognize this conflict—especially when you are “randomly selected” to go through the scanner.
Not so on this experience. The TSA Officer showed me on the screen how there was a shaded area around my waist and upper chest area. Rather than giving me the option to take off my belt and jacket for a rescan, he proceeded to pat my chest. He then ordered me to loosen my belt and, in front of everyone in the security area, stuck his hand inside my belted pants and did a pat down.
Now you could say that I got it because of breaking rule #2 and #3. In hindsight, I would have kept calm. That may have avoided the humiliating pat down that occurred. Since I’ve gone through many such “random selections” and this is the first time anyone did what this TSA Officer chose to do, one has to wonder at the motive.
When he was done. I said, “That’s the first time this has ever happened to me at a security checkpoint.”
The TSA Officer’s response: “Hope you enjoyed the experience.”
***
For other helpful tips about airports, check out this article on Yahoo.
As I write this, it’s more than a week into the remodel of my master bathroom, and I’m happy to say there have been no ugly surprises. Well, when my contractor, Vince, took the mirror down he uncovered some of the horrible pink and green wallpaper that used to be in the master bedroom. I shivered at the sight as I remembered the days spent with my dad trying to get that stuff off the walls. However, I’ll take the memory of monstrous wallpaper over the experiences I’ve heard from other people. For example, my hair stylist found black mold permeated her drywall and had to have men in hazmat suits remove it before she and her husband could continue with their remodeling.
Each day after work, I’ve gone into my bathroom to see the progress. Vince completed almost all the demo work on the first day. Only a small patch of yellow and white tiles in one section of the floor remained. The next day he roughed in the electrical. After that, it took him a couple of days to put up drywall, mud the seams and rough in the shower drain. On day five he cut the niche in the shower. As goofy as it sounds, that has made me the happiest so far. My old shower had no place to put anything except a bar of soap. Now, I will have a niche to put all my stuff and no longer have to risk kicking things around the shower. Yes! Already that makes all my current inconveniences worth it.
To make things as easy as possible, I moved into the guest bedroom. As much as I planned ahead, I’m finding it takes longer to do many things due to the disruption of my routine. I’m also slightly more sleep-deprived because I’m in a different bed.
My cat, Calder, has had to adjust as well. When I leave in the morning, I put him in my home office to keep him safe and out of everyone’s way. He has all the essentials – food, water, and a temporary litter box. I think he likes having an upstairs restroom, but the novelty appears to be wearing thin since he’s begun trying to escape when I take him into the office. So far, I’m winning the fight to keep him in there.
Though the remodeling is going well, there’s still much to be done, and I remain somewhat braced against the unknown. So, please keep sending your positive thoughts my way. It certainly helps! Ohmmmmmm.
I’ve found the new workbook as useful for blogging as the original book (another reason to share).
What is a Superfan, you ask? Good question.
A Superfan is someone who adores, loves, admires and worships your artistic work. It’s not a phrase I coined, but a word someone wrote on a blog sometime mid-2015. If anyone out here has also read that intriguing post, please let me know so I can correctly credit the author. The word stuck with me, and it’s a way I now frame my thoughts and perceptions and just about anything when it comes to supporting fellow writers.
I am a Superfan of some writers, meaning I devour anything they write. I promote them by screaming from the rooftops and through my typing fingertips on social media. They owe me nothing, but I owe them my inspiration. Something about their writing, artwork, photography or personal interests resonates with me and I can’t not support them.
I stumbled on Marcie Hill’s book, “62 Blog Posts to Overcome Bloggers Block,” at a time when I was struggling with my blogging topics. The tip that resonated with me most was: It’s not cheating to publish a pictures-only blog post. I never thought about that, even though I have seen such posts elsewhere. I devoured her book, used some of her tips, and then I left an adoring review on Amazon. She wrote me back, “Thank you for that review.” I followed her blog and her Twitter account. Without asking, she did the same, and that’s how our relationship started.
Part of Superfandom is how writers treat me. It’s that personal touch, that sharing with others. I prefer to show my appreciation of Instagram photos with words rather than just Liking them. After commenting on @josameys.words poem about villains and heroes, we had an intense, and rather hilarious, discussion about the pros of being a villain and which Disney villains have the best wardrobe.
Remember the key word in social media: Social.
These authors, artists and other people talk with me. I couldn’t attend a weekly Twitter Chat with Nori (@ReadWriteLove28), so I Tweeted her.
“Wish I could’ve made it, but was still getting over bronchitis.”
She Tweeted back, “@dianahirsch Oh no 🙁 I hope you’re feeling better now!”
I replied, “Yep. Finally better. Took 2+ lingering weeks, but I’ll be ready next #RQWN.”
She replied, “@dianahirsch Oh good, I’m glad!”
Someone who takes that much time and attention is my idol. To show my appreciation for anyone who does that, I retweet their Tweets, I {heart} their videos on Vine and Like their Facebook page, when I’m on Facebook. Beyond such standard protocol, I ask questions and send encouragement through Direct Messages (DM). I show my hero worship by engaging with them on a personal level.
You can make people like you and have your own Superfans by doing those same things. Make sure there’s personal interaction not just some stock “Thank You for Following Me” auto reply. Be polite. Be sincere; don’t say something if you don’t mean it. Make followers feel important; they are your best advertisement and supporters. Answer questions. Send loads of virtual warm fuzzies across the Internet. Emulate the people you want to be.
Make people smile. They will adore you for that. It’ll make you feel good, too.
I’m never more aware that I’m a day closer to death than when I’m melting like a freakish human dummy in House of Wax. Burning on the inside and drenched by sweat on the outside, I have zero tolerance for the slightest touch. Hands off! Don’t come near me. I’m about to self-combust. After all, what other purpose do damnable hot flashes serve than to dry up my internal organs until I disappear into a puff of smoke? One day, I may very well be reduced to a pile of dust. In an instant.
You men and younger ladies already have some idea of what we middle-aged women deal with. You’ve seen us trying to minimize contact with anything that restrains heat in our bodies. Off go our sweaters as we scoot to the edge of our seats and make more room for air flow. We could stand, but physical activity takes too much effort and makes us feel hotter.
A Smilebox photo by Kelly Bixby
Some of us are convinced that even the slightest amount of energy we expend in fanning ourselves may work against our attempts to snuff out the raging infernos. Desperate, we become as still as possible and resort to heavy panting—a technique perfected by dogs to cool down. We endure and survive, but in the heat of the moment, we are not glamorous at all.
We mature women have to figure out what we’re willing to do to minimize our discomfort. Exposing one of my solutions may be TMI. Let me just say that I’m often tempted to create a new Twitter hashtag: #HalfNakedAndWriting. Don’t worry, though, moms and dads (particularly mine). I won’t go public with that, because I don’t want to grab the attention of seedy characters hoping to find a provocative picture attached to the description. Instant popularity isn’t worth dealing with a bunch of stalkers. It would be nice, however, to commiserate with other women writers who have reached this milestone in the aging process.
Having lived with this curse for several years, I’d like to share some of the things I’ve learned. Men, I promise not to leave you out. Bear with me while I first explain why commonly recommended treatments are associated with long-term health risks. Then, I’ll reveal how you can safely help the woman you love to alleviate her symptoms.
Popular methods to reduce hot flashes can be detrimental to our health. For instance, a product called Estroven touts that it is “drug-free and estrogen-free***.” Truth in advertising perhaps, but connect those three asterisks to the information hidden in the fine print:
“***Estroven does not contain synthetic, animal or human-derived hormones.”
It sounds great, as if you’re completely avoiding the hormone estrogen. Except, if you keep researching, you’ll find that soy, a plant-based product, is listed as Estroven’s first and, therefore, most abundant ingredient, under none other than the title of “Warnings.”
What could be so bad about soy that it falls under a warning? Ingesting soy affects the levels of estrogen in our bodies and may play a role in a woman’s increased chance of developing breast cancer. In the article “Soy and Breast Cancer, What’s the Link?,” WebMD journalist Salynn Boyles reported:
“The concern about soy stems from the fact that most breast cancers are fueled by the female sex hormone estrogen. Just as the body produces estrogen, so do plants, and soy contains high amounts of estrogen-like chemicals called isoflavones. The research is unclear about how these plant-based estrogens impact the body’s own estrogen levels and breast cancer growth.” (1)
My own gynecologist recommends black cohosh as an acceptable option to reduce hot flashes. It’s known by many other names, most notably phytoestrogen. Surely any and all of those must be safe or my doctor wouldn’t suggest the herbal supplement in the first place?
Not necessarily. Scientists are still battling to determine if herbal supplements increase or decrease a woman’s chance of developing breast cancer. Boyles interviewed Dana Farber Cancer Center oncologist, Wendy Chen, MD, for an expert explanation. Chen indicated:
“A link between breast cancer and hormones is clear. Researchers think that the greater a woman’s exposure to the hormone estrogen, the more susceptible she is to develop breast cancer. Estrogen tells cells to divide; the more the cells divide, the more likely they are to be abnormal in some way, possibly becoming cancerous. We tell women with breast cancer to definitely avoid the [soy] supplements….Our message to the general public is that we really don’t know if supplements are safe because they haven’t been tested.”
Additionally, the American Heart Association concluded:
“The efficacy and safety of soy isoflavones for preventing or treating cancer of the breast…are not established; evidence from clinical trials is meager and cautionary with regard to a possible adverse effect. For this reason, use of isoflavone supplements in food or pills is not recommended.” (2)
We can opt not to take it in pill form, but have you noticed how prevalent soy is in our food products? Soy may be inherently natural, but it is unnaturally processed and added to many popular snack foods. It’s in M & Ms, granola bars, Oreos, chocolate covered raisins and pretzels, graham crackers, and gourmet popcorn. Sadly, all of which I have in my cupboard. Take a look in your own pantry and read a label or two. If soy is in your packaged food, you may see it noted as a type of warning in big bold print: “Contains: Soy.”
Men, there is no denying that your bodies have a little estrogen in addition to your much more abundant testosterone levels. Unknowingly, you may be taking in more estrogens through the foods you eat and even in the water you drink. I don’t want to cause anyone undue worry, but there is evidence that you also are at risk from environmentally introduced estrogens. (Take a look at environmentalhealthnews.org.)
One in eight women, and one in one thousand men, will be diagnosed with breast cancer. After being hit with that devastation—and too late in my opinion—many will be advised to avoid eating soy altogether.
The convenience of processed food is proving not to be worth the consequences on our health. Fitness guru Jillian Michaels offered practical advice when she was interviewed by CNN. She said, “If it doesn’t come out of the ground and it didn’t have a mother, don’t put it in your mouth.” (3)
Image created by Kelly Bixby, using Rhonna Designs
How bad must a woman’s symptoms be for her to adopt the use of steroidal estrogens? They are Known To Be Human Carcinogens! The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) reports that its “National Toxicology Program has listed six substances in its Report on Carcinogens (RoC) that cause or may cause breast cancer in humans. These include: diethylstilbestrol, a synthetic form of estrogen that was used to prevent miscarriages; steroidal estrogens used for menopausal therapy; X-ray and gamma radiation; alcoholic beverages; tobacco smoking; and the sterilizing agent, ethylene oxide.” (4)
Do you read that above list and find it easy to accept that tobacco smoking may cause breast cancer? We’ve been bombarded with that knowledge for decades. Now the evidence is showing that using estrogens is risky and that we should think twice before indulging in a glass of wine. Ugh!
What can women do to get through an uncomfortable hot flash? Here are my top three recommendations:
• Embrace the fan. Based on my own experience, the instantly gratifying relief is worth the extra kilojoules, and there are many free or inexpensive options to choose from. When at home, junk mail serves as a great go-to device. Out grocery shopping? Pick up a weekly advertisement on your way into the store. Attending service? The church bulletin is handed right to you. Everywhere you go, proactively scan your immediate surroundings for emergency use of any decent cardstock. Or, channel Scarlett O’Hara and invest in something fancy and foldable. Still worried about expending too much energy? Pack a small, battery-operated fan in your purse.
• Dress in layers. Be prepared to strip down as far as public decency allows. Store your big, bulky sweaters at the bottom of the closet, and donate anything that has to be pulled over your head. Camis are the only exception, especially if you have teenagers at home. They don’t want to see you running around in anything less. Invest in clothing that has buttons or zippers all the way up and down. You’re worth an updated wardrobe.
• Rely on the man in your life. He can help with a short-term fix. Tilt your head to one side, lean in close to him, and enjoy a soothing moment as your significant other gently blows on your neck. It won’t take long for you to cool down, smile, and feel more connected to the one you love. Once you’ve relaxed—and if you and your spouse are lucky enough to be home alone when a hot flash strikes—consider the advantages to shedding all restrictive clothing.***
I think you may find that there’s nothing more natural, worry-free, and satisfying.
——————————–
***Proceed with caution; squelching one fire may ignite an entirely different one.
