Spring Season is here and it is important to refresh your home inside and out.  This power wash machine will  help you with your outside property to remove all mildew and dirt.  It will restore your walkways, driveways, and stone work to new.  If not satisfied, Amazon will take it back for a full refund within a certain time.  

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=power+washer&crid=2ANMIH46S1YNP&sprefix=power+washer%2Caps%2C108&linkCode=ll2&tag=iketrades-20&linkId=70959f73eacd011037abb6570dd887fa&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

MY RECENT SYMPTOMS OF A HEART ATTACK

Whenever someone gets seriously ill, I often ask what the symptoms were.  Not that I am a hypochondriac, let’s just say I am curious.

From the symptoms of people I knew, mainly men, their heart attacks were fatal.  They clutched their chest, were full of sweat and sometimes knew it was the end.

Other men disregarded their symptoms of feeling lethargic, having indigestion, nausea, and mild chest  and arm pain. The pains were equated with too much exercise, not enough exercise, too much bad food, etc.  They will make a doctor’s appointment when their schedule works out for them. Sometimes this attitude can be fatal.

On the other hand a woman’s symptoms are a little different.  In very rare cases it can be too late to know she had a heart attack, as she would be in pain clutching her chest. The norm as I experienced, can be very deceiving. Many medical doctors are just learning of the many different symptoms a woman can have. A few years ago, I experienced gas pains.  I’ve had them all my life on and off so I did not take too much attention to it. But when the discomfort came and went every few hours like contractions before giving birth, I became concerned.  Each time it returned the indigestion got worse. Then the magic symptom came which was my jaw and teeth radiating.  My arm started to feel pressure, like a very slight pain.

Because the pain was not severe in my chest, I thought there was no need for an ambulance. Thus my husband drove me to the hospital for tests.  It was revealed I had a heart attack and received two stents on the left arteries

Interestingly, when we think heart attack, we think “ouch” severe pain to the chest.

When an artery is clogged blood cannot flow to the heart and if not repaired within 12 hours it could be fatal or at least severe heart damage.

My second attack was different from the first.  I had no indigestion, just pressure on my chest, shoulder and arm.  It came and went every few minutes like my previous attack. However the jaw and arm discomfort was the sign to get to my primary doctor.  He gave me a cardiogram which did not look good and advised me to go to the hospital.  Since there was no bad pain only a discomfort I asked to take blood work to see if I had cardiac disease.  While waiting for a lab tech to take blood, the discomfort was coming faster than I expected.  I made my husband drive to the emergency as quickly as possible.

Later, I learned never to drive to the emergency but to call an ambulance.  My heart attack was a bad one at the RCA(Right Coronary Artery)  I was told if I waited up to 12 hours I may not have lived

In both cases I did not panic nor took my heart attack too seriously because I was not in severe pain. Had I waited for the pain it might have been too late

 

 

PUPPY SCAMS

 

With broken hearts over losing our eleven in a half year old Maltese, we started looking for another puppy about a year go.  At first I felt disloyal to our beloved little Mindy, however, I had to stop our heartache and sobbing.  People advised us to look at animal shelters. Years ago we did and adopted a cute puppy which worked out well. Another time we adopted an adorable Schnoodle that just came in, but we had to sign a statement that if the dog owner claims the dog within a certain time, we had to release it to the rightful owner. That day came when we had to give her back.

 

Among the newspaper listings was a Ft. Lauderdale pet store. They directed us to their web site where we chose adorable Mayla. She was all white with black points. (nose and eyes). We rushed to the store on a very hot Fourth of July.  Impressed with the upscale store, we couldn’t wait to meet her...

 

The sales person whom we spoke on the phone showed us a white and tan puppy stinking with bad perfume. We told him that was not the puppy we saw on his web site..  He scratched his head and led us into another room with tiny puppies sleeping on their backs as if all drugged. While soft music was playing, we were told to be very quiet. “Wake them up” I said.” We are here to buy a puppy” The salesman escorted us to another room with about eight to ten puppies all awake in one cage about two feet by two feet. Because it was shocking to see them cramped, we stormed out saying they should be ashamed.

 

Breeders were our next choice, or are they really breeders? Some advertised saying they were breeders or kennels, but they were really brokers. I was unaware of puppy brokers at that time and soon learned to ask questions about the puppy's parents and to request to see them in person. None were available and they were indignant about offering me their last name. When I asked for their home address it wound up off a highway, at a supermarket, or they said they will meet me half way.

 

We were impressed with beautiful airbrushed professional photographs of the puppies, only to find out puppy brokers stole those pictures by putting them on their own websites or they text it to me making us believe that was the puppy they are selling.

 

Other red flags are lower priced puppy ads, free shipping from God knows where, only to find a dead or dying puppy or one that was not what they prepaid for.  Someone told me her mother prepaid for a particular breed.  On arrival the dog was not what she ordered. She could not get her money back and after time got attached to it. Some breeders take nonrefundable deposits for puppies before they are born.

There have been warnings regarding purchasing pets from pet stores as they usually come from puppy mills. I am afraid puppy brokers are included. Besides the Maltese in pet stores cost as much money as the private breeders only you are not getting the pick of the litter.

 

Thus our choices are to pay big money to well-known breeders or go to the animal shelters.

MY SPIRIT THEORY

One late evening, I recently got spooked out of my mind. For the past sixteen years I have always enjoyed sitting at my glass dinette table researching on my lap top computer. A week earlier I remember getting interrupted by my religious young aunt, reminding me to light a Yahrtzeit candle for my mother. It was the anniversary of her passing.

It was just last week while typing, my glass top slid off the table base as though someone pushed it off.  The glass naturally crashed on the floor leaving tons of broken glass everywhere. My computer and vase fell on top of the glass, miraculously leaving both unbroken.

Flabbergasted, I could not figure how that could happen.  I knew my glass top was a little unsteady lately but it was impossible for a heavy glass top to just push its way off the base and crash. For the past years we applied cyclone disks under the glass which usually worked well, but noticed it had not worked well for months 

It took hours of picking up the glass, sweeping, vacuuming and mopping.  We took out another heavy round glass top from the garage which we luckily saved from another piece of furniture and placed it on the table base. The following day, I attempted to continue working on my computer at the same table when I noticed the glass, in slow motion, sliding off the table falling on to the floor again. At that point, how do I tell my husband who was happily enjoying himself at the gym what had occurred. “Guess what”, I said. “You’re never going to believe this”.

To my astonishment, the glass did not break nor chip.  My computer and vase was unharmed. Should I have remembered to buy that Yahrzeit candle for my mother?  Was she angry with me?  Was her spirit talking to me?  Do Spirts really exist? Crazy things were going in my mind. 

The following day it dawned on me what might have happened.  I recently hired a cleaning lady who is marvelous.   I watched her pick up the heavy glass to shine it.  I did not know where this little young  woman got her  strength.  She also polished the steel base with furniture polishl to shine and preserve it.  It never occurred to me that she lifted the glass much higher to shine the top of the base.  That was why the cyclone disks did not stuck on the glass and the oil caused the slippery glass to move

To satisfy my theory, I used ammonia on top of the base and glass, washing and wiping them thoroughly.  After placing the glass top on the base, we found it difficult to move.  When I heard a squeak, it meant it no longer was slippery.  Did this mean it may be the end of my Spirit theory?

 

 

MY EXPERIENCE AS PRODUCER AND DIRECTOR

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever expect to enjoy the experience of becoming a producer and director of a show.  As a young child most little girls like me dreamed of acting and becoming an Oscar winner. As I matured and continued my adult life, those dreams totally faded away.

Living in an active adult community in Florida,  I was a bystander enjoying other leaders of the community creating entertainment and improving our community. I’ve complained and applauded various events like most of our residents. It never dawned on me that I too would make a small contribution.

Joining our entertainment committee fascinated me and I loved going to the Show Cases.  Taking part of a vote to decide which entertainers would best be enjoyed by our residents gave me a sense of importance.

Hardly volunteering in anything worthwhile other than setting up tables before an event, a question was asked by our co chair lady of our committee.  “What can we give back to the community that will cost nothing and yet be entertaining?”

Looking around the room, with no hands raised, I suggested a Talent Show.  “Let’s see who comes out of the woodwork that has talent.” Our co chairs were not receptive at first, as they believed in professional talent. Due to our democratic process in our committee, a vote was taken and it was decided we have one. I was picked to run it since it was my idea. “This was going to be a piece of cake.” I thought.

To my disappointment not too many people came forward from our flyers.  Calling many folks whom I knew had talent, just seemed it was not the right time to perform.  Therefore I decided to make up my own skits, researching on line. They included music and dancing.  The problem with dancing was we had to use our arms, and legs together with our hips.  One complained it was difficult to raise one arm, while the other complained their other arm was difficult. Bending was out and so were cartwheels.

We chuckled about our bodies not being able to do what we used to do and tried our best to move the parts that still work.

Meanwhile people took bets we would not have enough time for a show, as we began two months prior to the opening with only three good performers signed on.. It took only one month to rehearse the dances plus more performers stepped up to the plate. During those few weeks, the performers each had their own agendas at separate times and were missing for full rehearsals. But in the end they did great

Producing and directing the show, which I loved, brought back memories of my earlier years. I created beautiful jewelry which was loved by all the buyers in department stores and boutiques across the county. My mind was active again and I felt very alive.

 

 

ALL POLICE & SECURITY OFFICERS MUST WEAR CAMERAS

The case of Musician, Corey Jones death by officer, Nouman Raja, stuns kin, as reported in the Pam Beach Post Tuesday October 20, stuns all of us as well.  Here is a young black man from a respected loving family doing all the right things and admired by all.  Getting paid in cash and coming home late from gigs with expensive drums in his car, his licensed gun was his protection. Unfortunately he might not have been experienced in using it, or perhaps he was too fearful that fateful morning.

Along comes this plain clothes man cop, Raja, who approached this young frightened man stranded off the road about 3 AM waiting for a tow truck to help with his disabled vehicle. Raja had no badge on him to show this frightened young man he was safe.  Instead, with no witnesses, nor cameras, the young man was shot by the cop about 100 feet away from his car.

Now let’s evaluate the situation.  The plain clothes man cop was originally employed by the police department and had previous incidents of failing to obey by the rules.  He was demoted to the Palm Beach Gardens department with a $10,000 reduction in pay to do surveillance work.  Two comments were contradictory. The officer at first said he approached Jones vehicle thinking it was abandoned.  Then he said Jones approached the cop.  Does that make sense?

Now the FBI is getting involved. It is like a boxing match with a 160LB man fighting with a 250LB heavy weight and the referee is making the decision as to who won.

The bottom line is, new laws must be made that all police officers including plain clothes men and security guards, must wear cameras whether they carry a gun or not.

WHY DONALD TRUMP IS RIGHT ON IMMIGRATION

In the Palm Beach Post on September 14, I read the article by Benjamin Powell, director of the Free Market Institute disapproving Donald Trump immigration issue.  He mentioned the researching of immigration by so called “social scientists.” Who are they, I wondered?  Mr. Powell summarized that the “social scientists” are the public. Which public does he refer to?”  The Liberal scholars, I assumed. Actually, Liberals are great peace loving people. They want to save the world and our planet. Unfortunately in doing so, we as a nation became weaker.’’

Social Scientists claim illegal immigration is good for our country.  They provide goods and services directly to other immigrants and I assume to Americans as well. He writes that some legal and illegal immigrants pay sales tax on what they spent which helps the economy and some pay income tax.  However he does not mention the cost of food stamps, housing, health care and education.  We may see some benefits in about 10-20 years if the immigrants remain in our country.

Our economy is not booming.  I see empty stores in shopping centers, Departments stores are closing some stores, businesses are cutting down, and some employees are being laid off. Because of the present economy jobs are scarce. When the illegal immigrants show up for jobs they usually work off the books, therefore no tax revenue.  With the minimum wage going up, it may make it difficult for Americans to compete for some jobs.

 

Trump understands all this as he too has business advisers and accountants to document that we can no longer afford illegal immigrants.  I like his issue on closing the borders until such time as we can afford to support more immigrants again.  But we must be careful who we allow in our country.  Years ago a relative had to a sponsor an immigrant.  They had to be free of disease with no criminal records.  We must make sure that many who are fleeing in  countries including ours do not overtake our freedom, laws, culture and our way of life including voting at the polls. 

 

Before 1935 there were no welfare and before 1939 there were no food stamps. Illegal & legal immigrants were on their own when they came into our country.  They lived with relatives or friends, learned our language and found jobs immediately. They were poor but they came with trades, education and culture. They enhanced and contributed to America. Many became self- made millionaires.

 

As for Trump’s issue on deportation, I disapprove deporting illegal immigrants who have anchor babies here and who are working and paying taxes.  I agree on deportation if the illegals are criminals, even one offense, have no jobs, and trouble makers. Although Trump tells it like it is, he must try to refrain from making nasty comments to interviewers and his opponents running against him in an unsophisticated manor if it is  not to his liking.  Trump needs a little more sophistication if he truly wants to be our president.

 

 

 

 

 

WHY YOU SHOULD THROW OUT YOUR VITAMIN B12

Today most of us are more savvy in keeping our bodies healthy by exercising and eating the right foods.  We listen to our doctors about which vitamins to take and how much water to drink.

The other day, my husband asked me to return his vitamin B12 to the store where he purchased it.  Asking why, he showed me an article he read that came in our mail condemning Vitamin B12 because it contained cyanide. “That’s ridiculous,” I said. “They would not allow poison in vitamins.”  He showed me the article and told me the label did not show cyanide.  He immediately called the company that had the phone number on the label. He asked if the vitamin contained cyanide.  The answer was YES.  It was clearly on the label, but it was called Cyanocobalamin.

Since I love researching, I came across a blog written by Dr. D’Adamo who wrote there is a small amount of cyanide molecule which does not come from plants or animals.  It is chemically synthesized in other vitamins as well. He said although very small, the body needs to get rid of it by detoxification with glutathione.  It must get rid of the body. 

Well, this sound very complicated to me.  Why bother?  I read elsewhere that some people cannot handle Cyanocobalamin as it upsets their nervous system among other bad symptoms.

He suggested Methylcobalamin for your liver, brain and nervous system.  It is also good for vision and helps with sleep problems, while Cyanocobalamin  is ineffective.  For those who are unaware as I was, a potential deficiency of B 12 include; numbness, tingling, loss of feeling sensation, burning sensation, muscle cramps, nerve pain and slowness of reflexes

We are drinking & bathing chlorine.  We are warned not to consume rice too often and to eat in small doses due to the arsenic it contains.  The government has warned us to consume rice in small portions and infrequently.  Presently, they have a research team investigating whether arsenic comes from rain water or the soil. We just have to be careful about toxic chemicals that go into our children and grandchildren, as well as ourselves.

We all have to be smart for our health.  Our bodies, if we listen, tell us why we do not feel well.  We just have to look further.  My feeling is, and it is just my humble opinion; our world is not as safe as we would like.  We distrust where we get our foods and medicine, and unfortunately I distrust vitamins.  I do not know where they come from, where they are packaged, and I worry about mistakes made in the labs. And, it if contains a little cyanide.. Well I am not taking a chance.  I will look for alternatives.

   

The Nightmare of Washing New Towels

Living in my home in an adult community for fourteen in a half years forced me to replace wear and tear items. Mainly it is the new towels I wish to address today.  Whether it is right or wrong, I replace my towel after each use. We do not use the big giant bath towel just the regular size.  I always used dryer sheets to make everything soft.  However, during the past couple of years I have discontinued using them due to the chemicals that harm us. With the dryer sheets in the past and all the excessive use, my towels lost some absorbency and started to wear.

All new linen, towels, lingerie and underwear get washed in the machine prior to its use.  I placed only the new towels in the machine last night.  I was very smart not to wash them with my other clothes.  I could kiss myself for being that smart. 

When the towels were finished from the wash cycle I noticed lint everywhere including  my machine.  At first I thought I purchased poor quality towels and planned on returning them the following day.  Then I remembered I had the same problem with other towels I purchased a long time ago. They say the better the cotton towel quality the more lint in the beginning.

Removing the lint was a horrible nightmare.  First I tried raking it off with my nails then rewashing them again.  Still the lint was present but not as bad.  After placing them in the dryer, the lint was still present. I used the lint roller which helped a little.  I took a wash cloth which showed a lot of lint, and vacuumed it.  The vacuum worked best until the vacuum sucked the washcloth into the hose. Now no suction was possible and it became my evening nightmare. I bent three knitting needles trying to get it to come up. I tried using a skinny knife, but all was impossible.  Now my vacuum cleaner was inoperable.

For fifty four years of marriage, I only used Electrolux Vacuum machines and upgraded them about three times.  I could not find a place to blow out my hose with the last upgrade.  I was surprised not to be aware of the change in the product.  I planned on calling  our wonderful handyman in the morning to solve my problem, as he always had in the past.  My husband had gone to bed leaving me in distress, but he must have heard me going crazy in the laundry room as he came to my rescue. He reversed the hose where the wash cloth was closer and the machine suctioned it right in the bag.  I was able to retrieve it and then gave   my husband the biggest "Thank You" ever

Thus, if this nightmare should happen to you, my best advice is to wash the towels two or three times. DO NOT MIX OTHER ITEMS IN THE WASH. They say it takes ten times to remove most of the lint. Some say to use one half cup of vinegar in the rinse cycle but it also loses the towel absorbency.  After the towels are dry use your vacuum cleaner, making sure you cleaned the head of same first, and hold the towel tightly.  (Skip the wash cloth}

CAN A HAMBURGER BE CREATED IN A LABORITORY?

 In my previous blog I wrote about my curiosity of what the future will hold.  Most of us do not have a clue, while others will speculate using their imagination.

Not giving a thought since my last piece, my imagination wondered into the future during dinner one evening. I thought about how poorly our meat and chickens have become. There’s controversy of Mad Cow in our meats which may cause demented minds and Alzheimer’s disease. Many countries refuse to purchase our meats. There is so much cruelty done to those poor baby chicks and the slaughter of animals, yet from what I read, there is not enough food to go around the world. These are all raising concerns among us.

“Wouldn’t it be nice if we could raise meat in a lab?” I asked my husband. “After all we have in-vitro babies in a lab, why can’t we have food made that way?” I continued, “I bet it is being done now, just as we speak. We would not have to worry about acid rain, arsenic and pesticides in our foods.”

After dinner, I immediately went on line to research future foods. Sure enough, I learned that futurologists are making different kinds of foods including creating hamburgers in a lab using stem cells from cows.  For more information read below:

http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2013-08/first-lab-grown-hamburger-served

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/aug/05/first-hamburger-lab-grown-meat-press-conference

Other companies are using insects such as caterpillars, locusts, crickets, and grasshoppers in creating food. They boast that insects have more nutrients than other foods.  Some companies are processing them into flour, making delicious cookies, adding them to chopped meat, and other kinds of foods.   Others are making food with 3 D printers.  The thought of consuming those turn my stomach.  However, what would my grandmother say if she knew I was eating lobsters? In her world it was unheard of and disgusting. In the future, insects in food will be a normal way of eating.

  Read more information below:

http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/blogs/editor/2014/04/cricket-flour-   baking-mixes.html

 Thank you for coming into my website.  I hope you enjoyed my blogs.

I always look forward to your coments, so please do not be shy.

HAPPY & HEALTHY NEW YEAR

THE CHICKEN DILEMMA

For many years I have enjoyed Costco’s rotisserie chickens until I tasted chlorine. After researching, I learned all chickens are given chlorine baths to protect against diseases.  Perhaps the one I tasted had too much.

Reluctantly, I returned to the supermarkets only this time I purchased organic, paying a little more for better quality. However being aware of organic foods does not guarantee a better taste.  Sometimes the organic chickens tasted great yet other times it was tough and tasteless.

The final straw that disgusted me was learning about our USDA government approving our raised and harvested chickens to be shipped to china for processing and packaging.  China then returns those chickens back to us for human consumption-- without labeling. 

Consumers have the right to know where their food is coming from and where they were processed. In my research, I found many consumers questioned whether the chickens we shipped to China would be the same chickens we get back.  How would we know if they were our chickens?

Meanwhile advocates are fighting over this as I write.  From what I understand China is cooking our chickens now making chicken dinners and soups. I wonder if Chinese restaurants among other favorite restaurants are getting them from China.  Wasn’t it a while ago that they banned purchasing pet food processed in China?

A little panic came over me as I had to think of ways to protect myself against all this madness regarding where our food supply is coming from and where they were processed and packaged. Presently, no labeling is required for GMO foods, drugs, etc.  We have a right to know about everything we consume.

At first the thought of farming my own chicken and eggs seemed like a good idea after reading these deals with china; that concept was not appropriate in my community, I looked for private farmers to sell to me. They told me the chickens and eggs would cost between double to triple what we pay in supermarkets free of chemicals, hormones and antibiotics. The chickens would be fed with grass healthy grains and protein and be free range.

One chicken farmer interested me as he raises chickens on his farm and sells to restaurants.  After a long conversation, the farmer offered to come to my home to personally deliver a free organic chicken and a dozen eggs.  The chicken was a special breed from France which is different than the ones we purchase in the super market.  He warned me that there will be little white meat similar to Duck.  After cooking the French chicken with my regular spices, my husband and I were disappointed.  Perhaps we were not used to this type of chicken.

Russia and most countries in Europe do not trust our meats and chickens. There really are not enough USDA inspectors going around checking our food.  The only thing we can do is raise hell with our politicians demanding better quality and enforcing labeling.  That gives us the choice whether or not to buy the food..

There is a website www.forcechange.com  Please add your name and email if you wish to be part of a petition to institute labeling indicating where our foods are coming from, ingredients, whether or not it is not GMO (Genetically Modified) and to restrict shipping our food to China for processing.

SMART DUST AND WHAT I WILL MISS IN THE FUTURE

Tonight I am thinking about my life, as tomorrow I turn 75 years old. "Seventy Five", that is quite a number. How did I get here so fast?  Wasn’t it the other day I was dancing at the Pizza King in Queens, Roller skating at the Empire Roller Drum, and bowling at Freddie Fritzimmons Bowling alley in Brooklyn during my teen years.

After marriage I’ve been so busy raising a family, and working, I did not notice how thin and pretty I was.  I was always worried about keeping my family well and fed.  There was very little time for me.

What should my grandparents say?  They worked harder than I.  There were no washing machines and dryers, dishwashers or cell phones.  They had to boil dirty diapers by hand and dry wet clothes outside on the line.  To prepare a chicken, they had to pluck the feathers and clean it. Some had to carry ice blocks up stairs to their apartments and place it in their ice box.  And, they told me they came a long way since they were teenagers.

Being present today at the age of the greatest technology of all time, I feel very fortunate. With my computer at my disposal, I can research any question that comes to mind.  All I have to do is click on the google website and in seconds the information is there.  If my parents and grandparents could not afford encyclopedias, they had to take two trolley cars, even in the dead of winter to travel to a library to find the information they needed. The time spent would take almost a whole day. Everything is fast compared to the old days.  The mail and letter writing is almost extinct as we email now and if we needed it faster we’d text.

Just today I posted a picture on Facebook of a friend.  Facebook recognized the picture and tagged them to the individual’s Timeline, with their names.  How did they know their names just by the picture?  Amazing, I thought.  My grandparents would be overwhelmed.  I am aware of face recognition and eye recognition which to me is amazing. It is used to detect our enemies and terrorists.  We have RFID which is Radio Frequency Identification to detect items and people.

We certainly have come a long way since my grandparents.  I am sure our military has increased their technology; however I am not up on that at the moment.

Thus, I am thinking to myself in the early hours of the morning, as I am writing this down.  My life is three quarters over.  Some of my friends my age have passed.  They will never know what is ahead.  Will I? I am afraid not.  I sit here at my computer wishing I knew what’s in the future.

Recently I learned huge corporate companies like Intel, Cisco and Hewlet Packard among others have been working on Smart dust for years. I’ve heard of Smart Tours, Smart Phones, Smart TV’s , even Smart Alec, but not Smart Dust.  It aims to monitor everything from our enemies to the health and well-being of all of us. Someday it will tell how we think among other uses.  If you should notice a little dust around the house that looks iridescent, it could be Smart Dust and you may be monitored. 

For more information go to http://chaione.com/smart-dust-communication-systems-and-the-future-world/

Or you can surf the Internet for more research on Smart Dust.  It is real!

Travyon Martin and Obama's Statement - Why I Was Outraged

It has been almost a year that I have not written a blog.  Perhaps writer’s block came over me. When I usually write, it was because I was moved by current events.  Nothing touched me more than the case of Travyon Martin’s unfortunate death and the shock of Obama’s statement to the press today..

Like many people I had mixed feelings in this case as there was so much doubt due to errors on the part of Zimmerman and the strong emotions and negative past of Trayvon.  With no witnesses present at the time of the shooting, nor the onset of the fight, we can only take sides of whom to believe was the guilty one.

From my business law class in the late 50’s, we learned that one case tried by two separate jurors and judges can result in two different verdicts.  It is simply how the case is presented and the opinions of the juries.

Similar to the cases of OJ Simpson, and Casey Anthony, we all had our own opinions on their guilt.  Yet the jury was instructed that if there is a shadow of doubt, whether you want to believe or not, you must find them “not Guilty.”  Yes, there was public outrage but the case was closed and we go on with our lives hugging our children and family a little more.

At first, I wanted to believe Trayvon was an innocent kid, dressed in a hoodie minding his business.  I thought of Zimmerman as a captain of a neighborhood watchman anxious to catch a thief who has been robbing and terrorizing the neighborhood.  Although Travyon was slowly walking in the rain, I felt Zimmerman stalked him.  Martin did not commit any crime at the time he was approached by Zimmerman.  No one knew what happened next but two assumptions was clear.  Either Martin attacked Zimmerman for following him, and Zimmerman shot Martin in self defense or Zimmerman was out to get his victim no matter what.  Because of these doubts with no real witnesses, they had to let Zimmerman go free. Like OJ, like Casey Anthony

The nation is split into two.  We need to heal.  Stricter rules must be made for neighborhood watchmen to be paired in twos.  Rules must be obeyed by not getting out of the car when a crime is not committed and if suspicious of someone,  to wait for help from police.

  

The real guilt in this case is Miami-Dade Schools Police Chief Charles Hurley who has been reassigned pending investigations into allegations of misconduct.
Complaints filed with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Miami-Dade Public Schools reportedly accuse Hurley of directing officers to Baker Act rather than arrest students to make it appear that crimes have decreased under his watch.

During the course of that investigation, MDSPD officers and supervisors described Chief Hurley’s policy of not reporting crimes by students. Chief Hurley was subsequently accused of sexually harassing two female subordinates.

On Robert Stacy McCain’s blog 

In October 2011, after a video surveillance camera caught Martin writing graffiti on a door, MDSPD Office Darryl Dunn searched Martin’s backpack, looking for the marker he had used. Officer Dunn found 12 pieces of women’s jewelry and a man’s watch, along with a flathead screwdriver the officer described as a “burglary tool.” The jewelry and watch, which Martin claimed he had gotten from a friend he refused to name, matched a description of items stolen during the October 2011 burglary of a house on 204th Terrace, about a half-mile from the school. However, because of Chief Hurley’s policy “to lower the arrest rates,” as one MDSPD sergeant said in an internal investigation, the stolen jewelry was instead listed as “found property” and was never reported to Miami-Dade Police who were investigating the burglary. Similarly, in February 2012 when an MDSPD officer caught Martin with a small plastic bag containing marijuana residue, as well as a marijuana pipe, this was not treated as a crime, and instead Martin was suspended from school.

Either of those incidents could have put Trayvon Martin into the custody of the juvenile justice system. However, because of Chief Hurley’s attempt to reduce the school crime statistics — according to sworn testimony, officers were “basically told to lie and falsify” reports — Martin was never arrested. And if he had been arrested, he might never have been in Sanford the night of his fatal encounter with Zimmerman.

In fact, the reason Zimmerman was patrolling the townhouse community the night of the February 2012 shooting was that there had been a rash of burglaries in the neighborhood, although there was no indication that Trayvon Martin was involved in any of those crimes.

George Zimmerman himself is mixed race, although he’s often reported as being Hispanic. George Zimmerman has black roots through an Afro-Peruvian great-grandfather.
Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/847663/george-zimmerman-racism-he-helped-black-people/#uyShSbKqR5JRVwPu.99

George Zimmerman Helped Blacks - 

Before the Trayvon Martin shooting even took place, George Zimmerman was one of the few non-black people that helped protest the beating of a black homeless man by the son of a Sanford police officer that was left unpunished. The twist to this story is that George Zimmerman asked the NAACP in Sanford for help, but he was shot down, claiming they didn’t have the resources to help the homeless black man.
So without the help of the NAACP George Zimmerman printed his own fliers and distributed them at black churches in the area. Only after the guilty party turned himself in did the NAACP become involved in negotiating an “undisclosed financial reward” for the black man George Zimmeran had helped.

Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/847663/george-zimmerman-racism-he-helped-black-people/#uyShSbKqR5JRVwPu.99

So why am I outraged?  Obama said on Fox News network today that he (Obama) could have been Travyon Martin 35 years ago.  Listening most of the day, I did not hear one comment about if Obama, 35 years ago was suspended from school, defacing buildings with graffiti , and carrying stolen jewelry in his pocket along with a screw driver used in breaking into houses.  Why on earth would our president put himself so low in the class of Travyon Martin  just because he was black.  Had the young boy been a good student and this happened, well I could understand the president making that comment.  I am not saying that Martin’s lack of education and discipline justified his death.  The fact that our President put himself in Martin’s class.  He could have said"35 years ago, it could have been him or any of his white friends"  as an example of anyone caught in a fight that led to death.

In closing, a real leader would not look to divide our country and cause more chaos, but would look to unify our country and not feed into racial arsonists like Sharpton and Jackson. Although they are important to the black community, they should not destroy all the good and hard work they have done by causing racial dissension in our country

HOW TO SCREEN A NANNY

      It was in the 1960’s when I had the most unpleasant experiences of sleep in maids.  We did not call them nannies in those days as they took charge of the household as well as taking care of my four and six  year old sons.  It was a time when I started a new business out of necessity, as my husband was president of a newly formed public company and was hardly home.  Unlike the CEO’s of today, he hardly took home enough money to cover our expenses.  After living off our savings I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time in the fashion jewelry and accessory industry. Young and talented, I was lucky in finding hot items to create, and hungry. With the help of two manufacture reps, I sold all over the country and needed help at home.

     Looking in the paper I noticed an advertisement for a young housekeeper who loved children and was looking for a sleep in position. The ad was placed by a Reverend from a local church for the young lady.  After speaking with him, he sounded respectable and trusting. Allowing myself to interview this young Twenty year old, I found her sweet and very eager to work for us. Anxious to get out of the house to continue with my business, she was hired that same day with a room of her own.

     At times I felt envious that our maid was wearing my apron, doing my dishes and playing with my children.  That was not the dream I had growing up, hoping one day I'd have children and play with them. Now, someone from a third world country, a stranger was in charge of my life’s possessions. While my friends and neighbors envied me, I became miserable about the situation I was in.

    My divorced father, living alone was recuperating from a heart attack in my home.  His doctor gave him strict orders not to have salt in his diet.  Giving instructions to our young maid, she promised to be careful with his diet..

    One day I came home finding my young children playing unattended in the street, my father in a rage and my maid missing.  It appeared she gave my father a meal with salt and he demanded to leave my house.  Mona, my maid, was missing all day, and I drove all over looking for her. The next day I got a call from her telling me she went to an Afro American beauty parlor to have her hair done.  The ladies there question her as to where she was from and what she did for a living.  When they heard she was a maid, they told her to quit working for us as they will get her a better job. “No young Afro American girl should be a maid” they told her. Those ladies did not give her proper advice.  Yes, they were right about her being too young to be a maid, but they should have guided her in being more responsible by not leaving young children unattended  and a sick patient in bed.  They should have taught her to first give notice before quitting.

    A month later I got a call from the ladies in the Afro American beauty parlor asking me to please take her back.  They did not realize they created a liability for themselves, as Mona was not educated nor skilled.  Having to feed and clothe her, they wanted me to take her off their hands.  I told them no way and what they did was unforgivable.  Then the Reverend called begging me to reconsider.  I never did.

    The next maid came from an agency where they screened her.  After interviewing her, she was hired on the spot.  I adored her and my children loved her as well. Since I was extremely busy with my head in my business, I did not realize the unhappiness of this new maid.  My boys came over to me telling me whenever she was in her room she cried all the time. Assuming I did something wrong, I went to her asking if I offended her in any way or caused her unhappiness.  She told me her depression was not with me but from her situation with her husband.  Although she had children with him back in the Caribbean, he took up with her friend having more babies with her.

    Only having one year of physiology 101 in college, I was very interested in the human mind.  Some depressions could be harmless while others most dangerous.  Not being properly trained and fearing for my children, I sadly had to let her go.  I took a big chance with both maids and considered myself very lucky as I hired these ladies without proper screening..  Afterall I was in my twenties with  no one to advise me how to do it correctly. It was during that time when I let the last maid go, I read in the paper about a nanny who drowned two little children in a tub for religious reasons.  It left a devastating mark in my mind and promised myself no matter how poor I was and needed to get a job to earn a living, I will never hire a nanny for that fear.  If  in the event I needed to work, I would do it from home.  That is what I did for 28 years.  My husband and I had a leasing business in our home while we had our third child.  Always home, I gave my daughter milk and cookies after school. During dinner I served my family wearing my own apron. 

    Not many young mothers are as fortunate as I was to make the same choice.  Many need to leave their babies home for long periods during the day to work.  They are now faced with the fear of this recent news of the nanny killer, Yoselyn Ortega who fatally stabbed two young children to death in the bathtub..  Young mothers need to learn more about how to screen their nannies. The problem with most young mothers are they are desperate for help and need it fast.  They use their gut feelings instead of proper screening.
    For what it’s worth here is the questioner you should  print and make many copies for future hiring.  Do not be embarrassed by these questions.  If you need to finance a car or get a job, some of these questions are asked.  If they are not answered honestly, they do not get hired.  It is your child who is relying on you to be careful.  Do not hire a nanny who is just nice.  You need more information.

NANNY APPLICATION

FIRST NAME                               LAST NAME

STREET ADDRESS                         CITY              STATE        ZIP

PREV ADDRESS                             CITY              STATE        ZIP

HOME PHONE                                CELL

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER

GREEN CARD

MARRIED/SINGLE

NAME OF HUSBAND CONTACT NUMBER

NAME OF BOYFRIEND ADDRESS  CONTACT NUMBER

NEAREST RELATIVE

FIRST NAME                            LAST NAME                

ADDRESS                                 PHONE                RELATIONSHIP

NEAREST RELATIVE

FIRST NAME                            LAST NAME               

ADDRESS                                 PHONE               RELATIONSHIP

MEDICAL DOCTOR

FIRST NAME                   LAST NAME                PHONE NUMBER

                                                                                                               

PSYCHIATRIST 

FIRST NAME                     LAST NAME                    PHONE NUMBER

ILLNESSES DID YOU EVER HAVE (circle)

MUMPS

MEASLES

CHICKEN POX

AIDS

HEART DISEASE

THYROID

RESPIRATORY DISEASE

SEIZURES

SLEEP DISORDERS

SCHIZOPHRENIA

ANGER MANAGEMENT PROBLEM 

DEPRESSION

MOOD SWINGS

WHERE YOU EVER SEXUALLY ABUSED?

LIST ALL MEDICATIONS

ARE YOU TAKING MIND ALTERING DRUGS YES/NO

LIST THREE OR MORE REFERENCES WHERE YOU WORKED 

REASONS FOR LEAVING

WHAT IS YOUR RELIGION  VERY /NOT VERY

DO YOU KNOW HEIMLICH MANEUVER  FOR BABIES AND CHILDREN
WHERE DID YOU LEARN IT?  CAN YOU DEMONSTRATE WITH THIS DOLL?

HOW DO YOU DISCIPLINE A CHILD

SLAP

HIT

SCOLD

PUNISH
OTHER

HOW DO YOU HANDLE A CRYING BABY

HOW DO YOU HANDLE A NAGGING CHILD

DEFINE YOUR REQUIREMENTS TO NANNY 

    After making reference calls, go on line looking for companies that does back ground checks.  It is worth the money and is not expensive. There is also a Nanny Personality and Risk Assessment test in addition to the above that you can obtain on line. When the Nanny is hired, make sure you have a Nanny Cam hidden in an appropriate place.

    One last advice and most important.  Find time to sit down with your nanny, asking how she is feeling, especially if she has a cold, or problems at home.  Most young mothers are only interested in news relating to their children. Some nannies are lonely with no one to talk to.  The best way to find out what is in her head or what's troubling her is conversation and showing you care.
    Good luck
 

If you wish to comment, add your experiences, or offer advice to our readers, please do so by clicking on COMMENTS

Thalidomide Dilemma

 Why I am outraged at the pharmaceutical companies.  It all started 57 years ago when I met a Thalidomide friend. After telling me her mother took the prescribed drug for morning sickness and anxieties, I wondered why the doctors did not protect her.

There are many parents today who are taking their young children to doctors for prescription drugs to help them grow taller, make them more alert, calm them down, make them sleep better, perform better in sports, schools, etc.  The nice doctors oblige but hardly give the parents the side effects. Most important, they honestly do not know the long term results of those drugs.  Still they administer them. And that is my case for this issue

In my friend’s memory I wrote a eulogy August 2010 on my web site:  www.pushthewheel.com.  It mentions her plus a video showing children who were affected.

If one would look up Thalidomide they would read as follows: Thalidomide is a sedative drug introduced in the late 1950s that was used to treat morning sickness and aid sleep. It was sold from 1957 until 1961, when it was withdrawn after being found to be a cause of birth defects. Since my friend was born July, 1939 one would say the above information was untrue.

Thalidomide was launched by Grünenthal on 1 October 1957.  It was effective as a tranquilizer and painkiller, and was proclaimed a "wonder drug" for insomnia, coughs, colds and headaches. It was also good for pregnant women who had morning sickness. So my question is how did they know, (the medical profession) if the drug harmed them or their children afterwards. Wasn’t there research out there then? At the time of the drug's development, scientists did not believe any drug taken by a pregnant woman could pass across the placental barrier and harm the fetus.

Grunenthal has claimed to have lost documents relating to drug trials but Dr Johnson said its 1954 patent for Thalidomide indicated it had already been tested on humans before official tests began. Isn’t that interesting how all those formulas and documents got lost? It was noted that the drug was being tested and marketed in Germany in the early 1900 as an insecticide and found it did dangerous things.

An Australian class action law suit led my Lynette Rowe, a Thalidomide victim, was settled July 17, 2012, it was believed to be in the millions of dollars and paving the way for class action victims to receive further compensation.

Argentinian author Carlos De Napoli says he has discovered a November 1944 document from German pharmaceutical company IG Farben which refers to a substance with the same chemical formula as Thalidomide. In his book Hitler's Laboratories, he states company director Fritz ter Meer sent a memo to Karl Brandt, an SS general who ran Hitler's euthanasia programme.

The memo refers to the drug by a number - 4589 - and adds it has been tested and is ready for use. “There is absolutely no doubt of the Nazi development of, and experimentation with, thalidomide in the World War Two camps,' he said.

But documents unearthed by Dr Martin Johnson, director of the Thalidomide Trust, suggest it was created as a antidote to nerve toxins including sarin and was developed by Otto Ambros, a Third Reich scientist. Dr Johnson claims the drug was worked on by Ambros before he went to Grunenthal after the war.

'It is now appearing increasingly likely that thalidomide was the last war crime of the Nazis,' Dr Johnson said

.

The company insists it was invented in 1953 but a document suggests it had previously purchased the trade name Contergan, and therefore presumably the drug, from a French firm which had been controlled by the Nazis.

He concludes in a report: "The patents suggest that thalidomide was probably one of a number of products developed at [chemical laboratory] Dyhernfurth or Auschwitz-Monowitz [a synthetic rubber and petrol processing plant which used labour from concentration camps] under the leadership of Otto Ambros in the course of nerve gas research."

Recently it was just published in the Palm Beach Post that Germany apologized to all surviving Thalidomide victims.  Sorry, that just won’t do. There should be more pressures to the various countries especially Germany to compensate all Thalidomide survivors and their heirs. An Apology is simply not enough