Here We go, Under the Maple, conversation #4

 

 

"How did your week go, guys?" Ollie asks as the entire gang comes chattering through the gate.

"Fantastic, guilt-ridden, Great, Better." All give Ollie a hug.

"Look what Twinkie brought," Simad says, finding his chair around the table. "Brownies, my favorite chocolately thing. Thanks, Twinkie," He sat down then bounced up. "Why do we always sit in the same place? Isn't that strange? Let's mix it up. Twinkie, I'm sitting in your chair."

"You're welcome, Simad." Twinkie sits her plate down, runs over, jumps on his lap, and throws her arms around his neck. You're in my chair," she says.

 Somewhat taken aback, Simad finally collects himself and says, "Why didn't I think of this sooner?"

She kisses his forehead. "You sat in my chair, you get sat upon." She pops up and runs back to her plate, rips off the plastic wrap, and places it beside the tray on the table set with coffee, tea, hot water, an ice bucket, cream, sugar, and lemons.

"Is that laced with anything, Twinkie?" asks Harvey.

"Nope, It's pure unadulterated melted chocolate, flour—you know, from scratch, regular stuff." She opens a jar and begins to dribble chocolate across the tops of the brownies.

Everyone dives in for a brownie, coffee, tea, whatever is already on the table and settles into their seats.

"Twinkie," says Harvey, "I'd expect Twinkies from you. Oh, do they make Twinkies anymore?"

"I don't think so," Twinkie says finding a chair, but I loved them as a kid—that's how I got my name. But when I learned that if you place one on a porch railing, it will still be fresh six months later. I envisioned one sitting in my stomach like a petrified rock. That stopped me. These are to thank you guys for last week. I'm unflappable today."

"How so, Twinkie? Tell us."

 "I was so anxious to tell you guys.” She sat forward in her chair, “I did as Shal suggested. I meditated every day for six days—today will be the seventh."

 "What happened?" asked Shal.

"I was miserable for the first two days. I couldn't stop thinking of a zillion other things I'd rather be doing. And then, on the third day, I got this message. It read: "Dear Twinkie, I gave you a heart, a brain, and courage. Use them." Signed, 'God'."

"Where did you find that message?" asks Harvey.

"Oh, Harvey, I didn't suddenly go bonkers and hear voices or find golden tablets. I wrote it in my notebook. It was a message from me to me—or from God. It got me thinking. I want to do what I want to do. And you know what that is?"

"No, tell us," said Ollie, sitting in her not usual chair. "This is sort of like who won the Design Challenge."

"It was sort of like that," says Twinkie. "I watched "Blown Away," the glass-blowing competition for inspiration. I've always wanted to try my hand at blowing glass. And not those little figurines you see at fairs, but the big stuff, bowls, and artwork. I thought Glass blowing was for big husky men, and I'm 5 foot 5 and what they call petite. With that show, I saw that a woman can do it. In fact, a woman won the competition.

"My arguments against it were that I thought I didn't have the strength or couldn't take the heat. I wasn't creative enough, or that I couldn't learn it. I thought my skin would dry up in front of a furnace every day, but I noticed the women had beautiful skin. Maybe it's like a sweat lodge where you sweat out the toxins—like from all those Twinkies I had as a kid--I'm strong. I can run five miles. But then there are those people who have 30 years of experience, and I'm 28 and just starting. And then there is the time and money. My roommate and I are just squeaking by working at Sacs, but I'm doing it. I found a teacher at the coast, so I'm driving over every Saturday and apprenticing under him."

"I can see it, "Twinkie's Twinkling Glass." Says Sally. "I'll commission a chandelier. Here's to you, Twinkie."

[Applause. Cheers!]

 "And you have a customer already, "says Ollie. "Who has a customer before they have a product?! Twinkie, look what you did."

"It will take a while, Sally, before I produce a reasonable piece. I have a lot to learn."

"I know, but you got started. I'm proud of you."

"The idea," says Shal, "is to begin wherever you are. When a gardener told John F. Kennedy that the tree he wanted planted would take 100 years to mature, Kennedy said, "Then you better plant it now."

"Is that tree still there?"

"I don't know."

"So, says Shal, how did everyone else do?"

"I completely zoned out one day," says Simad. "After writing until about midnight, I collapsed into bed with all meditation forgotten, then felt guilty the next day."

"Hey," says Ollie," don't beat yourself up. Just take a step back and regroup. We aren't saints, you know."

"I meditated the next day."

"There you go."

"Well," says Harvey, "I didn't do so well. It was painful. Every time I sat down, I thought of Liz."

"Oh Harvey," says Sally, "how long has it been?"

"Liz died two years ago on October 2."

"I'm so sorry you must go through that, Harvey," says Sally.

They could see he was beginning to tear up, and led by Ollie, the group gathered around his chair. Everyone put their arms around him, around each other, and genuinely wanted to take away Harvey's pain.

When they released him and each other, Harvey had tears rolling down his cheeks.

"I nev-er- cri-ed that day. I was too angry to cry. I loved her."

"We are here for you, Harvey, "Ollie said when they were seated.

"I know you guys try to stay upbeat," Harvey leaned his forehead into his palm. "I didn't want to bring you guys down."

"Nobody stays upbeat when they're hurting Harvey. We're here for all our feelings, not just the happy ones. Yes, we emphasize looking on the bright side,  but, Harvey, all feelings are important, and we want the sharing to be whatever is going on in our lives. I would love to hear about Liz. How about if you introduce her to us."

"Yes, I would like that. After a while, my friends and family stopped talking about her. It's as though they forgot her or don't want to remember, and it seems they want me to do so as well. Let it go...and you know this stupid thing about closure? Well, it's a damn lie." 

"Oh, Harvey, we never forget about the people we love. To this day, I miss my mom. I ask her advice every couple of days. Of course, she usually says what she said when I was a kid. 'I trust you. You'll figure it out.'"

People chuckled, even Harvey, who blew his nose with a big honk.

The groups almost laughed but stifled themselves.

"All the sweetness of Liz's family went straight into Liz. That's in contrast to me being a big lummox."

"You aren't a lummox, Harvey," said Twinkie, 'You're a big teddy bear."

"That's what Liz said. She was the light of my life; at 60, her light went out, just like that. One day, it was on, the next day off. You know how you come home after work? 'Hi Honey, I'm home.' I went to her office, and she wasn't there, but I knew the next place to look, the garden. In those days, she was hauling in cucumbers by the bucketful’s. I found her on the ground like she had decided to nap among the carrots. When I realized she was gone, I yelled until the neighbors heard me and came to my aid. The coroner said she had a heart attack. I didn't know she had a bad heart. I thought her heart was the grandest thing about her. Well, she was pretty, too. And a good mom and a good wife. I believe in soul mates, for she was mine."

"I'm glad you found yours, Harvey."

"It isn't fair, is it?" says Shal," Sometimes it seems as though the sweet ones leave early and the ornery ones stick around until the last cow comes home."

"When I see Liz, I will ask her if her cow came home."

"I'd like to hear her answer," says Sally. "Harvey, do you see your kids?"

"Yeah, I see them a couple times a year. They're busy. They love their pop, but it has been different since Liz died. We're careful like we're glass."

"Maybe you could have a ceremony of some sort when you get together, somehow honor their mother and your wife, and let people talk about her, not just like at a funeral." Simad offered.

"Would you guys come?"

"Yeah, of course, you betcha." Everyone agreed.

"We'll have a barbecue in my backyard," said Harvey.

"What say, I put on some music, and we dance a bit. I heard Liz Gilbert say that after losing her soul mate, she dances every morning to ease the hurt and honor her mate."

"Let's do it." Says Harvey, hoisting himself from his chair and offering his hand to Twinkie, who takes it, jumps from her chair, and begins whirling around the yard. "I love you. Harvey." She says, "Come on, let's boogie."

 

HEALING

 

I remember, years ago, sitting in the San Diego Stadium filled with thousands of people listening to John Denver sing Rocky Mountain High.

 

After the song and the applause rose to a crescendo, I looked at the immense crowd and thought, Am I the only one who can't slap my hands together because they hurt too much?

 

I figured I had arthritis and thus began to research. I found that people with arthritis are low in Pantothenic acid, so I started taking it. I discovered that minerals are crucial and began taking them. I took a B complex, a multivitamin, 4,000 mg of Vitamin C daily, and used apple cider vinegar diligently.

How long have I been without pain in my hands? Well, some 40 years.

 

I wear a copper ring, for I know that small amounts of copper become absorbed from the skin's connection with copper and that it is a vital ingredient. 

Why am I telling you all this? 

 

I am interested in Healing and assume you are too. And you know the joy of blogs. You can take them or leave them. They are to the point, and you do not have to slog through a mass of information to find pertinent points. 

 

Recently I bought a book titled HEALER The Pioneer Nutritionist & Prophet. by Dr. Hazel Parcells. (In her own words) I saw it was transcribed by Dr. Joe Dispenzia. I knew of Dr. Joe Dispenzia and trusted him. However, the transcriber of Parcells's book was different from Dr. Jo Dispenzia, I know.

 

What? Strange that there are two Dr. Joe Disenzias! 

 

No matter. I love the lady who dictated this book when she was 105 and lived to be 106. When I read her comments regarding minerals, I was hooked, for I felt that the high-quality minerals I took so long ago helped my healing. And I found that bone meal didn't work.

 

Parcells said, "When I say we are the earth, I mean it literally." 

 

"We are made up of all the elements of the earth…."

 

Minerals and trace elements appear in the soil and are reproduced in our foods. Many trace elements are too minute to be measured, but we know they exist and are catalysts in the chemical sense.

 

Early in Parcells career, she began to research the electromagnetic energy of food and its complex interactions with our body's own chemistry.

 

All this makes sense to me, for if we eat dead food, our bodies will have nothing to work on. We forget that we are electrical-chemical machines and talk primarily about calories. In biology, they taught us that we are bags of enzymes, the catalysts that make things happen.

 

Who talks about enzymes, for heaven's sake?

 

And few people talk about the acid/alkaline balance of the body, which Dr. Parcells does. When we lose our acid/alkaline balance--our bodies' homeostasis--we often get sick. Or, it's the other way around, sickness may knock the pH off balance, but bringing it into balance aids healing.

If we kill the soil, the cows and other animals eating the grass will die. I know that their meat will not sustain us. I know that the plants grown in sub-quality soil will be sub-quality nutrition. 

 

How can those little minerals and whatever else is in the soil stand against an onslaught of pesticides, herbicides, and artificial fertilizers? I bet even the earthworms can't survive that arsenal, and they make good soil. 

 

If we don't get the necessary nutrition, we will be in deep do-do.

 

Dr. Percells's advice on Healing is, "If you want to be healthy, you need to trade your wishbone for a backbone and get to work."

 

In the forward to Parcells book, Dr. Kaayla T Daniel, Ph.D., CCN, wrote, "I never met Dr. Hazel Parcells, but I want to grow up to be just like her."

 

"Dr. Parcells discovered the secrets to a long life and lived into a grand old age with strength, stamina, mental acuity, emotional balance, spiritual attunement, and meaningful, enduring accomplishments."

 

However, Dr. Parcells was not blessed with good genes. She was diagnosed with terminal tuberculosis at 42. She was told to live out her life in a sanitarium, for the doctors could do nothing for her. "Necessity is the mother of invention," she said and went to work healing herself.

 

She lived for another 65 years pioneering discoveries in nutrition and alternative medicine before she died in 1996. Her exploration into the realm of healing started when she realized the connection between her food and her body's chemical needs.

 

Dr. Parcells believed in body regeneration, even healing "incurables." She considered it a grave mistake to chase symptoms instead of addressing malnutrition, parasitic infestations, pesticide poisoning, radiation sickness, toxic metal poisoning, and other unwanted bi-products of "Father Technology."

 

She kept a low profile, for she did not want to butt heads with the AMA, FDA, and other medical police. 

 

With the highest yearly expenditures being drugs and cosmetics, salesmanship has shaped our attitudes about life, how to live it, and the importance of looking young.

Regarding minerals, Dr. Percells rejuvenated a "dead" Minnesota farm where the plants and animals were dying. He had shipped truckloads of amazingly mineral-rich soil from New Mexico to Minnesota. And when she saw that the animals were thin and sickly, she sprinkled some of the minerals on their food, and they recovered, becoming plump and healthy.

 

A fascinating aside is that Dr. Parcells discovered that people recovering from tobacco addiction were similar to people recovering from an opium addiction. She processed a tobacco leaf and found opium to be a natural element of tobacco. All along, we thought it was nicotine that people were addicted to. Also, I was happy to find that people breathing secondary tobacco smoke (my parents were smokers) had nicotine in their systems. In contrast, smokers have both nicotine and opium. 

 

Parcells found that water alone would not wash away the residuals of poisonous residues in our food. While researching at Sierra States University in California, a student brought in a box of discolored, shriveled lemons that were culls that is thrown out. Here was a perfect opportunity to test a theory she had worked on. She filled the sink with water, put in a small amount of bleach, and dumped in the lemons. Soon the room was filled with the fragrance of lemons. In one-half hour, the lemon's discoloration and shrinkage were gone, replaced with bright yellow lemons as fresh looking as though they had been picked that day.

 

She separated them into portions, stored them in the freezer, and tested them for freshness for the next three years. In the last class, they were full of the same life-sustaining energy as in the first class. She figured the bleach set up an action with their natural chemicals, making them fresh again. Further tests revealed that the bleach also cleaned away fungus or other foreign materials, possibly contributing to their discoloration and deterioration.

 

The bleach method of cleaning food is good for all foods that can be soaked in water, including most fruits and vegetables, grains, legumes, meats, poultry, and fish.

 

 Her methods were tested for 10 years.

 

One man commented, "But bleach is poison," She replied, "Yes, and a spoonful of whisky won't kill you, but a quart might." After that, she never heard from him again. 

 

BLEACH CLEANING FORMULA:

 

Add 1 teaspoon of bleach to 1 gallon of water.

 

Timing is essential, and DO NOT USE MORE BLEACH THAN INSTRUCTED.

 

RINCE.

 

Author's note: Dr. Parcells recommends only Clorox bleach with the blue and white label, the original formula, not today's flavored varieties. 

 

Separate the food to be cleaned into groups. Vegetables, leafy vegetables, Root vegetables.

 

Fruits: heavy-skinned such as apples, citrus, and bananas.

 

Eggs. It is not a good idea to soak eggs in water, for it can be absorbed through the shell bringing in salmonella bacteria. However, putting eggs into the bleached water for 20-30 minutes gives them a better flavor and is less apt to cause allergies.

 

Meats as one of the heaviest carriers of toxic materials, antibiotic shots, and poisons from the food they consume. By placing meats in the cleansing soak, poisonous substances are eliminated, the flavor is improved, and the meat is tenderized.

 

Chart for Soaking

Leafy vegetables 5-10 minutes

Root and heavy fiber vegetables 10-15 minutes

Thin-skinned berries 5 minutes

Heavy-skinned fruits 10-15 minutes

Meats per pound (thawed) 10 minutes

Meats per pound (frozen) 15-20 minutes

 

Parcells method of cleansing has been used worldwide, esp. in third-world countries, where it was adopted by their governments and used by many Peace Corps members in for off lands.

 

“A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.”

—Steve Martin