The following, I just had to copy and paste. I cut out all but the relevant stuff. ARAD is an organization for the deaf, and they are holding a banquet at the end of the year. I posted this because I wanted you to see what most people are like in Houston, Texas. I mean come on! How traditional can you get?! I think it was BBQ last year, but I didn't go, of course.

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Subject: Here Arad's 30th banquet


ARAD's 30th Banquet
Date: Saturday, December 12, 2009
Time: 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm


Cost: $30.00

Dinner catered by Sylvia’s Enchilada Kitchen.
Serving Fajitas with all the fixings.
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The subject heading speaks my feelings about my place in today's society. Given that people's health continues to get worse in general, people's eating habits are not changing at all, except for the worse. Simply because they no longer use trans fats in burgers and fries doesn't mean that you can go right ahead and consume them even more. Yet, that's what they do. We have several guys at my company who ONLY eat fast food in the break room.

The issue I'm dealing with is being the last one. We have already buried everyone of my parents' generation save one person. My half siblings and one step sibling, who are much older than I am, are in serious health decline. I mean, J, you wonder what's keeping them alive! This is just the beginning, the burying of loves ones and friends over the many decades. How do you deal with the loss of so many people leaving your life?

This is something you have to address when you decide to break from the crowd mindset and learn that ever-so-precious gift - the gift of a long, healthy life. A gift that cannot be bought or sold. It is a gift that must be learned, given to oneself, from the point of many people in modern society with its death-dealing traps.

It was pointed out that humans have the potential of living to 140 years, assuming ideal conditions. That's a lot of burying people in the last 65 years of your life!

I bring this up because embarking on the path that we have chosen for ourselves takes a lot of energy, forethought, education, experimentation, a lot of work. Most people cannot do it, because they're in too deep, educationally and mentally. This puts us in the situation I'm describing here, and I think it's important to get the support one needs to keep going on the path we are on.

I think a part of that support can be gained by seeking others like ourselves, getting to know one another, as friends, lovers, confidants, sympathetic/empathic supporters in times of need.

I remember years ago, after my Mom's death, I was looking through her photos from the 40s and seeing the relative youth Mom had in her 20s. I became angry and asked myself, "How did this happen? How did she get from this vitality to her last day?" I realized the other day that this feeling of "Having forgotten something" for a lifetime probably has a basis in this. I come to realize that because of modern society, people are aging and dying in ways they're not supposed to. Maybe I was trying to remember the days before I ate my first cooked meal. Maybe...

Stephanie

Stephanie

your name is deafdrummer

does this mean that you are deaf and you are a drummer?

am i correct in assuming u became deaf post lingually?

what does ARAD stand for?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/22/2009 09:20AM by la_veronique.

Deafdrummer --
I know what you mean! by the time my mom was 56, she had lost everyone in her generation. It really devastated her, but not enough for her to correct her bad living habits (SAD diet, no exercise, not listening to her body, etc.). Now, ten years later, she is losing her vision, cannot drive, and can barely walk. It's really sad. Makes me want to be more diligent, especially since I am 48 and have a four year old daughter. I have to stay healthy for her, if not for me (which is reason enough in and of itself!).

Deafdrummer,

This was a very moving and thought-provoking post. Your Little Voice is trying to get through to you, to tell you to jump tracks and take a different route through life. It is sad when this message penetrates too late--it's good you are hearing it now : )

Yes, I am a drummer, and I happen to be profoundly, prelingually deaf. Don't ask me how I do it, but I do. I'm just one of those things, I guess.

Thanks for asking.

Stephanie
www.deafdrummer.org

Tamukha Wrote:
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> Deafdrummer,
>
> This was a very moving and thought-provoking post...


Yes, indeed. I have been listening to this voice for a very long time, since I was 19 when I found a book on naturopathy, which led me to natural hygiene and trying to live the ultimate life, raw food with a light work schedule.

Stephanie



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/22/2009 03:18PM by deafdrummer.

Sundancer Wrote:
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> Deafdrummer --
> I know what you mean! by the time my mom was 56...

I had the same experience, watching Mom and Dad in their long decline and slowly losing their abilities... I swore I would never let myself go through that.

Stephanie



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/22/2009 03:18PM by deafdrummer.

I just remembered a few moments ago that someone very dear to me went missing 3 years ago today, on August 29th. He just up and left the family he was living with, and we never heard back from him again.

It still hurts like hell! I believe this is why it's so hard to stay raw foods, because who wants to live through a century and a half of abandonment and burying people? I'm just sitting here, way past my bedtime, pouring my heart out to the few souls who must live by these boards for a lack of personal contacts. I must warn you... It is so hard to watch those you love, the non raw-fooders, lose their lives, their vitality slowly over the decades, knowing they won't be with you to the end. They will be long gone before it's your turn. You must be prepared to deal with this.

Is this why people live shorter lives, because it cuts off half a century of grief, pain, loss?

Stephanie

Stephanie,

I think it is important to attract grace, to accept that all of us are mortal; some moreso than others, as they live in ways that hasten their inevitable end, and to remember that we serve as a good example of a more sustaining way to live. That counts for something.

It is indeed true... Unfortunately, it would be too late for those of my age by the time they see that I age vastly different from my peers. Some people are already beginning to see it. My supervisor says I look "pretty good for my age." Some have mistaken me for being in my late 20s. My supervisors, who are 10-15 years younger than I am, have more graying hairs than I do. A lady just a couple of years older than I am has dyed her hair because there are a LOT of grays. The forking separation of normal aging and degenerative aging has only begun for me, so I would have to wait until I'm 60 looking like a present-day 30-year-old before they realize their mistakes and wonder what I'm doing. Even if they go cold-turkey and never stray off the natural hygiene path for the rest of their lives, I will still outlive them by 10-35 years.

They still continue to believe this older man at work, who is 60+ and runs in marathons. He has a shiny bald spot on his head and has slight tremors in his hands from time to time. He may be physically in shape, but not healthy. He doesn't eat properly, either. He reminds me of the relatively young running expert who showed up in the San Antonio papers in the late 70s-early 80s after he died from a heart attack on a morning jog. He ate many eggs every day. I guess as he stood by his then-dead body on the ground and accessed the knowledge fount, he realized where he made his mistake and how far off the path he had gone, probably damned himself as well. What I have done, ever since I found out we sell a simple heart rate monitor, is find a time when things are slow, I'll pull that thing out and ask people to join me in checking heart rates. I'll vary anywhere from about 50 to about 64 beats per minute, depending on the activity level. I drop to about 45-48 when I'm in bed. I know people who stand still and do about 80-90 beats per minute! These happen to be the people on the Micky D's path.

Ah well. I guess we all have to learn the lessons of life, don't we? I'm smart enough to learn by watching examples of mistakes and trying something different.

Stephanie