In the aftermath of yet another school shooting (the 18th in the US so far this year), and a Congress that does nothing more than offer useless thoughts and prayers, I need some good news for a change.
One group that inspires me is called the Black Mambas. The Mambas include 32 women and two men who operate within Balule Private Nature Reserve, part of the greater Kruger National Park. They search for and destroy poachers' camps, snares and bush meat kitchens. Since 2013, the number of rhinos lost to poaching has plummeted, and snaring and illegal bush meat incidents have dropped by 75 percent. Mambas also work to educate local school children and villagers about the importance of wildlife through the Bush Babies environmental education program. You can learn more about the Mambas, sponsor a Mamba or donate if you wish, at www.blackmambas.org
Through the education program of Save the Elephants (www.savetheelephants.org), I am sponsoring the high school education of an impoverished student in Kenya. She, like the other students chosen for a scholarship, is a bright by poor student who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford to attend high school. I got to me my student during a trip to Kenya last summer. I believe that education is the key to raising these students out of poverty and helping them go on to help their country. My student hope to either enter medicine as a doctor, nurse or pharmacist, and help her people after she graduates.
Another wonderful organization is Noah's Arks Rescue of South Carolina. This all-volunteer organization takes in the sickest and most abused dogs in the southeast, providing whatever veterinary care is needed and finding new homes for dogs that survive their horrendous abuse. This wonderful organization "supplies emergency medical, surgical and rehabilitation to abused
animals. We are not a shelter. Our wish and lifelong hope is that our
Society becomes educated in the ethical treatment of all animals and to
stop the senseless killing of animals that have been tortured and
abused." Noah's Arks takes in animals that other rescue groups, animal shelters and animal control facilities can't or won't take on. Visit www.noahs-arks.net for more information, to apply to adopt a dog, or to donate.
Still another organization I greatly admire is the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Nairobi, Kenya. This wonderful group takes in orphan elephants, usually orphaned by poaching or because they got trapped in wells, treats their physical and psychological wounds, and over a period of 8-10 years prepares them to return to the wild. After spending time in the Nairobi nursery, where each baby sleeps in a stockade with a keeper who feeds it and reassures it, the orphans are eventually transferred to one of three reintegration facilities. There they begin to interact with wild herds, learning about elephant society and food. Eventually they leave for good. But several of the former orphans have returned to show off their own babies to the keepers. They even have brought injured wild elephants that have been injured, so their wounds can be treated by a Kenya Wildlife Service veterinarian. I sponsor three elephant orphans. If you would like to sponsor a baby elephant for only $50/year, visit www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org.
I provide financial support to all three of these organizations. I have visited the elephant orphanage several times. There are many other worthwhile organizations doing good works around the world. For me, supporting these organizations and helping fund the important work they do is one way for me to counteract the neverending acts of murder, cruelty and destruction that fill the news each and every day. I can take some comfort in knowing that there are great people who are doing everything in their power to make this world a safer, kinder, healthier place for all.
Thursday, February 15, 2018
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
Food, Glorious Food
I went to the grocery store early this morning in search of a couple of sale items (Greek yogurt and vanilla almond milk).
While there, I cruised the aisles in search of other sale items, and in search of something interesting to eat. Eating has lost most of its allure since a terrible upper respiratory virus robbed me of my senses of taste and smell nearly 2 years ago. I haven't lost any weight, because I still eat, including things that aren't especially good for me. I find that I have replaced the flavor of food with the texture, specifically, the crunch of foods.
I always have loved crunchy foods such as peanuts, flavored crackers, chips and popcorn. I suspect I got this from my father, who always liked popcorn and crackers. But since losing the ability to taste (I occasionally can taste cinnamon and garlic), I have found great gustatory pleasure in eating movie theater buttered popcorn.
In addition to not being able to taste anything I eat, there is a fairly lengthy list of things I won't eat. I stopped eating pork decades ago due to the cruel way in which pigs are raised on factory farms. I gave up lamb a long time ago because -- don't laugh -- they are just too cute. And I stopped eating beef a couple of years ago to protest the ongoing attempts by the American cattle industry to eradicate wolves, bears and mountain lions from their habitats. Cattle ranchers and their bought-and-paid-for elected allies also are responsible for the annual slaughter of hundreds of Yellowstone's native bison population. And I am not really a fan of seafood other than fish.
So I eat chicken, turkey and vegetarian meat alternatives, many of which are quite good (especially as I can't taste much of anything). What makes sausage taste like sausage? For me, it's the spices, not the type of meat (or meat substitute) that's used. Stand-alone meat substitutes such as Chik Patties by Morningstar Farms, chickenless nuggets, etc., are great, but they're not meant to be the center of a meal. They are great for sandwiches and snacks.
I love fresh fruit, but vegetables are more work to prepare so I eat fewer of them. But I do like salads and baby carrots with ranch dressing dip. I've also made a point of incorporating vegetables in whatever dishes I prepare at home.
Between my inability to taste foods and the list of things I dislike or won't eat for ethical reasons, finding interesting foods and dishes to prepare has become quite a challenge. So much of our enjoyment of food is psychological, which is why I continue to eat things I used to like and avoid things I don't like, even when I can no longer taste them. But I have pretty much given up desserts. Why consume the calories if I can't taste the dessert?
It isn't likely that my sense of smell and taste will return, so until then, I will continue to enjoy crunchy foods and the occasional taste of garlic and cinnamon.
While there, I cruised the aisles in search of other sale items, and in search of something interesting to eat. Eating has lost most of its allure since a terrible upper respiratory virus robbed me of my senses of taste and smell nearly 2 years ago. I haven't lost any weight, because I still eat, including things that aren't especially good for me. I find that I have replaced the flavor of food with the texture, specifically, the crunch of foods.
I always have loved crunchy foods such as peanuts, flavored crackers, chips and popcorn. I suspect I got this from my father, who always liked popcorn and crackers. But since losing the ability to taste (I occasionally can taste cinnamon and garlic), I have found great gustatory pleasure in eating movie theater buttered popcorn.
In addition to not being able to taste anything I eat, there is a fairly lengthy list of things I won't eat. I stopped eating pork decades ago due to the cruel way in which pigs are raised on factory farms. I gave up lamb a long time ago because -- don't laugh -- they are just too cute. And I stopped eating beef a couple of years ago to protest the ongoing attempts by the American cattle industry to eradicate wolves, bears and mountain lions from their habitats. Cattle ranchers and their bought-and-paid-for elected allies also are responsible for the annual slaughter of hundreds of Yellowstone's native bison population. And I am not really a fan of seafood other than fish.
So I eat chicken, turkey and vegetarian meat alternatives, many of which are quite good (especially as I can't taste much of anything). What makes sausage taste like sausage? For me, it's the spices, not the type of meat (or meat substitute) that's used. Stand-alone meat substitutes such as Chik Patties by Morningstar Farms, chickenless nuggets, etc., are great, but they're not meant to be the center of a meal. They are great for sandwiches and snacks.
I love fresh fruit, but vegetables are more work to prepare so I eat fewer of them. But I do like salads and baby carrots with ranch dressing dip. I've also made a point of incorporating vegetables in whatever dishes I prepare at home.
Between my inability to taste foods and the list of things I dislike or won't eat for ethical reasons, finding interesting foods and dishes to prepare has become quite a challenge. So much of our enjoyment of food is psychological, which is why I continue to eat things I used to like and avoid things I don't like, even when I can no longer taste them. But I have pretty much given up desserts. Why consume the calories if I can't taste the dessert?
It isn't likely that my sense of smell and taste will return, so until then, I will continue to enjoy crunchy foods and the occasional taste of garlic and cinnamon.
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