What's Happening
at RCAguilar.com !!! |
|
August,
2006 |
I
can't believe how TV is now!
|
I remember a time when you could watch TV and actually see
a program, with interruptions every now and then for bathroom
breaks and kitchen runs (to get a snack). I thought it was
bad enough when websites started interfering with their own
info by sending through pop-up windows with sales pitches,
but seeing TV pop-ups is about the most frustrating and irritating
thing I've seen yet. |
Not
every idea is a good idea! OK. I spend extra money
for HBO, Encore channels, and Starz channels - where I can
actually watch a movie in its entirety without interruption.
But try watching a TV show on a regular network! Every couple
of minutes a pop-up springs up at the bottom, not only interrupting
your viewing, but showing idiotic images that take away from
what you're watching. Gimme a break! People obviously know
what channel they're watching, and with all the announcements
in scheduling, how could they miss what's coming on next!
So what's the value of pop-up disturbances? |
|
TAKING
CARE OF YOURSELF |
Most
of you have probably had the chicken pox - and gotten over
them! But did you know that the virus goes dormant on the
nerve tracts on your spine, and can resurface years later
as the SHINGLES! |
The
shingles come with intense pain. For me, the pain started
in my right hip and inner groin. First visiting the family
clinic, the doctor said "You have a hernia." After
seeing a specialist, he said: "You pulled a groin muscle."
Finally, after the "lesions" appeared along my waist-line
(front & back) my family doctor stated: "Classic
case! You've got shingles!" Calamine lotion helps a lot,
but be prepared for pain & itch! |
Eat
well! Live well! Maintain your strength! And above all else,
Carpe Diem! Tomorrow will have
problems of its own! |
|
08.01.2006
The month of August has always been one of my favorite
months, probably because my birthday occurs on the 7th. When I turned
six years old, it was a special birthday, because my present that
year was the baby brother who had been born 3 days before my birthday.
He was dark, tiny, and cute. Several years later, I had a sister
born 2 days after my birthday. She too was a special birthday present.
Yet, on the other hand, August has also been one
of my least favorite months, due to the severity of the heat here
in Texas. Sometimes the summer days just seemed to last forever.
It was wonderful as a kid to wander the banks of Nolan Creek and
jump in there just to get wet. I didn't know back then how polluted
the water was, nor how pollution could "make you sick."
Now as a grown-up, it's as if I had grown up swimming in the Ganges
River, with an immune system that kicks in when any illness tries
to show up.
That first summer of my existence was a special
one for my parents. They had to go out and buy their first water
cooler right after I was born. I cried and cried, and broke out
into heat rash, so they did what any good parents would do. They
got the house cooled down, just so I wouldn't cry so much.
Yet, I cried and cried some more, because apparently
I was also "allergic to synthetics." That meant all natural
cotton diapers for me! No new-fangled throw-away diapers back then,
... no sirree! It was cloth and wash 'em by hand, and hang 'em up
to dry, and fold 'em for their next use.
As the years went by and I started wandering down
to the creek. August was a month of discovery. I found bugs and
plants galore that all needed identifying. Every little facet of
nature caught my eye and wanted to be named. I started going to
the library and doing research as soon as I could read, and learned
about dragonflies, dung beetles, ant lions, water cress, water moccasins,
scorpions, red ants, horned toads, bull nettles, oak versus pecan
trees, and on and on. There was never a moment to be lost in this
world of wonder!
My family grew by leaps and bounds as the next
7 siblings came into being. Most of the time my parents didn't know
where I was - because I was down at the creek discovering new wonders.
I learned to fish by sticking my hands under the banks of the creek
and slowly bringing them together to catch a catfish. I learned
to build a lean-to with branches and sticks and twigs, thatching
them with pampas grasses and blades of johnson grass. Rarely did
I come home without another major scratch or cut, and entire major
body areas covered with chiggers.
My parents told me to stay out of the creek, so
I'd make sure they didn't know I'd been in the water. Most of the
time I just went skinny-dipping, which is a marvelous experience
as a kid. This kept my clothes dry, and didn't seem so conspicuous
when I'd get home. And if I stayed in the sun long enough my hair
was always dry before I got home.
I think that becoming a teacher was also a subconscious
career move for the sake of the month of August. Being free each
summer, I still have sought out new wonders throughout the years.
I have travelled far and wide, covering most of Europe, Mexico,
and the United States. In each place I find myself asking people
"What kind of plant is this?" or "What kind of bird
is that?" Unfortunately, many people don't seem to be interested
in that sort of thing, so I still end up going to the library to
find out what I need to know, or I end up buying reference materials
to further my own knowledge of indigenous flora and fauna.
|