dear ms b-is it green yet

DEAR MS B-IS IT GREEN YET

thats what i asked her the other day
after this picture was taken

she sort of looked at me not understanding what
i was saying
which i must add she usually understands what we say
well
too well i must add

we recently started spelling around her
then
she started repeating our spelling
what goes in her little ears can go right out her mouth
with
some thinking about whats being processed on the
way out

so
i looked down at her little thumb
nope
its not green yet
but
it was a little brown that day
from the dirt
and
from feeding the chickens in the garden area
scraps from the kitchen
and
some old bread that
she ate and shared with them

now in my new garden bed in the community garden
i quickly planted things the first full day i arrived here
tomatoes
peppers bell jalapeno sweet banana
egg plant
swiss chard
kale
basil
squash
transplanted my malabar spinach from texas
so far its liking it here
transplanted my garlic chives
transplanted my multiple onions i have had for about 30 years

all this planting was to get going on my garden
as i learn how to garden here
since
i can garden all year round

now back to ms b
her preschool actually comes over to this garden on a regular basis
the area they work on is about 10 ft away from my bed
other class rooms from area schools will be coming through
starting this fall
i plan on helping as a volunteer with this activity

so
ms b doesnt know it yet
but
i am starting a slow indoctrination of organic gardening
trying to activate that gardening gene
no my wife she doesnt have it
but
i have the double gene
one from my mother one from my father
hoping it got passed down to ms b

i guess
time will time if this is true

i am looking forward to when she reaches over and plucks
that first tomato out of this garden
pops it in her mouth
eats it
and
smiles

that will make all this worthwhile

the organicgreen doctorr

put your name on it

PUT YOUR NAME ON IT
if what all the news folks said this weekend is true
obamacare will flip over to trumpcare this week

my guess for trump that will not be a good thing
when it sticks on you that word
its there
forever probably

im sure those 15-20+ million that will lose their health coverage
arent going to like it much
theyll remember it when they go to vote
many of them voted for trump

this weekend i watched several different news shows
about the new trumpcare plan
fox cnn msnbc pbs
and
read a diverse number of articles on the plan

my thoughts are
i agree
its obamacare lite
with less folks being covered

whenever our health system is being revamped
and both sides dont work together to get it done
its not going to be a good  plan

the democrats did a one sided plan
called obamacare
the republicans are doing a onesided plan
called trumpcare
then
when the democrats control congress again
it will be back to
obamacare 2

cant we like
take a step back
take a deep breath
get a bipartisan group together
come up with a plan
that is better for all of us

now if you make over $250,000 a year
youll like this plan
you are getting a tax break
but
if you make less than that
well you might not notice much

will it affect most of us
this trumpcare plan
probably not
since the majority of us arent affected too much
by all this
except
the general consensus is that
all our insurance costs are going to rise
no matter what is done

im not sure this plan is going to fix this
its not

then
theres the let the states decide on things like
preexisting conditions

now
lets see
texas is going to make that better for those of us
well most of us
who have preexisting conditions
the state
that has the third world statistics when it comes to
maternal and child health
an embarrassment for one of the richest states
to be ranked down there with those third world places

yep
i wouldnt want the state of texas to make things better
for our health system
their record is not a good one

so
obamacare wasnt the answer
it did fix somethings like capped lifetime amounts and preexisting
conditions to name a few
tumpcare wont be the answer either
it will create what i call reverse death panels

folks will lose insurance
diseases like cancer diabetes cholesterol high blood pressure
those slow killers
will slowly kill those uncovered folks

we wont be better i am afraid
it will probably affect all of us

here we go again
back into the health care abyss
again

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-are these three the ones

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-ARE THESE THREE THE ONES

i am waiting for the one
that will carry us to the promised land
that promised land of no more alzheimers disease

it might be within our reach now
if these three drugs pan out to work
to slow down or stop alzheimers

aducanumab

thats my drug
that i get monthly infusions of

its undergoing clinical studies now that will be completed in 2020
it works by
removing the bad beta amyloid from the brain
removing the plaques from the brain
stimulating microglial cells to clean up damaged areas in the brain

it showed much promise in phase one studies
it removed all the measurable amyloid plaques fron the brain in those studies
those folks also noted memory improvements

if this stuff works then this will be one way to treat folks with
the early symptoms of alzheimers disease or those with no
symptoms yet but who are in that prealzheimers state that can last
15-20 years before alzheimers symptoms start

bace inhibitors

these come in pill form
they block the formation of the beta amyloid in the first place
so there is none to be deposited in the brain
thus
alzheimers disease will be slowed or prevented
those studies are ongoing now in folks with mild symptoms
and those with no symptoms yet but who are in that prealzheimers state

eg
my brother would have started in that state in his late thirties
or early forties
i would have started in that state in my mid forties to early fifties

gamma secretase modulator (gsm)

this article describes who rudolph tanzi is
he is called the rock star of science
a well known alzheimers researcher
i have seen him on ted talks and on many of the alzheimers specials
that have been on tv

he and fellow researchers have developed this brain in a petri dish
that develops alzheimers disease
it the brain in a petri dish develops amyloid plaques then develops
tangles the hallmark those two of alzheimers disease

adding the gsm drug to this petri dish
makes the amyloid plaques go away or not form and there is no
formation of tangles

its the amyloid accumulation and the tangle accumulation that causes
brain cell death in alzheimers disease

the theory is
give this gsm pill to folks and none of this stuff will happen
no amyloid accumulation
no tangles
no alzheimers disease

studies will start on this drug in 2018 on humans
if it works in humans
its a huge discovery in helping in ending alzheimers disease

so
if these three things do work
we will know in about 3 or more years
then
i will get up each morning
take my bace inhibitor pill
then
take my gsm pill
then
once a month i will go to an infusion center to get my
infusion of aducanumab
and
if it really works all this stuff
i wont ever get alzheimers disease
which
i must add
i really fear like you of having that happen to me

remember
we need financial support to fight this disease
and
emotional support to deal with it

join us as we walk this year

we will be doing the
alzheimers texas walk in georgetown texas
on saturday september 23rd
team name is organicgreendoctor

i also will have a team in the
santa barbara walk to end alzheimers 
on saturday october 28th
team name is organicgreendoctor.com

join us

the organicgreen doctor

its a long day

ITS A LONG DAY
today is the summer solstice
the week ends here in santa barbara with a
weekend long celebration

the highlight is the
funky feeling summer solstice parade down state street

we only went once a few years ago
i like the feel to it
all the dancing
the crowded streets
the funky almost mardi gras feel to it

we look forward to be in the crowd
amongst all the excitement

its the longest day of the year
its when the sun is highest above us
its definitely the mark of
summers here now

then
for those of us
in the alzheimers world
its the purple day
maybe a bit more soberness to the day

its the longest day
from the alzheimers community
to
honor all those affected by this awful disease

those numbers of us affected are starting
to exponentially increase
to a number
that will bankrupt our health care system
in many of your lifetimes

nope
i dont see the government doing anything much about it
their heads are in the sand it seems
like most crisises
they wait until it gets real bad

well
folks
its going to get bad
sooner than we realize

this is the day
the solstice day
to celebrate life
but
its also the day to celebrate
the movement
to find a cure and or treatment for this disease
that none of us want
one that many fear getting

we need your thoughts
help us
donate walk our walks contact your government reps
to provide us with more monies to fight this disease

the oganicgreen doctor

minimal

MINIMAL
my wife she sent me this video preview of a documentary
about minimalism

i thought as i saw this link
is this just another one of those weird things
she sends me sometimes

before we left texas
someone called another person
a minimalist

i really didnt know what that was
maybe like a survivalist or something like that

i wasnt really interested in being one of those

so
well
something made me click on the link to the video
i watched it
i then watched a ted talk by the same person 

oh
after i finished the ted talk video
my wife she and i
are minimalist
we just didnt know it

we went from a 3000 square foot house with 10 acres
full of furniture and things
well i called it junk after we had to sell donate or give it away
down to
whatever we could get into two cars

no
we werent on some minimalist movement mission
to make some statement on how we are all living
and wasting our money

well
we were just doing what seemed right to do at the time

we and i not our kids not my wife she by herself
got to sort through all our stuff junk some of it
to decide what was important

now
our kids were given a chance to make choices
of what they wanted
if no choices were made
we made them for them

we cleared stuff out
a lot of stuff
well people bought most of it
even what was under our kitchen and bathroom counters
all my excess nails and screws and bolts
if it was laying around it was sold
and
folks bought it
obviously
many of them were not minimalist

we were aiding in driving them the other direction

then
we donated what was left
which wasnt much

when we finished
when we finished our journey across country
we
stopped
took a deep breath
and
said to each other
that feels real good and refreshing
lets
not
ever get back to where we were

so
i guess we now are minimalists
since we have to be labeled with something

we are now down to that stuff
that you really really need to live
few clothes few furniture few fewer things
and
it feels good

i realize that if more folks did this
our economy might collapse
since
consumption is the engine that runs our economy
we
just arent being in that group that is providing
the fuel for the fire

yes
it feels good

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-theres is more of it now

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-THERE IS MORE OF IT NOW

i read this article
well several articles in fact
about how alzheimers disease is increasing in numbers
its starting to steamroll its self to the top of the charts
not a good thing

this week
on wednesday

i boarded a plan in los angeles to fly to dallas
to get my infusion #4 of aducanumab or placebo
in the promising biogen aducanumab study
i have 14 more to go before a decision is made to continue
the study for another 42 months
i hoping for good results in 18 months and that we all in the study
can get the real stuff for the last 42 months

well
so
i had a lot of time to think about alzheimers disease
about those articles
about my family tree
about what this all means for all of us
my family and yours in the future

i thought about my family tree
i have tried to piece our history our dementia history
from talking to siblings and cousins who remember stories
of our family
some i remember

what
for our family
both parents definitely my mom and maybe my dad had alzheimers disease
my younger brother had it
my older brother has it now
i am early in the process
so far
no other sibling has shown any signs or symptoms
i will say they are all doing the aggressive stuff you need to do
to slow it all down
take care of your health
eat healthy

then i moved to my moms family
all 5 of her siblings had some type of memory loss
her mother had dementia in her 60s
her grandfather had dementia
thats as much as i know of her familys medical history

my fathers family had some dementia
his sister died from it
his mother had dementia when she died
i dont know more than that
his dad died from other causes in his 60s

so why would our family have all this in our medical family tree
well
i thought about it
what would make this happen

first i know that i have the double apoe 4 gene
so i got one from my mom and one from my dad
so both sides of the tree carry this gene
double it and the risks go up 20x
single it and the risks go up 5x

high cholesterol is rampant in both sides of the family
i call it the heart attack stroke kind of cholesterol
now
we know that also it may be the alzheimers kind
whats bad for the heart is bad for the brain

our family tends to have high bad ldl cholesterol
and
high triglcerides
diet places a part in this as some of my siblings on a
plant based diet have reduced their numbers to normal

i have come close but require a statin to get them down
to where they need to be

high blood pressure is also rampant on both sides of the family
both parents had it
many siblings have it

having not well controlled blood pressure
the way i think of it
is
you know how you have a big roll of bubble wrap
the kind you can pop
well thats the brain or the heart
well
not controlling your blood pressure or cholesterol
just gradually pops those little bubble wrap cells
gradually making the whole wrap unusable

well
in my mind
thats how i visualize the brain when you dont take control
of your lipids and your blood pressure

obesity and diet
both parents were overweight
some relatives are and some arent

diet a typical southern diet is not a good one
now for a lot of our life we commonly ate a lot of
vegetables etc but its what we cooked them with
lard etc was not necessarily good for you
eating off the farm is usually a good way to eat
though

so
all these factors
genetics well we cant change that
high cholesterol
high blood pressure
obesity
diet
maybe environmental factors
these all contribute to this high incidence
in our family

if you notice
the only risk factor that our family cant change
is the genetic one
the rest
is totally under our control

so i thought about all this this week
as i read how the incidence in the us and the world
is starting to skyrocket
as we start defunding research on this disease that
will be the number one killer in the us soon

we and all of us
can do something to slow it down

bug your congress person
help raise money
take good care of your health

support
our alzheimers walks to help raise money to fight this disease

we will be doing the
alzheimers texas walk in georgetown texas
on saturday september 23rd
team name is organicgreendoctor

i also will have a team in the
santa barbara walk to end alzheimers 
on saturday october 28th
team name is organicgreendoctor.com

join us

the organicgreen doctor

the garden

THE GARDEN
i have to have one i said
to my wife she as we were thinking about moving

i have to have a garden

its well
deep down in my soul
it must be genetic somehow
i can feel it oozing around deep inside

now my
country n garden
i had it after all those years
right where i wanted it

the soil was so rich that i could garden
just using my hands
i usually didnt use any garden tools when i planted things

this year
my spring garden planted as much for show as for produce
since
i knew we were going to sell the country n

we grew potatoes long eaten before we moved
we grew onions
the 1015 sweet yellow onions
that i have been known to eat like an appple
we grew garlic
we grew tomatoes and peppers
all producing well just as we were leaving
we gave most of it away

prime time that garden was

alas we left it though

i found this new spot
looks pretty dang barren doesnt it
its my job to inflict some improvement to the soil

the soil here at the garden is sandy clay like
rich with nutrition
its a dry climate drier than in the austin area
getting only half the rainfall the country n did

i chose this garden
this community garden
besides the fact my granddaughter will be attending a
nearby preschool
all gardening there has to be done organically
it also provides a site farther away from the coast
so it tends to be warmer and sunnier
it also provides free mulch and compost
paid for by doing volunteer work related to the garden
cleaning up
turning compost
volunteering with youth groups as they come through the garden
in fact their centrally located beds are adjacent to mine

excess produce from your garden and the central garden
is donated to food kitchens etc

so
this place has a real good feel to it
a vibe
that i like

ive never really gardened where i could interact
with other like minded souls
so far i have found it very refreshing
to speak their same language
like when my rainwater brother and i get together

i was reading something my mom had written about
her childhood
and
realized that gardening was an important part of her life
and
of course my dad always had a large garden
that we used to provide food for our large family

so that was what i was thinking this last week
as i started getting my 20 ft x 10 ft bed ready to plant

i spent time looking around at what was planted in others beds
talked with some gardeners
talked with folks at an organic seed place nearby
to find out sort of what needs to be planted now

it seems the basics of gardening is the same no matter
where you live
its when and what to plant that is different

compost
water
organic fertilzer is the lifeblood of all gardening
so
thats what i applied to my garden

choosing to not plant seeds since i would be in and out of
the area this summer
but
choosing plants
squash tomatoes peppers basil egg plant kale swiss chard
things that should do well to start

each plant planted into its own well which holds water

the soil is drier here
it more mediterranean like
so
water will be gradually added to increase the moisture in the soil
so
i dug trenches around my bed
dug one down the middle of my bed
filled it with mulch
i plan to use the first run shower water in these trenches
to increase the moisture overall in the bed
a method i used at the country n

here is my planted bed
ill add a lot more over time
so that all the garden space will be utilized

a new adventure
a new learning curve
has begun

the organicgreen doctor

alzheimers news-placebo power

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-PLACEBO POWER

in the aducanumab study that i am in at ut southwestern in dallas
soon to be at ucla in los angeles
i am either in the treatment group
one of three doses of the aducanumab is used
the higher the dose in phase 1 studies
the more of the bad beta amyloid was removed
like all of it

or
i may be in the placebo group

now this is a double blind study
the researchers dont know which you are in
you the study subject dont know which you are in
so
at the end of 18 months
the veil comes off
as the results are analyzed
then
lucky us
all those who want to continue
have the chance to receive the real deal drug
for at least 3.5 years more

so
my amyvid pet scan done a few months ago was real positive
for the bad beta amyloid
if
i am getting the placebo
my repeat scan in 18 months would still be real positive
no changes would occur

if
i got the real deal
the aducanumab
my amyvid scan should be all clear

so
what if i am getting the placebo
is the headache i had for a week after the first one
is the fatigue i get a week after everyone of them
are
they
the placebo effect

whats the placebo effect
folks given treatment that is a placebo
actually get better on it

why
well the mind is a powerful thing

thats why
these studies are done as double blind
so
no biases are introduced into the study
like
only healthier folks would receive the real deal
so the results at the end would look better

so thats the power of the placebo
sometimes it works

have i used placebo before
well
i do admit that i have used placebo treatment on folks before
sometimes it worked
no
i dont plan on saying more about this

all i know
is i hope
that i am not getting the placebo
that puts me 18 months behind
which
in someone with alzheimers disease is an awfully long time

our alzheimers walks to help raise money to fight this disease

we will be doing the
alzheimers texas walk in georgetown texas
on saturday september 23rd
team name is organicgreendoctor

i also will have a team in the
santa barbara walk to end alzheimers 
on saturday october 28th
team name is organicgreendoctor

join us

the organicgreen doctor

dang

DANG
actually there are two words
to describe our whirlwind life
over the last month

one is dang
the other is exhaustion

i always had a rule as my wife she finishes up the end of year
at school
its a simple one
stay out of her way
dont plan anything

well
we broke that rule this year
big time

if you have a schoolteacher in the family
you probably know this rule
its bode me well over the years

it started  a year ago
with thinking about moving to santa barbara
to be near family and our granddaughter
also to be prepared for what could be coming down the path
for us

our all last year has been spent preparing for the possibility
but
this last month
we werent quite prepared for that

how do you suddenly sell your house that you love
where you have lived over 15 years
getting rid of almost everything you have
all in 30 days
at the end of your wife shes final year of school

what
were we thinking

we werent
but
we did it

we met with the realtor who had sold us the house 16 years ago
someone wanted it since they had told us before
if we sell it wanted first shot
his shot missed by a few thousand

so prepare for mls we did

i looked around
there were things that needed repaired
so
i went about fixing things and making it ready for sell
almost all day when i had free time i was working on this

then a buyer just happened to be there when his friend was droning the place
i want to buy this place he said

so within 3 days offers were made and accepted
paperwork process was begun
so
in 6 weeks closing would happen
that was a month ago

think about
getting rid of 16 years of living
finding a place to live 1500 miles away
at the end of the school year

we got the word out
all we have is for sale
folks started buying stuff
i sat down and wrote out what stuff was worth
no what it would sell for
thats two different things
a total tally was done
i was a couple hundred off

relatives drove in last weekend from the next state over
to pick up some heirloom things that belong in the family

we spent memorial weekend with
my historian brother and his cowgirl wife
my rainwater brother and his thrift shopping wife
although we didnt see them as much as we wanted
we always knew they were close by
somehow thats comforting

then
i had a landscape project to do at habitat for humanity
that took up almost a week of my time
i had a large alzheimers talk to do at an alzheimers symposium
i had a smaller talk to do at a memory center
i turned down other offers to talk
which i never do
i could feel the move breathing down my neck
my wife she was spinning downward like a lot of
school teachers do every year at this time

we set up a moving sale
we sold almost everything we owned
what didnt sell was donated mostly to a local charity that provides
food and clothing for needy folks
some was donated to habitat for humanity

it was hard to see all my tools go

then
our friend almost died at the moving sale
my guess is he got close enough to the pearly gates
that he saw that tunnel of light ready to suck him away
all from a yellow jacket sting

then we have all these people who entered out lives
over the last 16 years since we lived here
there was not really not much time to say a good bye to
all of them
many we will always remember forever
all my habitat for humanity friends
all my meals on wheels clients i have delivered to
over the last 6 years

then
our old dog maverick
so old he was thought to be near death several times over the last
few years
we decided he was too old to move to a new place
lets let him die with the country n being his last place to live
so
we let him gently be euthanized like some humans should be
allowed to go to end their suffering
we both cried some
but
we felt like he had lived a good life
it was his time

our other dog marley
was given to a friend whose dog is his best buddy
besides maverick

i must say
as we were preparing to leave
well
he loved awfully sad looking
i know i saw tears in his eyes
they were in my eyes and my wife shes eyes
i think he knew what was going to happen

so
leaving this exhaustive month behind us
we may take weeks to recover
we piled everything that was left
into our two vehicles
sorry no pictures as my cellphone cords are somewhere
so
i stood as i took pictures of the two cars
thinking
thats all we have left of 16 years
all in those two cars
and
lots and lots of memories

then off on a two day drive across the southwest
to get to our destination
our new place

an apartment
an airbb one for a few months
until we find what what and where we want to live here

i think my wife she and i were meant for each other
since
we seemed to have survived all this

next
chapter
in our lives
coming up

the organicgreen doctor