A Coal Miner's Son

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It's been a hard day. I didn't get any sleep at all last night. I finally got a short nap this afternoon. The stress I felt from the job interview that I turned down was really hard on me. The people involved were great and they treated me very kindly. I just had lots of problems adapting to the idea of doing public work again.

The one factor that seemed to make up my mind was that on the application it called for three personal references. I've become so isolated that I didn't know but one person I could use. I put down the names of two other people who don't even like me or approve of my careactor. Another thing was that I got a headache from the welding smoke in the shop that reminded me of all the negative aspects of welding.

I've known Ben Miller for a couple of decades or more. His father was a coal miner in Kentucky where Ben was born and raised. Besides being a coal miner his father was a wood carver who has pieces he carved displayed in the Smithsonian Institute. Over the past few years Ben has been writing poetry. His talent speaks for itself. He allowed me to publish his last poem here.

THE MAGI'S GIFT

From the depth of ones heart, arise many things,
like the Magi's tale strange gifts they bring .
They come unbidden, swift with ease,
and  bring the strong to bended knees
Up they lift the broken man,enabling
him, once more to stand
They bring forth the child of ages past,
laughter,smiles are freed at last.
River of tears, a torrent's flow,
The winds of love gust to and fro.
These gifts given, are often strange,
left to you to sort and arrange
Guard them well for precious they be,
from the inner one, special for thee.

                                   Ben J.

A program on PBS last night about probiotics intrigued me. The presenter and author of the book she was hustling was an impressive looking woman. Yeah, sure, she is pretty, but the outstanding thing about her looks was that she seemed like a poster girl for her own health advice.

Today, I just had to get outta town for a while. I certainly didn't wanna talk about the job interview. I e-mailed my negative response so that I wouldn't have to talk to the lady who conducted the encounter. She's nice and all, but it embarrasses me that nobody knows my name. This ain't Cheers.

I drove over to Fayettenam (the Fayetteville natives hate that name) and shopped in a large Vitamin Shoppe franchise to find some of the probiotics the TV presenter talked about. They ain't cheap. Even with the "members discount" a thirty day supply costs me $15 + tax.

This probiotics thing caught my attention when the Activa yogurt dealio came out. The advertisements pointed out that 90% of the immune system is located in the guts. I'd never considered that before and found myself somewhat intrigued by the idea that such is so.

The presenter on TV said that 70% of the immune system is located adjacent to the gut lining instead of the 90% figure the Activa advertisement claimed, but the idea of most of the immune system's activities focusing in the gut lining is still there.

I bought something that wasn't the cheapest or the most expensive, and started taking it even before I left Fayetteville to return home. I'm not surprised that the packaging defers to seeing your doctor before you use these OTC supplements. That used to make me suspicious, but not so much any more.

The fact that if a product is manufactured by the body then it can't be put on prescription was a interesting tidbit, and appears to be why the medicos refuse to recommend them. They don't get a cut of the money, so they don't support whatever good they might or might not do.

Medical doctors are nothing if not money-hungry. Maybe they get hardened over time when they realize their patients will die eventually, no matter how emotionally invested they allow themselves to become. I grew up thinking cops were all nice, helpful people too. Shit happens, things change.

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