food stamps

FOOD STAMPS
we live in central texas
where there is low unemployment
there is a building boom for both commercial and
residential real estate
there are a lot of people moving here because of this

there is a lot of poverty in texas
especially kids and the elderly

you would think that this would benefit all of society
all the way to the lower socioeconomic folks

not happening
if you are involved with meals on wheels or habitat for humanity
like i am
or
work in a soup kitchen or any place that provides meals to
people in need
or
work in shelters that provide places for people to sleep
or
live or work in places that provide needed clothing or
that gives out food to people
then
you know that there are a lot of people of all ages who
are falling through the cracks of our safety nets

the meals on wheels programs have been cut of a lot in funding
so that they have laid off workers and have had to cut the
number of meals available
they have had to make the rules for qualifying more strict
so that a lot of people dont qualify now
and
now there is a long list of people waiting for inclusion on
the meals programs

so when i hear food stamp cuts that worries me a lot
as i see these people i deliver meals to and wonder
what would they do if they lost their meals they get

i know that my mom use to eat only half her meal and then
would eat the rest for her supper

losing that meal really affects those folks health

drug testing for food stamps
so does that mean a mom who is an addict doesnt get food stamps
for their kids
sometimes if you are not in a system that deals with all of this
you may not see or know about all these people

my wife she teaches school
if it werent for the lunch programs at school these kids wouldnt
eat
many dont get breakfast at home and without these programs
they wouldnt eat at lunch

so when i hear about cuts in food stamps it bothers me
first lets drug test all congressman first if we are going to drug test
other people

is there abuse in the food stamp program
of course
just like there is in any federal or state program
eg
agriculture abuse
military spending abuse
oil company subsidy abuse
financial bail outs of the financial industry
medicare and medicaid fraud by medical providers and patients

lets look at all these a little closer before we start taking kids
and those in need off the foods stamp program

maybe they should talk some to teachers who reach in their
pockets and buy lunches sometimes
maybe they should go to food shelters and work and talk
to people and not just do a photo op moment
maybe they should run a meals on wheels route and really
talk to people in need

yes cut out the fat out of any program
and go after those who abuse the program
but be careful
real careful
when you make those cuts

sometimes it helps to put a face on those who benefit from the
food stamp program
if there is abuse in the food stamp program and these other programs
then the congressmen should look in the mirror
to see who is responsible

please dont hurt those who need our help the most
churches and other volunteer groups cant fill the gap

the organicgreen doctor

growin stuff

GROWIN STUFF
ive written about the monkey pod vine
im really not sure what plant it is and what it
eventually looks like but
i was told it has a beautiful flower that grows on it
later on in the year

to review a family friend my med school friends friend
told me about it and gave me some monkey pods to plant
this is my third try to get them to grow
one year i got them to 6 feet but they died when the drought
hit and i had to reroute the water to the garden

this year i have added a dripper to the two i planted in my
garden so that when i water my okra this summer im
watering my monkey pod vine

here is what it looks like before i plant it

here it is early on
its climbing the white string in the bottom right of
the photograph

here its what it looks like now

i cant wait until the flowers bloom this summer
ill post a picture when it does

this is a three year project
ie the first two years failed












here is a picture of an okra bloom
you can see some okra starting to grow in
the background

this is a red heirloom german okra from seed my rainwater brother
got from the organic garden guru malcolm becks wife
in san antonio

these are a larger in diameter okra but are my favorite
okra ive planted
i saved seeds from last years crop










then here is my wife she holding one of our heirloom
tomatoes
i think its a brandywine
these things are so delicious and juicy
we call them sink tomatoes since you have to
eat them over the sink since they are so juicy
and so flavorful

thats what has been removed from a lot of the
tomatoes you buy at the food stores
we picked this one a little early so we will let it
ripen more to that juicy stage


then finally i want to write about that paper mulberry again
dont ever ever ever ever plant one in your yard
you may not ever be able to control the new
mulberry plants that pop up in your yard

most of the yard above was cleared of these trees by
hand
now after the rains they had the paper mulberry
plants now cover all that yard
again
they are about 2-3 feet tall

it is probably one of the most invasive trees to plant
on your property
you will never ever get rid of it totally no matter how
hard you try to

there is no good way that is organic to really get rid of it
you dig up the stumps as much as possible then
carefully apply the r word to any shoots that appear
being very careful to only spot treat them

there ive confessed i used the r word stuff

i feel better now
dont you use the r stuff in your yard

the organicgreen doctor

it makes you think

IT MAKES YOU THINK
this disk thing has altered my life a lot
it has prevented me from doing a lot of things that
i like to do
i realize now just how active a person i am since
i havent been able to do or lets say shouldnt have been doing
these things i do on a regular basis

first i can see how a person with chronic pain or a permanent
disability could get depressed knowing that this is what they
would have to face the rest of their lives

at least my pain is controlled mostly with medications and my
'disability' is gradually improving each day so that there is some
light at the end of the tunnel

my cousins husband before he died became a real advocate for
improving accessibility for the elderly in homes being built in eg
subdivisions especially if it looked like the elderly would be buying
some of these homes
he had the money and time and the political connections to help
make some changes
i remember a few years ago sitting with him at my moms going over
a list of the changes that he was presenting to his congressmen in
washington

at  the time i was of course on his side but have really thought about
those changes a lot since this happened to me and
i was bedridden for two weeks
then had to figure out how to
go to the bathroom take a shower get up the stairs get out the door
to the car etc

the elderly or disabled have to do this every day of their lives
im so thankful that mine is a short term 'disability' and it has made
me think a lot about the changes he was recommending be done
especially as i age and get to where i may need some of these changes

i use to tell patients
park as far as you can from the front door when you go shopping
eg at the grocery store park in the farthest parking spot then walk
to the door and then back to the car
in a years time you can get a lot of exercise

ok i will admit that thats me at the grocery story that rides my
grocery cart like a skateboard through the parking lot to that
lonely car way up near the gas station near the entrance
but its usually on sunday am early so the lot is mostly empty and
i have a good clear shot to my car

add #grey haired bearded guy grocery cart skateboarder

now when i go to the store i look at my usual spot and say
no way
then i look at the disabled spot up near the front
and say
no way not yet
so i compromise and based on my pain level  i decide where
to park
eg today i would park about 1/4 of the way

but i do think a lot about the disabled
the friend in the wheelchair who was injured in high school and
has had to do this for thirty years
shaving cooking cleaning washing clothes driving shopping working
traveling bathing etc
i do have a lot of respect now for him and what his daily life is like

i lived there only for two weeks
and i didnt like it at all

so this all does
it makes you thnk

how lucky we and i am to be otherwise healthy

the organicgreen doctor