Lung Health in my Hometown of Castleton NY 12033

 In last weeks Science Digest there was a report from researchers in England. It essentially was looking at health problems associated with living deep within river valley's.. Especially lung function.  It found in a nut shell that yes there were more lung and sinus problems with people living within river valleys , especially in the deeper parts of valleys. Well......that was no surprise to me. Doctor Austin was our local country doc. He graduated Med School in 1916 and soon came to Castleton to start his practice. He practiced actively untill circa 1970.  His office was located on upper Main Street in Castleton. Very near the Hudson River. One diagnosis he would often make was what he called Hudson River Gutar. In other words ,  a heavier amount of gunk in his patience's lungs , even when showing no other obvious symptoms. He told me at one point it appeared to worsen after World War One. He speculated it was the post WWI usage of cigarettes , a habit picked up while our troops were in Europe. Before that point it was mainly pipes and cigars. As a matter of fact Austin smoked cigars even while examining patients. Those days are long gone. Other factors were easy to determine as well. Up untill the late fifties people burned coal in there homes for heat. The Niagra Mohawk power plant across the river burned coal untill their conversion to natural gas in the early 60's. We still were industrial with paper mills , concrete plants , and detergent factories and Breweries within a 10 mile radius of the Castleton / Schodack NY area. I have heard older residents report that the foggy days are not as thick as they once were. Fewer pea soupers as they say in New England. Obviously with all the particulate matter in the air back then it makes sense. But despite a cleaner environment I suspect that this study has merit. Whether a river valley in England or the Hudson Valley in New York all places have their risks.

Dreams while in the hospital recovery room

Well , there I was last week being kept over night in the hospital after minor throat surgery. I woke up in a bad mood and was not doing well so I was being kept overnight. Around midnight I looked around the recovery room in a daze , addled from pain meds and other things. I fell back asleep. It was around then that I had an odd dream , not of some nightmare quality but of  a moment during the summer of 1970.  I am studied enough in biochem and know enough about such things as to know what this moment was now about. I had taken my English bike out of the back of the garage. Pumped up the tires , lubed the chain etc. I needed some exercise. I rode around my home town  , past my recently graduated high school. , past the houses of school mates ,  past farms and fields. The evening was closing in , I headed for home. I was tired but actually glad to be out. Then something began to happen........something quiet and deep. As I rolled up Scott Avenue I felt an odd feeling for a young guy who  too often played the angry young man role. I felt at a very total peace  I know brain chemistry but we didn't know that at the time. I stopped and leaned against a light pole. We had not yet modernized our streets lights yet so the light was a bare bulb with a plate over the top of it. I stood there leaning against the pole ,  The rapidly setting sun was red in color , off in the distance someone was finishing up mowing their lawn. The light pole had an ivy like plant growing up towards the light. The field next to me buzzed with insects. All seemed beautiful ,  peaceful and the years of teenage angst melted away. Wow this seemed better than even shooting my mouth off for some political cause. Time had seemed to stop so like a jerk I lit a cigarette to move this along. A car passed ,a Dodge Dart convertible. Rare. The song playing on the car radio was Joanne by Mike Nesmith.. You can Google it. So I finished my smoke and biked back home. The stillness lingered for a while. I slept well that night. Unlike this night as the nurse aroused me from my  memory dream to ask me if I could tell her my name and date of birth. By the way her name was Joanne.

U.S. Open Tennis : A Different Sporting Event

 Well, my wife Beth and I were comped a couple of tickets to the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows at the Tennis Center. Next door The New York Mets were playing a night game. As we waited to go through security I realized that it would not take a Sherlock Holmes to figure out this was a different sporting event. As we entered the bld a lady in an evening gown was playing a harp. We wandered a bit. One thing that venue has is great bars. I was able to get a new drink from a knowledgeable bartender. A Carte Blanche , a drink developed for the new James Bond novel by Micheal Deaver. So as I sipped my drink feeling somewhat under dressed , and feeling all  like a kid from farm country  in upstate New York in the small town of Schodack. So , as I looked at myself in the bar mirror I uttered words of  strength and  what I always considered one of the great movie lines.. I said very quietly to myself.......Bond........James Bond.  OK lets get to this event. We walked towards our seats , we passed two women , one playing a flute , the other doing  an Isadora Duncan type of dance. Nice. Anyway I have been to many a Yankees , Mets  Jets game. I have even been to a couple of professional MLS games and watch soccer from England occasionally. This crowd does not chant , do the wave , boo , yell , or generally get excited. What is allowed is a polite applause and not often. One hears the announcer request , "Quiet Please".  We watched our match , ate some good food and let the evening play out. Upon occasion , one could hear the crowd from the nearby Mets game. Ah yes baseball. So I visited the land where there is no tailgating , or raucous behavior. No beer and a hotdog crowd here. It had it's nice moments don't get me wrong. But as  we wandered back to our car , I realized that this was nice and interesting to be involved in. I am not a big tennis fan and was all ready thinking about the  upcoming Jets game  against Dallas.