Month: April 2008

I am totally dismayed over this fracas at the Tupelo Sanctuary Hospice House. Maybe someone could explain what motivation of those accused could have except to help a person die with dignity. The two paragraphs below might show how dying with dignity works and how it is an aid to the grieving process for those living.

My mother had 5 siblings who had Sunday dinner from birth to death with each other almost every Sunday. In 1978 the first brother died shoveling snow of a heart attack. I did not make the funeral but came 2 months later to find my mother very sad and distraught over her brother’s death. I said, “Mother I do not think you could have helped much since he was probably dead by the time he hit the ground.” She replied quickly, “I could have held his hand.”

Eight months later my mother died and my family was staying with my father he was very sad and crying. I said, “Daddy you have been through this before. I am sure you know what to expect.” He said crying, “It ain’t no easier this time.”

The grieving process is a very complicated affair and is different for all as any funeral director call tell you. Here are some of my thoughts. Most come from my mother, some from my experience. Grief from the loss of a close family member is resolved by good memories. The loss of a child messes up the, God Clock”, and only the most spiritual can handle. God bless them. When there is anger and resentment present in the family some transfer that resentment and do not grieve.

I believe the last sentence is the crux of what is happening here. Now take a tort lawyer, the best, and public opinion on the use of narcotics. You just might just make public policy as was done with tobacco and asbestos. I hope my thinking is wrong!
Author: harold

(Link no longer up)The late spring and early summer of 1959 and 1960 I was a Farm Reporter (parochial “Measuring Tobacco”) for the USDA in Hart County, KY office. On one beautiful spring morning, I had the papers for a farm own by a person I knew by word of mouth. I knew nothing about the family and had to get direction to the farm place. The road to the driveway to the home was fairly good but the driveway was not in shape for me to drive my father’s 1958 Custom 300 Ford down to the house. The house was in the woods the only yard was wood chips. When I arrive there were two women outside washing clothes. They both were between the ages 50-60 ?? bare foot with facial features from Deliverance. I expressed my reason for being there. One went and found a man near his 70s ? that took me to the place I had to report the amount of acreage of tobacco they were growing.

I remember the man had a sore about the size of a dime right below his lip. It was of a color I had never seen and an oder I had to avoid. He had a hearing disorder that I had to get close for him to hear. All things considered, I tried to get his and my work done quickly.

When we got back to the house three more people became visible. A young lady and her two children. She walked back to the car with me and we chatted a bit. She and the children spoke, looked and dressed to KY standards. I do not remember any names of this family except the stated owner, Harvey, who was not there that morning.

Most people in there area thought they knew who was the mamma, the papa, the children, the siblings, but I think mostly guess work.
Harvey was a student in elementary school where my mother’s sister taught. Learned anything, I think not. However he was drafted into the Army during WW ll. Somebody sited a mechanical genius and taught him to be an airplane mechanic. After the war was over he loved his family more than a fancy career so he can back to his wooded home. He never forgot his training and his service was often sought for his mechanical genius, (not airplanes)

The one thing I remember most about Harvey was a statement he made in answer to a question. The farm Harvey lived on had some timber land worth 10 of thousands of dollars in the 50s. Harvey did not seem to have any interest in cashing in on the assets. When asked why he did not, his reply, “Some of my neighbors might get burned out, then I could helped them.

Today as I look back upon that day, I see the value of the living experience these folks gave me. You will have to look hard to find people with more humility than they. That spiritual quality we must seek so we can live in harmony with God and our fellow man.

I do not know why a crazy brain of mine thought about Harvey’s family when I read the above link. However I think if these people had a certain amount of that precious quality (humility) Harvey’s family had, we would not be harassing a very valuable Tupelo asset.
Author: harold

Here is a comment from a statement I made on another blog that was e-mailed to me but for some reason I cannot find on that blog.

Author: msgirl
Comment:
No method for treating addiction?  Ever heard of AA or NA?  Dr. Russell’s method just enabled addiction.

Here again I have not made myself clear. Yes, I have heard of AA, NA, CA, & others. I also have heard that some 10 million have found relief from the agonizing slow death of the spiritual malady called alcoholism, since its onset in 1935. I know of no method anyone, including our Justice Department, can use to apply this to a suffering individual.

I also know of another group called the Al-Anon Family Groups that uses the same principles as above to emotionally separate themselves from those they Love that are demonized by the aforementioned spiritual malady.

I am convinced if ALL employees of the DEA would attend a Al-Anon Family Groups and seriously apply these principles to their work, they will find another job in short order.

Of course, my thoughts here are the same as sending a drunk to AA excepting him to behave as I wish.
Author: harold

Lafayette, Prentiss drug courts in operation

And slowly we build our tower of Babylon. Our drug prohibition laws do not work so we continue to try extensions of a failed policy.

In the USA we have between 25,000,000 to 30,000,000 addict/alcoholics. They are out there dying like flies around a slop jaw and we continued these failed policies.

from the text
“Our court dockets are saturated with drug cases,” Pounds said, “and a workable alternative is desperately needed to deter repeat offenders.

“

Creekmore said every tool is crucial because each case of drug abuse creates multiple victims.



“I would say 80 percent of all crime is drug-related,” he said. “That’s people breaking into people’s houses, crimes of violence. By the time a criminal defendant is addicted to illegal drugs, their families have already paid a high price.”

Of course, our dockets are saturated with drug cases, we send 80% to 100% of our law enforcement out trying to stop the manufacture, transporting, possession & sale of prohibited substances.

Another statement that does not make any sense.

“You’ll have a lot of addicts who steal a checkbook from their grandma to supplement their habits,” he said.

Are addicts the only people that steal? Our drug prohibition laws are hell bent on keeping him from using not stealing!! The statement is silly because grandma is too full of pride to press charges against a family member for stealing, so let’s blame it on the drugs and hide the real issues.

I get angry when I read such rhetoric. We are creating a pride that kills.

The only person more insane than an addict/alcoholic that continue to use is a person tying to make him stop.
Author: harold

I think the fact not being considered in the FLDS case is the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints made-men are women.

Remember who passed out the Kool Aid in the James Jones debacle.

Author: harold

Stopping the use of a psychoactive drug does not cure addiction. However, recovery from addiction cannot began until use has stopped. The power for continued absence of use must come from a source the addict has sought. This cannot be supplied by another person by manipulation, bribe, force, punishment or threat of such.

Half my life I have watched spouses, parents, grandparents, children, siblings and friends try these methods until they become sick themselves. Sometimes they will make you laugh and other times they will make you cry. Jesus Christ said prayer and fasting (the practice of restraint) could aid the environment.

The drug prohibition laws are the results that most people think these methods work.

The only person more insane than an addict/alcoholic that continue to use is a person tying to make him stop.

Author: harold

I believe we can have a better assurance of domestic tranquility if the government would stay out of the treatment of drug addiction/alcoholism. Also, I believe the treatment of drug addiction/alcoholism would improve.
Author: harold