Why
and
What
draws me
to witches
herbal secrets
moonlight
ancient ruins
archaic codes.
It is the goddess blood I carry,
remembrance of a past
when women ruled
when peace reigned
and
All were healed.
health
The Land in Love with Guns
In the United States firearms kill approximately 15,000 individuals per year. In Britain, Australia, and Canada, the average is 350 per year. Spain’s rate is even lower. In Germany, it is less than 800. A young person here dies about every 4 ½ hours, shot dead. The US murder rate is 19.5, nearly 20 times higher that the next 22 richest countries. In the 23 richest countries combined, 80 percent of all gun related deaths are in the US; 87 percent of children killed are shot by guns here. In the last 45 years, bullets killed more than one million people in the US.
Gun sales are big money. More than a dozen hand guns are sold per minute. One survey indicates that one out of every four US homes possess a gun; another survey says 39 percent. However, most guns are owned by only a small proportion of the population, gun “collectors” who own an average of seven weapons per person. Guns are cheap here and bullets even cheaper, about 50 cents each. The Mexican government contends that our cheap guns help fuel the dreadful violence there which then overflows to here.
In spite of all this, the US murder rate is the lowest in more than 45 years. The NRA claims more guns equal less violent crime. The NRA contends that the lower crime rate is the result of less strict gun laws and more people owning guns. Nevertheless, mass murder occurs on a regular basis. We mourn, we lament, but nothing changes.
Eventually, another mass murder occurs and the cycle repeats itself. Why? Who or what is responsible? What can be done? Will more restrictive gun laws help or hinder? Debates continue; opposing views and answers abound, but the cycle continues. Will it ever change?
I wrote the above after the last mass murder event. Nothing changed. Now the conversation appears more strident, more active. Apparently, the mass killing of children is more heinous, more scary than the mass murder of adults even if the adults are young. The NRA advocates armed guards at schools. How will that prevent mass killings at movie theaters, at malls, at churches, on the street, e.g. the three murders this week in Pennsylvania?
Australia was another country in love with guns, but after a mass killing there, they changed their collective mind. They enacted strict gun control laws for assault weapons and ammunition. Could that work here? I think not. This is a country in love with guns because the right to own a gun symbolizes what is perceived as individual rights. This is a country where personal liberty remains far more important than community safety and social justice. Until that changes, mass murders will continue.
Teriyaki Salmon with Red Chard and Cassia Cinnamon (for two)
The red chard leaves, chopped.
Just after adding the salmon.
The finished product.
2 6 oz. servings of wild salmon
1/2 medium red (purple) onion, chopped
1/2 large poblano pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
2 large red chard leaves and stems
1/2 to 1 tsp. cassia cinnamon
1/8 cup teriyaki sauce mixed with 1/8 cup Worcestershire sauce
Olive oil
Marinate the salmon in the teriyaki/Worcestershire sauce while you prepare the rest. Using a sharp knife, destem and devein the red chard. Coarsely chop the stems and veins. Chop the leaves into pieces as indicated in the photo above. Cover the bottom of a medium sized skillet with olive oil. I love extra virgin olive oil and use a lot of it, but not absolutely necessary. Saute chopped onions in the olive oil until translucent. Add the poblano pepper and red stems of the chard. When the peppers and chard stems are slightly cooked, add the salmon and marinade and sauté for about 2 minutes. Turn the salmon and place the chard leaves on top. Scatter the cinnamon on top of the chard leaves. Saute until the chard leaves are wilted.
Serve with mixed grain rice (khao-pa-som in Thai) which can be found at Asian markets. It is a mixture of brown, black, and red rice with various grains including what appears to be barley. I cook it exactly like rice: sauté in olive oil with finely chopped garlic for a minute or so, add water, and stir in 1 tsp. concentrated bouillon. Turn heat to low, cover pan with several layers of paper towels, and put on lid. This, like red and brown rice, takes about twice as long to cook as white rice. It is more nutritious than white rice. If you want the health benefits of cinnamon, it is necessary to use cassia cinnamon, not Ceylon cinnamon.
Migraine
Since I was a child, my only health issue has been headaches. When younger, sometimes they were little ones and sometimes nearly incapacitating. As an adult I could count on having at least one a month, sometimes more. Weather seems to be the main culprit now. If certain weather patterns occur, a series may hit me for several days in a row and then blissfully nothing for a couple of months. My daughter has migraines also; she must have inherited this from me, sadly. Tuesday this week, I awakened with a doozy and suddenly recalled that I had to attend this class for work. I took my medication and hoped. While waiting for the class to start, I decided to write down exactly how these migraines make me feel.
Poised above my head,
the hammer ball strikes the ten inch nail.
It drives through my right frontal lobe,
the nail point jutting out just below my right cheek, shiny, bloodless.
The hammer flips, the nail pulled out.
Pain pulses, excruciating.
Poised above my head, the hammer strikes again and again.
Endless hours the hammer strikes and pulls.
I hold my head in my hands, rocking back and forth.
Endlessly.
writingontherim 