SoCS: The Conservation Kid, Osteoporosis, and Forward Bends

 Today’s Stream of Consciousness prompt is: “the first 2-5 words at the top of the closest printed matter.” 

There’s a Goodnewsletter open on my coffee table with a story I was thinking about including in my Good News Tuesday post but have not used in the month it’s been sitting there. Now I can use it and move it. Here’s the title on the open page: “Meet the Kid on a Mission to Pick up One Million Pounds of Litter in 2022.” Twelve-year-old Cash Daniels is known as “The Conservation Kid.” Cash and his friends spend “several hours each week picking up trash along the Tennessee River.” Kids like cash give me hope for our future.

(The above is all that would save Friday night when I normally write my SoCs post. The auto-save seemed to be circling, so I had a feeling…. This morning, I’m going back to try to re-create the second part but will try to stay in SoC mode.)

The other printed material nearby is from my medical folder and includes reports on previous bone density tests showing I have osteoporosis. This has not been addressed in a couple of years since my beloved gynecologist who was treating me went and retired. Like my beloved dentist retired. The nerve! Now all my doctors are clearly younger than me. Maybe it’s because I’m retired. (Yay!)

Anyway, I waited 18 months for an appointment with a rheumatologist. 18 months to get in! It gave me time to look up, rheumatologist. They deal with muscular-skeletal stuff and immune system issues, chronic pain, etc. Okay, good.

This rheumatologist said to me, “You’re pretty young to have osteoporosis.”

“Oh, really?”

“Did you ever smoke cigarettes?”

“Yes, in my twenties, for about ten years. A pack or two a day.” (Mostly a pack.)

“That could do it,” he said.

Sigh. “I thought I was over that. I thought my body had overcome that.” I don’t remember my exact words. I felt a bit deflated. He said something about smoking taking years from my bones or adding years. I looked it up. Smoking cigarettes decreases bone density. It just took a long time to catch up with me.

We can’t change the past, but we can do what we can now. (If anyone needs help quitting smoking, I have good experience.) I can look up exercise for bone density on YouTube as the doc suggested. I didn’t find anything that would be good to post here, but what I did find out (from multiple youtube sources) is that people with osteoporosis should NOT do crunches or forward bends. WT? We do forward bends regularly in my senior yoga class “Gentle Yoga for Back and Bones.” It’s not always gentle by the way. I’m good at forward bends. This needs more research and maybe I won’t push the forward bends. Maybe I’ll be more relaxed about them. This needs more research. Has anyone ever heard about this?

Maybe I’ll leave most (not all) of the trash picking up to the young conservation kids, or I’ll get one of those picking up sticks.

Below is one of the roosters at the sanctuary doing a forward bend in front a mirror.

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For more about Stream of Consciousness Saturday, visit our wonderful host,

Linda Hill by clicking HERE.

Good News Tuesday for July 6, 2021: Wales Takes a Big Step, Nurse Stops Hospital Fire in India, Florida Creates Wildlife Corridor, and Valedictorian Speaks his Truth on Acceptance, Mental Health, and Identity

Seeking Balance One Tuesday at a Time

Wales Puts a Hold on New Road Building

As part of their plan to reach zero emissions by 2050, the Welsh government is putting a hold on new road building. They’re not saying they will never build roads again, but for now, no new roads.

“We need a shift away from spending money on projects that encourage more people to drive, and spend more money on maintaining our roads and investing in real alternatives that give people a meaningful choice.” Lee Waters, Deputy Minister for climate change. For details, see this article from The Guardian found in my Goodnewsletter.

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Nurse in India Saves 36 Babies from Hosptial Fire

P Jayakumar, a nurse and father of two, put out an electrical fire at a public hospital in India saving 36 babies. After stopping the fire, Jayakumar, who has asthma, was hospitalized in the ICU for five days for smoke inhalation before going home. Here’s the story from The New Indian Express

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Florida Creates Protected Wildlife Corridor

The governor of Florida recently signed bipartisan legislation to create one of the biggest wildlife corridors in the developed world with $400 million of initial funding. The act will help protect many species, including endangered Florida panthers. Here’s more from the Good News Network.

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Valedictorian Bryce Dershem Finishes his Speech

(I first heard this story on Sunday when the priest at my church shared it in his sermon about different kinds of power.)

In spite of spending six months of his senior year in treatment for anorexia, Bryce Dershem graduated as class valedictorian of his New Jersey high school. Multiple videos and articles indicate that Bryce’s high school principal took a hard line in telling the valedictorian he could not say anything in his speech about his LGBTQ status or his mental health treatment. At the graduation ceremony, when Bryce started to speak his truth, the principal disconnected his microphone and took away Bryce’s printed speech notes. Students yelled, “Let him finish!” The good news is that someone brought him another mic and Bryce finished his speech from memory. He talked about overcoming challenges and accepting yourself. I was impressed by Bryce’s courage and composure.

Here’s an interview with Bryce from NBC News followed by a video of his speech.

Here’s the speech:

Got good news?

Feel free to share your good news or GNT link in the comments!

Good News Tuesday for June 29, 2021: Premature Baby’s First Birthday, Honoring Parents, Free Phone Calls from Prison, and Saving Pangolins

Seeking Balance One Tuesday at a Time

Most Premature Baby Celebrates His First Birthday

When Richard Scott William Hutchinson was born five months early weighing less than a pound, doctors said he had zero chance of survival. On June 5, he celebrated his first birthday! Here’s the story from CNN.

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College Graduate Honors Parents with Photos from the Field

Jennifer Rocha, a recent graduate of the University of California, honored her parents by taking graduation photos in the farm fields where they worked to support her education. You can see the photos in this story from Good Morning America.

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Connecticut is the First US State to make all Phone Calls from Prison Free

When a person is in prison, connections to loved ones offer support for rehabilitation. Connecticut has become the first US state to make calls from prison free. A new law allows incarcerated men, women, and juveniles a minimum of 90 minutes a day of free calls. Here’s more from WHDH 7News.

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Vietnamese Conservationist Wins Goldman Prize for Saving Pangolins

Thai Van Nguyen founded Save Vietnam’s Wildlife, which rescued 1,540 pangolins the world’s most trafficked mammal. Van Nguyen is a recent winner of the Goldman Prize also known as the Green Nobel Prize. Here’s his Goldman Prize film:

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Got good news?

Feel free to share your good news or GNT link in the comments!

Good News Tuesday for April 27, 2021: Earth Restoring Conservation, Paying it Forward Hero Highlight, Sneakers on the Red Carpet, and Samurai Trash Collectors

Seeking Balance One Tuesday at a Time

This post turned out longer than I expected with the extra videos, but I hope you will at least watch the last one about the trash collectors.

Conservation Projects Working to Restore the Earth

CNN brings us nine conservation projects working to restore the earth. Click here for photos and project summaries.

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The Pay it Forward Effect and a Hero Highlight

I just found “The Pay it Forward Effect” on Facebook. They also have a website: The Pay it Forward Effect where you can read about the organization and the cards they send you to encourage others to pay it forward. Some of the stories on the FB page are the one where a mom pays for someone’s birthday cake every year on her deceased son’s birthday. the one where the retired math teacher helps a dad on the subway trying to relearn fractions to help his son with homework, and a story from seven months ago about teenager Justin Gavin who rescued a family from a burning car. (See below.)

I know Justin got more than a “special coin.” He got to be on the Drew Barrymore Show where he received a proclamation and some surprises. You watch that happen here:

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The Oscars: Women Making History

Chloe Zhao became the first woman of color to win the award for best director for Nomadland which also won best picture. Many other women won awards, but I had to mention Chloe Zhao, because I love that she wore sneakers on the red carpet and didn’t conform to the typical glam standards. You can read more here.

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Japan’s Trash Collecting Samurai

Street performers in Tokyo have fun picking up trash and entertaining, but they are also serious and caring young people. Learn more about this “new generation of samurai,” and their inspiring teacher, in this subtitled video.

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Got good news?

Share your good news or GNT post link in the comments!

One-Liner Wednesday: Let Me Help You

Let me help you?

That might be what the orangutan is trying to communicate to the conservation guard half-submerged  in muddy, snake infested water.  What a generous offer of kindness. Sure looks that way to me. What do you think?

For more of the story, click on this CNN article.

 

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