Feature Articles May 2018
Springtime in the Rockies
Wispy Words
by Ann Ulrich Miller
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Forty years ago I moved to Colorado with my first husband and our son, Ryan, who was only a year and a half old at the time. Until then, I had only known of springtimes in Wisconsin and Michigan.
Moving to the Rocky Mountains was an eye-opening experience for us in many ways. I'll never forget my first impressions of Aspen at that beautiful time of year.
I heard my first house finch singing as I strolled downtown streets in search of a job. Aspen in the '70s-'80s exuded quaintness and beauty. I'm sure that after 40 years much has changed. I did try to capture my impressions of Aspen when I wrote my romance novel Sonata Summer.
Now it seems that the billionaires who live in Aspen have driven the millionaires downvalley to places like Carbondale and Glenwood Springs, and many of those people who depended on the "cheaper" housing downvalley are moving west over McClure Pass into Paonia and the North Fork Valley, driving home prices up in a once depressed small town.
I was lucky to buy my house in Orchard City, 30 miles west of Paonia, where I commute to work at a newspaper. I moved in the fall, so it has been fun seeing my yard come alive with beauty at this time of year. I really am enjoying springtime in the Rockies this year, even though it is so dry.
Springtime in the Rockies is unpredictable. In February there's usually a thaw, and then March roars in like a lion, but seldom goes out as a lamb. April has been colder and drier (except for one or two rainy days that didn't amount to much), and now, in May, everything is blooming and the irrigation water is greening up the corn and hay fields.
Of course, everyone fears we will run out of irrigation water by mid-summer -- NOT a good thing. Contrast this with the horrific winter storms that plagued the East and the Midwest in 2017 and 2018. There can be no question that climate change is real. The only question I have is why blame it on so many different things that really only amount to "excuses" to make money for people who profit by conning others into guilt-trips about their use of certain energy forms.
The world has been here for a long, long time ... I would guess much longer than scientists realize. The earth heats up, the earth cools down, there is constant change going on and many civilizations have thrived and then disappeared.
What I like best about springtime is the revival of life. I love how the plants come out of dormancy, green up, bud and produce flowers and seeds to feed the animals and to delight us with beauty and color.
I love how the daylight extends long into the evening hours. I have always thrived on Light. This really proved to be true after living in Forks, Wash., for a couple of springs. Iw as dark longer during the winter that far north.
Springtime fills us with hope. it inspires us to be active outdoors, to enjoy birds, trees and so much more . Embrace it, wherever you reside. Share your joy.
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Is alternative health care bullsh#!t?
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by Marty Ulrich
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Recently I stumbled across a Facebook post on my feed attacking a woman who was advertising her essential oils practice for an upcoming Alternative Health Expo. I put in my two cents defending her and was immediately attacked by several degree-carrying individuals that were sure I was a complete fool for believing that even a shred of what she was doing had anything beneficial to anyone besides herself.
I went on to explain my position on how I feel about mainstream health care in the USA (which is a terrible system) and provided several supporting examples of how alternative health care practitioners are a superior choice. This was met with the old argument that no peer-reviewed medical journals have ever supported claims that acupuncture, Reiki, and other forms of holistic treatment have any actual benefit to human health. I maintained my composure, however, as people continues to clam me with offensive and empty comments, usually having nothing to add to the conversation.
My argument is very simple. The medical industry in the USA is a system for generating massive profits; it is not a health-care system at all. Doctors are paid for procedures rather than results. The American Medical Association has artificially created a shortage of quality care in this country, which has greatly inflated the price for a doctor's time. Then the cost of drugs is insanely inflated for obscene profits.
They are able to maintain this crooked system through means of an elaborate system of chemically and genetically adulterated food and water, with the mass marketing of pharmaceutical drugs, combined with the public misinformation of what actually makes you healthy. This has created an epidemic of the likes we have never before seen.
This is depopulation happening in real time! This is why you should get out of the mainstream health care system!
What then? Take care of yourself. The body does not need help healing; it just needs you to stay out of the way. If you need guidance, seek out a holistic healer or alternative practitioner. This person is someone who is gifted (not necessarily educated in the American indoctrination system) in healing and can help guide you to a path of healing and well-being. See, we're not supposed to be sick, you and me, until just before we die, when our time has expired.
You don't need an assigned doctor to monitor your blood (you can do that on your own) and sell you toxic drugs; you don't need a health insurance policy (not to be confused with accident insurance). You do need to stop poisoning your body with chemicals and radiation; you do need to start purging the sh#! with which you have already poisoned yourself. Then you need to start putting good things in your body -- like healthy fats and starches, and a full spectrum of vitamins and minerals from the earth and plants. That's it! Easier said than done, of course -- that's another topic.
What do you think? I hold Wisp readers to a higher standard than I do Facebook users, so what do you Wispers think? Am I out of my tree here? What do you think about the health care system in the USA? Do you think I am crazy for avoiding health insurance and a mainstream doctor?
How healthy do you think I am after reading this? Is this bullsh#1?
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Marty Ulrich lives in Cedaredge, Colorado. His writings can be found on steemit.com/@martico
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