The Most Wonderful Christmas

 

On December 5, about halfway out of the Chosin Reservoir, the war ended for me. When I regained consciousness, I found myself draped over the hood of a Jeep. I knew that meant I had been wounded and not killed because trucks were for our dead comrades. Unaware of what had happened to me, I was dropped off at an aid station.

The corpsman examined me, put a tag on me and moved me out to be air evacuated, along with many others in an old DC-3. We landed at an Air Force hospital in Itazuke, Japan. Time seemed to stand still from then on as I began a flight that would take me halfway around the world. There were hospital stays in Tokyo, Wake Island, Hawaii, Oakland, San Antonio and then my last stop - the Naval Hospital, in my home town of Philadelphia. 

We arrived about 10 PM. I was taken into the hospital and was greeted by many shouts of, "Merry Christmas!". That's when I finally realized that it was Christmas Eve! December 24, 1950. Somehow, I had made it home for Christmas, after all - a true miracle. I was alive, I would heal and I was home. 

My Mom had been praying so hard for me. I had the most valuable gift for both of us - my dog tags.

A Poem about Poems

 

                          

                      A Poem about Poems

                       I can write couplets any time,

                       Two lines and then a rhyme.

 

                       But having so much I want to say

                       I'll need more lines than just two.

                       So, my poems in quatrains I'll write

                       Four lines and two rhymes might do.

                       Or maybe I'll write poems in free verse

                       There are so many stories to tell

                       But there must still be beauty within

                       As in prose that is written well.

 

                       Free verse is easier to write

                       because there are no rules 

                       that other forms require 

                       and it's not easy for me to obey.

      

                       Iambic Pentameter may be the way 

                       Counting syllables and feet is the norm

                       Two rhymes, five stresses, five beats to 

                        build each line

                        A poem with steps and rules that must 

                       conform.  

                                             

                       I just can't do it, rules are hard

                       It's not easy to keep time

                       I'll write poems just the way I like,

                       Always with rhythm and rhyme.

              

Homeostasis

                 Homeostasis and other Miracles 

In some of my essays, I've tried to describe what I think are the true miracles we all live every day. And, yes, life itself is a miracle. Looking at flowers, trees and animals, I see that they also represent myriad miracles and I am in total awe. 

They may not speak as we do but, like us, they are born, breathe, eat, grow, heal, reproduce and die. They have intricate internal mechanisms that provide them with all the senses they need to survive until it is time for them to die. We do too.

The very same intelligence that we have within us, is designed into them, as well. We, and they, don't have to think about what to do in a given situation. All of life is designed with an automatic response system on board - another miracle.

Without thinking, an injury is sensed and an automatic healing process is begun. In the case of trees and plants, they have an additional miracle of being able to regenerate damaged or lost parts, allowing them to survive. Experiments have shown that plants will also register reactions to fear and pain. 

Our automatic system is designed for our survival. When we have an injury, our brain immediately sends messages synthesizes chemicals and sends them to the spot that is hurt and begins the miracle of healing. 

When we are frightened or challenged our brain will automatically produce and deliver the chemicals necessary for us to defend ourselves or to run away (the fight or flee response). 

All of these examples of miracles are amazing. I want to tell you about another miracle named, Homeostasis. It is intriguing because it is the one miracle that makes all the other internal miracles possible.

The term was coined by Walter B. Cannon, the great Harvard physiologist. He used it to describe a particular internal system contained within our bodies. This incredible mechanism makes it possible for us to go about our lives without the need for conscious concern.

Homeostasis is the ability of the body to stay in balance and under regulation. A host of automatic responses are controlled this way so that we don't have to think about what to do. It's easy to imagine Homeostasis as an internal engineer, compete with a detailed plan to control our survival. Let's look at an example of homeostasis in action.

The ability to regulate the body's temperature is done quite effectively. Homeostasis makes sure that we will not get too hot or too cold (within our survival limits). In an effort to maintain stability and balance, it operates as a safety device - a preset internal thermostat. 

For instance, when we are getting too hot, the system reacts by opening the pores. This allows the perspiration to exit and creates additional skin surface making the process of evaporation more efficient. This cooling of the skin will help bring the internal body temperature back into balance. The rate at which we breathe will be reduced to limit the amount of heat generated by oxidation (respiration).

Additionally, there will be an involuntary relaxing of the muscles and a tendency to spread our extremities and to lie still. These automatic moves and urges are designed so that we are limited in our ability to generate heat.

Conversely, in situations where we are faced with very cold conditions, there are other responses that will be activated to maintain our balance. First, the pores will close tightly, reducing the amount of skin surface exposed to the cold. Our breathing rate will become more rapid allowing more fuel (oxygen) to be burned for heat (oxidation). All our muscles will be contracted in an effort to prompt movement which will produce some heat. If the cold continues and we do not, or cannot, start moving, involuntary movements will begin, what we call shivering.

Homeostasis simply insists that we must survive. So it's efforts continue. The hair on our bodies is made to stand erect in an effort to contain body heat. This is a primitive duplication of the same thing done by fur-bearing animals. We will find ourselves automatically curling up into a fetal position so as to reduce the amount of exposed surface thus conserving the body's core heat. 

This homeostatic mechanism tries very hard to keep us alive in both extremes of temperature. We don't have to think about it or have to decide what changes must be made - it is all done for us, automatically and efficiently. It is one more example of the many miracles we live with every day. In our body, a major miracle itself, Homeostasis is the miracle within. 

Hi Mom, It's Me

In this essay, I am honoring my Mom, and I dedicate it to every mother out there. All are worthy of our love, praise and respect.

Hi Mom, it’s me.

I want to thank you for being my Mom. All that I am I owe to you. Without you, there would be no me. When I think of you I see only pure love.

Thank you for giving me my life. After 10 pregnancies, and losing two of your babies, I would have understood you not wanting more children. Along with my Pop, you decided that you wanted one more son - and that he would be named Eugene. Well, here I am - the third Eugene. Your first two Eugenes died at six months and at six years. Thank you for the courage it must have taken to try again.

When I was born, all of your other children (my 3 brothers and 4 sisters) had grown into adults. Here you were with a brand new baby to care for. I would have understood if you were too tired to look after me. Some of my friends have told me that's how they felt with their youngest child. Not you, Mom. I was afraid of the dark - you stayed with me. Others would scold me - you calmed them and held me. I cried a lot - you would smile at me and I would quiet down. Thank you, Mom.

When I was in the Korean War, I learned so much about your love and what it means to be a Mom. When I was frightened and feared for my life, I prayed to you. In my heart I knew that it would be you who would help me get through my fear. I heard brave Marines, who were dying, calling for their Moms. Thank you, Mom.

The last time I saw you, there was so little time left. I kissed your cheeks that were still so soft and pink. You smiled at me and said, "My good little boy has grown up to be a good man". Thank you, Mom.

I am so fortunate to have the unconditional love you have given me. I always felt wanted and safe. Thank you, Mom.

Love, always, your son Eugene

What's a virus, anyway?

We have all become familiar with the virus Covid-19 and the way it has spread and created a pandemic. What may not be well understood is what exactly a virus is. Here are some answers and some questions.

A virus is a perfect example of an app. Yes, just like the ones you download into your smartphones every day. Let's first agree on what an app is before we go on. An app is a computer program designed to tell the phone to do a certain activity. Since it is written in the language that is recognized by the phone, the app is allowed to enter. The app contains instructions for what it wants done. Effectively, it takes over command of the phone.

OK, let's now look at what happens with a virus. In exactly the same way, the Covid virus needs to enter the body, the "phone". The virus's instructions are in the same language that the the body uses, so it is recognized. Just like getting "carded" at the door, the virus is allowed to enter. Uh, excuse me, a question, please. They use the same language to communicate? How can that be? Isn't this the first time they have even met?

Surprisingly, the virus also knows and understands the internal workings of the human body. What? How's that even possible? That's pretty mysterious. Our body is always busy following its own internal instructions. It's breathing air, digesting food, beating a heart, repairing damaged parts and a myriad of other things, all at the same time and constantly. One major system is the body's ability to replace and replicate our living cells. It has been doing this from the moment of our conception. Somehow, the virus knows all about this internal cell-replicating system. It also knows how to read and to modify the DNA code in our cells to have its own instructions carried out. Excuse me, it "knows"?

Even more amazing is that the virus is allowed to interrupt that system and command it to do something different from what it was busy doing naturally. The virus instructions are that the body should stop replicating its own cells and to begin duplicating only the virus! Interrupt? Command?

Let's stop here for a second! All of this can only happen if  both the body and the virus know the same language. How is that even possible? Where are these unusual instructions we are talking about? The virus's mysterious instructions are stored as a chemical code within its interior, its DNA. Our body's equally mysterious instructions are also in the DNA code that is in every one of our trillions of cells. They speak each other's language so a lot of "chatting" and "thinking" goes on. In this unseen microscopic environment there is no evidence of any brain or mind being involved. No brain? No mind? Knowledge of the internal systems of the body? A common language? 

That's an awful lot for me to accept. Here I am still trying to understand how insects, animals and even plants all operate using the very same kind of internal language. They all have DNA in their cells and the same coded instructions that command and control the entire organism. Those instructions tell them what they are, what to do and how to do it. All living things know how to read these internal instructions. How did they learn the language? How do they know to follow each instruction? How did all of these instructions get written in the first place? Who wrote them? Never mind. I'll probably never know. That's OK.

 I remain in awe of the miracle we call, Life.