Rick McBee's Writings
Explore the magic of new ideas and books to read as well as see what books I have written, my favorite photos, my opinions on may subjects, including Science, Africa, the Caribbean, the Civil War, my Book Reviews, and Much More!
Dodging Africa: by D. Lou Raymond – a book review
Dodging Africa by D Lou Raymond
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A super good coming of age book in Africa and the U.S. during the late sixty’s hippie protest era of the Vietnam War in the U.S. and the 4th Peace Corps group out in Botswana, Africa.
Two sisters, separated in mid-childhood life by the estrangement of their parents, grow up in very different cultures on separate continents and face the challenges of late adolescent development. The questions to be resolved abound in this book and are dealt with by author D. Lou Raymond directly, but with cultural sensitivity and understanding that can only be found in those who have walked in the shoes of that period. They are the universal questions for all persons at some point in their lives and are excellent ones to be discussed by book groups, senior high school classes, and university level courses including: Do I love or hate my mother/stepmother/father? Do I go off to college and pursue the direction my parents and interests have selected for me in life, or, do I rebel, and run away, to a drug experimenting flower culture? How can I fit my multicultural experiences of African life and native medicine into my interests in pursuing modern medicine in an upper middle class white community? Do I explore premarital sex and learn the consequences in the the school of hard knocks?
Those of us who are products of the era will love the back and forth discussions, displays of emotion and decisions made by the two protagonists, Willa and Nora as they wend their way through the journey of life. An excellent multicultural book. Enjoy!
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Mortality Stats. and – Why wouldn’t you wear a mask?
I’m looking at the photos of all the people walking around in close proximity to one another on the beaches, in the malls, at the parties, weddings, churches and funerals during this time of the Corona Virus.
The disconnect between what we are doing as the stay at home restrictions are loosened, and the risk of contracting the Corona Virus and dying is blatantly obvious.
Why Wouldn’t We Wear Masks During the Corona Virus Epidemic?
Alex Azar, the secretary of health and human services, wears one when he visits factories. Why? Because it’s a safety measure and it sets a good example of what people should be doing on the job.
The Secret Service Wear Masks while on the job. These guys are TOUGH! So we know it has nothing to do with being brave.
All the secretaries, aides and managers wear masks when touring factories with the president. Why? Because the factories have rules about their workers wearing masks and it shows that we respect rules and value the health of our vital US workers.
So – Why doesn’t President Trump wear a mask? Doesn’t Mr. Trump know the dangers of working without proper Corona Virus Protections? Perhaps one day he will explain.
Let’s look at danger statistics for no protection at work based on current Corona Virus Statistics and the deaths from Dangerous Jobs in the USA based on the latest, 2016, Government Statistics.
Rates of Death are generally stated in either percent or with a number out of 100,000 persons:
Corona Virus: 6% in USA or 6000 deaths out of every 100,000 cases of the virus.
Safety Measure: Wear Masks, keep your distance, don’t touch face, pick nose, you know the drill…..
Now compare the risk to the 5 most Dangerous U.S. Civilian Jobs based on 2016 government statistics
- Logging is the very MOST dangerous – .1359% die or 135.9 deaths per 100,000 – Pretty good compared to COVID 19 don’t you think?
Safety Measure: Wear helmets, chainsaw chaps, gloves, watch for falling objects
- Professional Fishers and fish work – .086 die or 86 deaths per 100,000
Safety Measure: Wear life preservers, watch machinery, wear survival suit…
- Aircraft Pilots – .055% or 55 deaths per 100,000
Safety Measure: Wear parachute, check plane, know route, know weather know instruments …
- Roofers – .0486% or 48.6 deaths per 100,000
Safety Measure: Wear Safety Harness, wear proper shoes, watch ladders…
- Refuse and Recycle workers: Wear reflective clothing, watch equipment, watch traffic …
All of theses most dangerous jobs have certain safety rules and equipment to wear. People obey them and in general they don’t get hurt and killed so often.
A side note here: Military mortailty can be inherently much – much greater than civilian jobs: Up to 20% for some military operations. That’s 20,000 deaths per 100,000 troops! But in general this is only during certain wars for certain military jobs such as the Infantry and Marines. And these folks wear their protective gear!
So: What are people trying to prove if they don’t wear masks? It’s just protective gear for a bug that’s an awful lot more dangerous than any hazard the majority of people will ever encounter in any civilian job during their entire lifetime.
I’m not sure! Perhaps you can tell me!
For myself, I wear a mask and keep my distance for a number of reasons even though my glasses get foggy occasionally.
- I may have the COVID19 infection and not know it. I don’t want to give it to the grocery store clerk or the mail person, or the next door neighbor, or my grandchildren when I happen to be in a situation of being a little bit too close.
- I believe that by wearing a mask I am showing respect for all of the workers in stores and in the public offices, factories and construction workers when I am near them.
- I want to be less infective to others if I have the virus.
- I want to lower my chances of picking up the virus when I have to be in a public place.
- I am over 75 years of age and want to set an example for others in helping bring this crisis to an end.
- I have worked, lived and travelled nearly 1/3 of those years (25 years) in unhealthy countries and been lucky enough to not come down with any of the real nasty diseases in Africa, South and Central America, Asia and elsewhere. I’m savvy enough to know when to take chances and when to walk the straight and narrow. I’m not about increase my risk of coming down with some virus bug and let it put me in a respirator or 6 feet under just because I’m too stubborn to follow a few easy rules that will help keep me and a lot of others whom I love and respect, safe.
Face it, Wearing a mask is NO BIG DEAL.
DO IT and SMILE!
Hope is eternal! Story Review: My Pick for the Best Children’s Story of the Year!
As one of my medical friends said in a reply after watching this brief children’s video story:
“This is probably the very best work on HOPE that I have seen coming out of the Covid 19 crisis.”
I agree and I hope you will spend the three minutes watching this and take it to heart.
The Story: https://www.facebook.com/100002664525427/posts/2788970951201695/?d=n
Life will be different after this crisis is over and we can go a long way to making it different! Just like the hope in the flowers that come every Spring!
Putting on the Covid = 19 Pounds!
Dear Friends,
I don’t know how many of you have found that living at home can have both it’s ups and downs, but let me clue you into something my wife and I have been discussing this past week as we spend more and more time traveling between the Kitchen and the Garden.
It has to do with the temptation to snack every time you come in from pulling weeds, planting seeds and trying to do all those little outside jobs that have been hanging fire for a number of years as you put them off one more time to go: Diving in Curacao (Oops, ain’t gong to happen in 2020) Orienteering at National and International Meets (Oops, those are cancelled everywhere), Going back to Africa one more time to see old haunts (Oops, diseases, diseases, diseases not to mention Covid19)….. I could go on…to visiting family – no motels, camping out – no campsites….. Darned depressing? Yeah, a way of life is changing right now as we live through things for the next 12 months.
What do we tend to do? Seek Comfort food! Of Course! So:
- Once a week: Call up the Mesquiteria https://www.facebook.com/themesquiteryandtheshed/(takeout) – Steak and Shrimp are good for me – but Ohh! the Chocolate Bombs with Vanilla Ice Cream! – Sinful! – Yummm!
- OK, now what are we going to do special for another day!
Fry up some more of those great Morel Mushrooms I collected this spring and eat them with dinner, or munch like candy, or slather them into a great spaghetti sauce! Getting Hungry? - Wow, woke up again from my afternoon nap after busting my rear making fence around the garden to keep the deer out! Hungry? You bet! Rhubarb Upside-down cake for tea, anyone?
- Breakfasts can last a long time since I don’t have to rush out the door – Sourdough pancakes!
or we can have my home-made raisin bread. 
or…. one of my favorites! Blueberry muffins! 
- Lunchtime seems to be always popping up in the middle of the day so quickly and there is nothing like a piece of an English Lady’s – Sausage and Leek Pie to get you ready for another nap?
- But dear we have so many eggs from our 9 chickens and four ducks,
so we just have to have a little custard for dessert. 
As you can see, it’s a good thing I’m working 6 to 8 hours a day outside and taking my Statins and cutting out my alcohol intake because you can see where all of this good food is leading……! Got to stay in CONTROL!
Seriously, we are now having discussions as to how we can keep our weight from BALLOONING!
Enjoy the good cooking, but MODERATION in all of this is also important for our good health and being since the last place I want to end up right now is in a HOSPITAL!
Love to you all, Keep well!
Book Review: Partner in Crime, by J. A. Jance
Partner in Crime by J.A. Jance
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I enjoyed the side stories that accompany author Jance’s very interesting murder mystery and the personality descriptions and characters of Sheriff Joanna Brady and J. P. Beaumont, from two different worlds of law enforcement, who need to cooperate to solve a very complex murder of a Bisbee, Arizona artist. The personality clashes along with the character descriptions make the story. Right up to the final hundred pages, you won’t know who ratted out the Washington State Witness Protection Program, who killed the three Arizona citizens and how Beaumont’s former wife played a part in this whole story. The book deserves a good 4 stars, but I wasn’t drawn into it so heavily as to have a two day binge on the 400 pages of the novel. J. A. Jance is an excellent author and story teller. I will go on to read some of her other murder/suspense novels. Enjoy!
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What do the Simple Folk Do? # 6 They Color Eggs, an ancient worldwide tradition
Yesterday we colored eggs! A long time family tradition for my family around the Spring Easter season, and has been a traditon for millions of persons around the world from many different religions and cultures.
Where did the tradition come from? There are many theories but historians take coloring eggs way back to the earliest peoples and their ideas of the beginnings of the world and life. Decorated Ostrich eggs that at 60,000 years old, way before Christianity, other major religions developed, have been found and dated in Africa. So what many Christians around the world take as their own, is actually much much older than many people know. See Wikki for an indepth series on this whole subject. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_egg The egg can represent fertility, beginning of life, a tomb, resurrection, the stone in front of a tomb, and the colors can represent blood, green life and fertility, yellow -sun….. Lots of things1 Wow!
According to Peggy Trowbridge Filippone in an easy to read essay: https://www.learnreligions.com/easter-egg-history-1807594 “The ancient Egyptians, Persians, Phoenicians, and Hindus all believed the world began with an enormous egg, thus the egg as a symbol of new life has been around for eons. The particulars may vary, but most cultures around the world use the egg as a symbol of new life and rebirth.”
As with many of the world’s major religions, Christianity adopted local beliefs and customs in order to help persons who were interested in those beliefs incorporate their already preconceived notions about life and the beginning of the world.
And for Christians in particular, according to Peggy, “Since Easter is in the spring, the holiday is also a celebration of this annual time of renewal when the earth re-establishes itself after a long, cold winter. The word Easter comes to us from the Norsemen’s Eostur, Eastar, Ostara and Ostar, and the pagan goddess Eostre, all of which involve the season of the growing sun and new birth. The egg has become synonymous with Spring’s arrival.”
So the very early preachers in the Norse lands already knew how to adopt local ideas and put them to use in their early churches.
So taking that pile of eggs! Let’s get started! First I lay out all the materials: dishes, paper towels, food colors, drying racks and dipping utensils. Then I boil up those eggs until they are hard inside and cool them down completely in ice water or the fridge and make sure they are well dried. Her’s what it looks like!
We use not only the commercial dye kits, but also straight old Cake food coloring dyes. You want to make sure the dyes are edible if you are planning to eating the eggs later on. These dyes are water soluble and we put 1 tablespoon full of vinegar in each container, the dye and 1/2 – 3/4 cup of warm water. With food coloring you can always add more dye if you think the colors aren’t strong enough.
Then go to work!
I I I
I love DEEP colors! The Green and Red Egg reminds me of the lab experiments we used to do with Green Chlorophyll Extract in Science Classes and when you shine a light through the Green solution, it makes it fluoresce and give off a fabulous deep Red color! Wow! (But that’s another story) Interested? See Wikki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlorophyll_fluorescence
All done? Put your eggs in a great display basket and show your friends!
P.S. If you plan to eat some of the eggs, don’t leave them out more than a day or two in a cool room before putting them in the fridge. We wouldn’t want you to come down with food poisoning after all the fun and enjoyment.
Enjoy!
What do the Simple Folks Do? #5 They play with the dog!
When you wake up in the morning feeling blue staying home,
Remember your Rex your dog is also longing for a roam, So to liven your day, You can get the dog to play,
and have your wife snap a picture on her phone!
The dog won when my wife reminded me that this is not the time to see a dentist to replace front tooth caps.
If I wake up tomorrow with a crick in my neck, Oh! what the heck! It was fun!
Enjoy your day – someway!>)) and don’t forget to check out my free African adventure novel – “The Ghosts of Ukuthula” available this week on Kindle.
No Fooling! Stay at home and stay safe! GRRRR!
What do The Simple folk Do? They work puzzles! #4
One of the best things to take your mind off the rest of the world is to work a beautiful Puzzle. The concentration prevents you from caring about all those things the internet would like you to focus on like inane Tweets and crude comments and you can make something of beauty!
What do the Simple Folk Do? To help them escape when they’re Blue? Essay #3 – Keeping Positive! Flowers!
So What to Do ——– if I’m Blue ———- to Bring me back to the positive side of Life?
- Go outside in my yard, find a flower and take a selfie with it! Here’s my great flowering Japanese Magnolia in full bloom right outside the kitchen door! These have no odor, but this is one of the first trees to come out every spring. What a joy!
2. Walk on the hillside across the river from our place staying a long – long way from anyone else and shoot a wonderful Shooting-star flower (also called a Bird’s Bill by some people)
That’s what this guy does to cheer himself up. It’s amazing how the outdoors even a few feet from the house, absence from our electronic massage machines – phone–internet – TV – Radio ….. can change our mood! A touch of sunshine this time of the year after a long day cooped up in the house brings on an instant feeling of – Ah! How Great to Be a Part of this World!
Enjoy!
What do the Simple Folks Do? Essay #2: Make Pancakes!
Need something to make your day perk up a bit? Start off with Pancakes!
I always make my pancakes with either Blueberries, Huckleberries, or Black Currants to get all that Good Blue out of the berries and counteract the Bad Blue of a slow wake-up in the morning before the first hot cup of Coffee or Tea.
Easy to do steps to make enough pancakes for 2-3 people depending on your size and gluttony quotient: 1 Cup of Four ( I use the generic Gluten Free Flour because regular stuff makes me itch, reg. works fine. 2. Then to this I add: 1/2 tsp soda, 1tsp baking powder, 1/4tsp salt, 1Tbs of sugar and set aside in a bowl. 3. In another bowl I break three eggs (you can get by with 1) and beat them really well, almost frothy. To this I add 1 and 1/3 cups of buttermilk (you can use milk but then you have to add 1Tbs of lemon juice to make the soda bubble when you mix things together. buttermilk is so much easier and you can get low fat type if you prefer. I mix the eggs and buttermilk together and then add 2Tbs of olive oil (other types of cooking oil work just as well). Whip everything well. Now pour your liquid from #2 above into your #3 mixture and beat just enough to mix everything but not to whip out the bubbles that are beginning to form.
4. Now fold in with a spatula 1 – 2 cups of berries. If they have been frozen, then make sure you warm them in a strainer in a bowl of warm water for a minute and drain well before adding to your batter or the batter will actually freeze to the berries in clumps.
5. Heat your pan or griddle to mark 5 of a 10 scale gauge and add just a small bit of oil to the pan to get it ready for cooking. Put three to four dollops of batter (about 1/4 cup each) into the heated pan.
Now cook the pancakes on that side until you begin to see little air-hole bubbles coming to the surface and when they break, they leave a hole. (You can see a few holes beginning to to show on my pancakes (the little black dots). Use your spatula to check that it is turning a deep brown, but not burning and then flip the pancakes once.
RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO PAT THE PANCAKE WITH YOUR SPATULA – NEVER PAT A PANCAKE!
While the cakes are on this side, warm you r syrup, get out the butter, put the plates nearby and get your family (including the dog) ready to eat! Note I have a bunch showing at the top of the picture. Those are the pancakes that after cooling go in the freezer in a plastic bag so we can eat them for several days just by warming in the microwave.
Take out those yummy pancakes straight out of the pan and Chow Down! YUMMY!
Enjoy! All the best for another day, Rick McBee
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