Thank you for the callout and link to my autoimmune post. I'm really glad you see its value beyond specific conditions, as that was my hope. I also appreciate very much your continued, well-argued case for growing your own food.
I have MCAS, from a yellow fever vaccine that also gave me full-blown yellow fever in 1999. It is a miserable condition to live with. When I came into some money in 1999, I was extremely motivated to travel while I felt it was possible, knowing that in the future it would be very difficult, nay, almost impossible to do so (since proven correct). Unfortunately, I believed a Lonely Planet guide book, that said if I did not have the YF vax, I would not be allowed to board a plane for Zanzibar, at the Nairobi airport (totally untrue- I have learned my lesson about trusting travel guides).
In 1999, I had not received a vaccine since childhood, except for one tetanus in 1982...and I had no plans to ever get another vaccine. However, my eagerness to make my dreams come true, caused me to make the worst decision of my life. I developed yellow fever. What I did not know at the time was: #1 All YF vaccines contain a live virus #2 Since it came into use, many victims have dropped dead on the spot while being injected #3 Vaccine-induced YF is indistinguishable in the lab, from the wild virus. #4 Once one developes vaccine-induced YF, one has only a 40% chance of surviving. I also did not know I had Lyme disease at the time I was injected .
Thus began a struggle for life, alone in the cabin in the woods (Washington) where I lived at the time. I had, decades before, sworn off all allopathic medical care. I relied on prayer, my natural remedies, and my strong constitution to pull me through. After it was all over, I came out on the other side with MCAS. As bad as YF was, if I could go back and delete one illness of the two, I would delete the MCAS. The only silver lining of this totally unnecessary episode, is that when I read historical accounts of YF epidemics...I can relate on a very personal level.
Enjoyed reading this and I think your tolerant view of "bad" weather and your awareness of the local history of flooding is really nice to hear. Lately we've had some heavy rains in the San Francisco Bay Area and yes some trees fell down and yes there was some flooding here and there but the talking heads of the media are screaming "hundred year weather event!" "cyclone bomb" "catastrophe..." It seems ridiculous. I've lived in the region for a long time and, I'm sorry, I saw bigger more destructive winter storms in the eighties and nineties, the one in 82 being the most memorable. It feels as if society has no long term memory, or maybe it's just the media's greedy interest in sensationalizing everything. I don't know. Like you I also get a little bit excited by extreme weather. I don't know if it has anything to do with fond memories of school holidays (you probably had more of those than we did) but when a storm comes I can't seem to stay inside. I love taking a long walk in inclement weather and all the streets and parks where I go to walk are suddenly deserted which I also like. There's something poetical and thrilling about walking in the rain. I'm a big fan of "bad" weather. I guess I should be ashamed but I'm not.
I forgot to note that I really like that opening image. the way the snow comes down crookedly is weird and interesting and a little bit ominous and this could be the cover for some sort of terrifying rural northern gothic novel.
Great piece- love the photos of floods. I too delight in extreme weather, with a healthy respect of course. For such an apparently different locality and climate from here in little Cymru, your pictures and descriptions look and sound remarkably similar to mine- rain, grey days and mud...Same with my garden tasks, yesterday, in the first dry day for a while, with even some sun- weeding, mulching and pruning soft fruit. hwyl! Chris
Thank you for the callout and link to my autoimmune post. I'm really glad you see its value beyond specific conditions, as that was my hope. I also appreciate very much your continued, well-argued case for growing your own food.
I have MCAS, from a yellow fever vaccine that also gave me full-blown yellow fever in 1999. It is a miserable condition to live with. When I came into some money in 1999, I was extremely motivated to travel while I felt it was possible, knowing that in the future it would be very difficult, nay, almost impossible to do so (since proven correct). Unfortunately, I believed a Lonely Planet guide book, that said if I did not have the YF vax, I would not be allowed to board a plane for Zanzibar, at the Nairobi airport (totally untrue- I have learned my lesson about trusting travel guides).
In 1999, I had not received a vaccine since childhood, except for one tetanus in 1982...and I had no plans to ever get another vaccine. However, my eagerness to make my dreams come true, caused me to make the worst decision of my life. I developed yellow fever. What I did not know at the time was: #1 All YF vaccines contain a live virus #2 Since it came into use, many victims have dropped dead on the spot while being injected #3 Vaccine-induced YF is indistinguishable in the lab, from the wild virus. #4 Once one developes vaccine-induced YF, one has only a 40% chance of surviving. I also did not know I had Lyme disease at the time I was injected .
Thus began a struggle for life, alone in the cabin in the woods (Washington) where I lived at the time. I had, decades before, sworn off all allopathic medical care. I relied on prayer, my natural remedies, and my strong constitution to pull me through. After it was all over, I came out on the other side with MCAS. As bad as YF was, if I could go back and delete one illness of the two, I would delete the MCAS. The only silver lining of this totally unnecessary episode, is that when I read historical accounts of YF epidemics...I can relate on a very personal level.
Imagine my excitement to find a Substack writer AND gardener from my home state!! 👏🏻👏🏻 happy to have found you through Notes via Lisa Brunette
Enjoyed reading this and I think your tolerant view of "bad" weather and your awareness of the local history of flooding is really nice to hear. Lately we've had some heavy rains in the San Francisco Bay Area and yes some trees fell down and yes there was some flooding here and there but the talking heads of the media are screaming "hundred year weather event!" "cyclone bomb" "catastrophe..." It seems ridiculous. I've lived in the region for a long time and, I'm sorry, I saw bigger more destructive winter storms in the eighties and nineties, the one in 82 being the most memorable. It feels as if society has no long term memory, or maybe it's just the media's greedy interest in sensationalizing everything. I don't know. Like you I also get a little bit excited by extreme weather. I don't know if it has anything to do with fond memories of school holidays (you probably had more of those than we did) but when a storm comes I can't seem to stay inside. I love taking a long walk in inclement weather and all the streets and parks where I go to walk are suddenly deserted which I also like. There's something poetical and thrilling about walking in the rain. I'm a big fan of "bad" weather. I guess I should be ashamed but I'm not.
I forgot to note that I really like that opening image. the way the snow comes down crookedly is weird and interesting and a little bit ominous and this could be the cover for some sort of terrifying rural northern gothic novel.
Great piece- love the photos of floods. I too delight in extreme weather, with a healthy respect of course. For such an apparently different locality and climate from here in little Cymru, your pictures and descriptions look and sound remarkably similar to mine- rain, grey days and mud...Same with my garden tasks, yesterday, in the first dry day for a while, with even some sun- weeding, mulching and pruning soft fruit. hwyl! Chris