Tag: health

Thoughts With Reason

March 28, 2025

Sometimes while driving on a trip or when taking a long walk in our neighborhood I have extremely long thought patterns about what to write here in this blog. Then, when home and relaxed those interesting subjects which were so clear before seem to have gone away. Not sure what I should do about that or if there is anything I can do about it. Is it simply because I’m aging? Or are the thoughts things I probably shouldn’t write about? Or am I afraid I would just bore you to death and sort of,, “nobody wants to read that!” Off I go.

One Day Trip

A couple of days ago, Barb and I drove to Berea, KY to attend the funeral of her cousin, an adult-lifelong resident of the beautiful town of Berea. By all accounts, he was a fine Christian man, a top-notch plumbing contractor, good father and a man devoted to and hard working in his church. It was a blessing to meet many people in his family. 

But the city of Berea still captivated us! Though we had only a short visit we marveled at how the little town had become somewhat larger than when we were there several years back, yet still is centered by Berea College, some 1600 students strong who pay no tuition to attend! Other expenses for being there for the year are as low as about $4,000, rising according to the family’s income up to possibly about  $12,000. The no tuition has been true since it’s inception about 130 years ago. 

When I say “centered” by the college I mean centered—the beautiful campus is in the center of the town! And 15,000 people abide it and love living there. Quite a remarkable community. If you’ve never been, please go see it, dine there, stay a couple of days and enjoy its atmosphere. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Our Hydration Renewed

Further current prominent thinking of another involvement of mine is along the lines of why there are not more genuine alkaline water stores in America. Why am I wondering this  you asked? (You did ask, right?)

For multi-millennia humanity has survived best by drinking high alkaline water, first from wonderful wells of natural springs gushing forth the greatest tasting water from aquifers deep under the earth’s surface, then hand dug, then drilled wells to accommodate where we peoples decided to live, and so forth. 

Then, a few centuries back more massive collectives for living called “urban areas” began to believe water should be gathered in reservoirs to be piped into homes and other useful entities. Then because that created a new problem, these reservoir waters began to be treated to stop collecting bacteria or other such pestilent properties. Treated with chemicals which, though they halt the bacterial problem, they can bring long range problems to our bodies and, besides that, the water tasted bad, often with malodorous presence. Here we remain today, en masse. 

So, knowing this and desiring to get around the continually recurring problem caused our eyes to look earnestly for a “how-do-I-fix-for-my-family” solution, and just like that! the answer knocked on my door.

[A noteworthy addition before I get to the answer: about 32 years ago, I had become addicted to a diet soda, it was about all I drank; a little water, a little coffee — nothing else. Our family was visiting the San Antonio Zoo on a very hot September day and upon leaving we were all very thirsty. At a convenience store, my daughter-in-law brought me a huge paper cup full of my diet soda. I took a look at the size of that thing and at the liquid I was about to swallow…and said to myself, “There is nothing in this cup that resembles food or anything I should be putting in my body, especially not this much of it.” From that day forward I have not drank any of the phony soft drinks (an occasional root beer, but not diet.)]

About 15 years ago, a friend walked into the church I pastored and gave me a gallon of water and showed me a brochure to tell me how that water was manufactured…in a machine that set on the kitchen cabinet, hooked up to the cold water at the sink, and for a mere $4,000 I could get Alkaline water any time I wanted it. I said, “Mike, I’m sorry, but I don’t have $4,000 to buy this.” He said, “Jerry, show this to all your members and they’ll buy one and you’ll be paid a huge commission!” “In the first place,” I said, “we don’t have members. And if we did, I would’t introduce a scheme like that to them in a building dedicated to the Lord’s word and the gospel of Christ.” He understood, and on departing he said, “I’ll pray for you to get a way to get this water.” 

In just a few days, another friend walked in with a box and said of its contents, “for $250 you can have Alkaline water through his water pitcher.” I bought it. That was the basic methodology we still use today for thousands of people in retail stores now and expecting more rapid growth in this area, everywhere in America. After I retired from being a pastor (not retired from preaching, don’t know how to stop that) and with the help of our partners, we help people build alkaline water stores using our version of the simple technology of filtering out the bad stuff from our water supply, then running the water through the proper natural minerals allowing the water to leach from the minerals all it takes to become the best water can become. —-“Water the way it’s meant to be!”

Thanks for reading, the Elder 

NEW YEAR & NICTOBIPHASIA—

As the year comes to a close, once again we take a sort of inventory of things wanted, things which developed, things not completed or perhaps not even started and measure our comportment (failures, frustrations or successes) toward each end. It isn’t important that we rehash item by item as the year’s activity belies our degree of satisfaction, not a need to be publicized. It is, however, important for deciding the new year’s applications and the slating of old business and new. I enjoy facing a new year with those things in mind, but this year I choose to just mull it over in my mind and not draw anyone else (especially you readers) into my thoughts.

Well, another Christmas has come and gone. What is the most memorable time you’ve ever had at Christmas on the day, or in a season? I ask that, not to entice you to write me, although I would no doubt enjoy the variety of memories. But, most years when this question arises in the family setting those who recall, being dependent on their own memories, may wind up getting “corrected’ by a sibling’s better memory — and not that it’s really better; more like, not as funny, not as much fun as the first recaller thought. Or made worse or funnier than the teller held it. Hmm, that makes the story telling a bit embarrassing, right? Here’s a better subject to end the year with as well as plan a new year around, perhaps: NICTOBIPHASIA

A few years ago, in earlier writing here as the Elder, I wrote about a rather phenomenal thing which took place for more than 200 years, an event in which I find myself indulging, and that causing me to wonder why it ever stopped being common. Today, as I looked over the several electronic replacements for a newspaper and editorial magazines which crowd my email pages I once again found this old societal event being discussed: A pause ___ in a night’s sleep and it’s common use. Some Insomniac treating Doctors (do they have a “specialty” category) seem to believe it is very healthy and helpful to those who do it, not as a rule, but as it occurs by whatever might bring it about.

When I first found the short history of this event wherein one awakens for a 1 to 3 hour episode in the middle of the night and either lies awake and thinks deep thoughts or arises and participates in more normal activities. Before today I found society referring to this as “Middle Night” or “First sleep-Second sleep” and one group in the southern states saying “from first to last sleep.”

From what I could gather at that time, it made sense to me that it would not be unusual to awaken if the house became too cold to be comfortable, and therefore, the awake one would rise to stoke or rebuild the fire for the rest of the night. It would be irresponsible to just simply go back to bed without regard to safety from the newly built fire in a stove or fireplace, so busying oneself to fill that time would make sense. Or, and especially in the South, when warmer weather came for the long season, it was very common for folks to retire as soon as the night breeze would pickup, cooling down the bedrooms for comfort’s sake. Then, as the night wears on the breeze would abate, causing enough temperature increase to awaken the household who would seek a cooler place — like a front porch or a lawn swing, etc. That was my reasoning.

What appeared to be more common though, were the differing accounts of the activities of these awakened folk. Many would hale their neighbors to come over and help finish the evening meal’s dessert, or just have a cup of tea, or perhaps a short snort of something a little stronger. There were even reports of more than one family playing “mid” night parlor games. Then reading today of the antics of our favorite Uncle….Uncle Ben Franklin, I find a bit more astounding. He, it is often reported that upon awakening, would strip down naked, throw open his windows and wind-bathed his skin! (Bear in mind many old stories get exaggerated the older or more notorious the participants!) …..

Mid night awakenings! Two_Interval Sleep habits.  Let’s do this again. Make 2025 The Year of the__ -Here’s the new descriptive term: Nictobyphasia: nicto—a reference to night or something related to night and biphasic, as having two phases. Nictobiphasia is a word coined by Jerry Lockhart. Congratulations, Jerry! You are now a known Wordsmith! (Segmented sleep, you are now a lost term.)(Isn’t this how new words appear in someone’s dictionary?)

Seriously, I hope 2025 will prepare you for the will of God to come to life in your every endeavor and be pleasing toward His will for your life. Then the results next December will make for glorious reading!

Happy New Year!

Thanks for reading—the Elder