Translate

Friday, July 27, 2012

Childhood Memories
















*All Photography and art provided by Google Images,
titling and composites by F.B. Noodleman




A Short Story by Felicity Blaze Noodleman



My name is Felicity Blaze Noodleman and I’m eight years old.  This is the last day of school before summer vacation and it’s time to play and have as much fun as I can.  My Report Card was good; an improvement over the last one for which I’d received a stern lecture from Mom and Dad.  I’m just so happy as I run home and away from the school where I attend; the same school where my Dad attended when he was a boy.  Some of the teachers know me because they remember him.  “Aren’t you Andrew Noodleman’s daughter” they ask me?  I reply “yes Mrs. Black” as we’re both a little startled while looking at each other!




A painting by the great American artist Norman Rockwell entitled "Surprise". 
It graced the cover of the Saturday Evening "Post" in 1956.  This was exactly
how my school room looked!




Very old photograph of my school, Zimmerman Public Elementary & Jr. High
shortly after it's completion in 1923.  My Dad, Uncle and Aunt attended school
here along with my two cousins and my two sisters.  (They should have called it
the Noodleman school!) 


I’m home now.  Mom has seen my Report Card and approves but says next year I’m to try even harder.  “Can I go out to play now” I ask, and go to change quickly as I can into my jeans, sweat shirt and tennis shoes.  Out the door I go with an “I’m going to play kick ball Mom”!

All the children begin to drift out to the street in front of my house where we all play.  We talk about how we did in school and what happened with our parents.  Soon we have enough kids to play and we choose our teams, decide who will pitch and the positions we’re going to play.  Crunched up tin cans make up our bases and oh yea, “who’s got the ball”?  “I do” Butch says and it’s a good one too.  Brand new!  The game is on!  Just enough time before dinner and going in for the night to have a really fun time.




Children running off to play their summer games.  It fells so familiar to me!


The Next morning is very nice; it’s just so relaxed compared to the usual rush of getting ready for school.  Everyone seems to be enjoying the slower pace and then disaster strikes!  Mom begins to lay out her summer plans for us.  I listen with a somewhat pouting feeling and try to be as responsive to her outline of chores and rules for the summer, all the time thinking about my plans for playing.  “Can I do this, this and that” I ask and “Will there be that, that and this”?  She tells me, “We’ll see and if you’re good”.  I’m so relieved when she has finished her agenda, but I know there’s plenty more where that came from.  At least I know how to watch my “P’s and Q’s”.

Every day falls into its routine.  I get up; have breakfast while watching some TV; the morning news, “Captain Kangaroo” or some cartoons.   Mom tells me what has to be done for the day in addition to my normal chores.  I talk about what I’d like to do so I can get her approval.  I hurry to get my work finished quickly as possible and then BAM – I’m out the back door!  “I’m going over to Bonnie’s house now Mom” and run fast as I can.  If I don’t hear anything then I know its O.K.  Bonnie is my best friend!  We’re both the same age and both like the same things.  “Hop Scotch”, “Jump Rope”, “Jacks”, Roller Skating;  just running and laughing about whatever comes into our  minds.  Soon we’re joined by other friends and before we know it we’re playing  “Hide & Seek”, “Duck, Duck, Goose”, “Tag” and we’ve just learned a new game called “Statues”.

In case you haven’t guessed it yet I’m what they call a “Tom Boy”.  I’m just myself.  I’m a girl just not grown up yet!  The one thing I love most of all is climbing trees.  My mom has been telling me lately, “Felicity you need to spend more time taking care of your self – you’re becoming a young lady now”.  I don’t know what she’s talking about but I try to stay cleaner when I’m out doors. 

Last night we had the biggest thunderstorm ever!  It rained all night and the thunder was so loud that it made the house shake.  By morning the sun had come out and everything was just fine.  I go outside to play as usual since my daily chores are all finished for the morning.  It’s quiet out today and I haven’t found anybody to play with and before I know it I’m underneath one of my favorite trees.






This looks very much like my favorite tree!


I love trees.  I love everything about them.  I spend time drawing them.  I love the shade they make when it’s hot.  I love all the different colors of the leaves of autumn become and I love all the different birds and animals in them.  I decide now is a good time to climb this tree and make my attempt to jump up to grab the first branch but something is wrong.  I usually can just make it but today is different.  Is it possible the tree has grown?  Grown more than me?  I’m really puzzled. 



I decide to shimmy up the trunk to the first branch and make my entrance into the lush green foliage.  Ah; I made it!  It smells so good up here.  I explore all around.  Higher I go up to the tippy top of the tree where the wind can blow me back and forth until I decide I’ve been there long enough.  I love to stay there for a while looking all around.  Things on the ground look smaller.  I can see Mom on the front porch as she is shaking some rugs.  Boy she sure looks smaller!  I look up at the clouds but they don’t look any closer.  Wonder why?  I’ve been here long enough now I have to climb back down the tree and I have to be really careful.  Coming down a tree is much harder that climbing up but I finally make it all the way down and jump to the ground.  It’s kind of a relief to have my feet on the ground again and I have a sense of accomplishment.  



 It is only now that I discover that I am covered all over with black grimy dirt!  This kind of dirt won’t just brush off – It’s all ground in deeply to my clothes.  I’m really going to get it now.  The tree wasn’t dried out from the rain last night and I don’t know what to do about it.  The tree has left its grime all over me.  I go home knowing I have to get cleaned up. 



As soon as I get in the back door to our kitchen I see Mom working at the sink.  “Back so soon Felicity”?  She turns around and the lecture begins.  “Felicity” she screams like never before, “what have you been doing”?  “You go get cleaned up this instant and put those dirty clothes in the bath tub to soak.”  “Yes mom”, I timidly reply and get another set of clothes.   I close myself in the bathroom quickly as I can to clean up and change.  “You are not to go outside for the rest of the day” Mom tells me when I emerge with my fresh change of clothing.  I try to keep as quiet about everything as I can.  This is truly depressing.  In the house for the rest of the day.  I can’t believe it.



My Dad works the night shift at one of the many automobile plants here in my hometown Flint MI.  I don’t get to see enough of him because he sleeps until one or two in the afternoon.  He works a lot of over time too.  We have to be very quiet in the morning.  Waking him up is not a very pleasant experience, and well, he just doesn’t look himself until he’s shaved, combed his hair and had his coffee.  He has pet names for all of us.  I’m his “Squirrely Girly” or just “Squirrel” because he knows I’m very independent and run loose around the neighborhood.  My younger sisters and the “Raccoons” because they are very close in age and get into their kind of mischief around the house.  And finally my Mom; she is his “Honey Bunny” or just “Honey”.


Exterior view of the Fisher Body Grand Blanc, MI plant where my
Dad worked.  In 2011 they hold a vintage car celebration.





Interior view of the Fisher Body plant where Dad worked as it looked in 1942
in it's original capacity as the "Grand Blanc Arsenal" building Sherman,
Pershing and Patton military tanks for WWII.  The Plant was converted to the
Fisher Body metal fabricating plant for General Motors in 1948 and
today server as the corporation wide Welding & Tool Center for GM.


It is at this point that I should introduce my sisters to you.  The “Raccoons”.  They are both about the same age and younger than me.  They both keep to themselves and we don’t interact too much.  We don’t like the same things at all.  They like playing with their dolls and live in their own world. 



Dolls aren’t very much fun for me.  I had to help mom with both of my sisters when they were born, so I know all about babies.  “My Baby has wet herself” Sharon tells us with a scolding tone in her voice.  “You’re lucky”, I tell her.  “Wait until you see how real babies are”.  “Like what” she wants to know.  Suddenly I remember when the Raccoons were both sick at the same time and Mom wasn’t feeling that well herself and it was all too much for me to verbalize.  When I was helping mom with the “Raccoons” she would say to me “you were just like this when you were a Baby Felicity”.  “It’s just different” I say and decide to lay down on my bed to rest until lunch.  “How do you know so much about Babies”, Sandra asks?  “Oh, I just know – I’m looking at two right now”.  Their eyes get really big; they look at each other and go about their play.



I’m starting to feel really relaxed now as I close my eyes.  I’ve had a very full morning.  Mom walks in the room and I hear her say, “you girls need to clean this room up, and I mean right now”.  I spring up and say “my part of the room in cleaned up”.  “Help your sisters Felicity, Grandmother is coming over for lunch and I don’t want her to find a mess.”  Now this is something new.  I usually get into trouble if I tell Sharon and Sandra anything or disturb them.  That’s Mom and Dad’s job.  It is true though.  The Raccoons just can’t do anything for themselves and they are both a mess. 



First I tell them how to straighten their bunk beds nice and smooth.  How to set their dolls nicely on their bed.  Then we have to get all those clothes picked up.  “Dirty clothes in the hamper and the others are to be folded and put in the dresses or hung in the closet.  There!  Everything is looking much better now than it has looked in a while.  Now Mom wants us to straighten the rest of the house and set the table for lunch.  Just as we get the dishes and silverware grandmother arrives and the whole mood of the house changes.  “And how are my girls today” she asks.   We all embrace her with hugs, kisses and smiles.



We begin talking about all kinds of things.  It’s always fun when Grandmother Visits, even Mom seems to be more cheerful.  Our lunch is tuna sandwiches with potato chips.  The Raccoons complain and want peanut butter which Mom is more than happy to give them.  Mom and Grandmother drink Ice Tea and we get cherry Kool-Aid. 


Grandmother begins talking about some sales she has seen and says “you’re going to be needing some new school clothes soon Felicity”.  “Why don’t we go shopping this afternoon”?  “You girls could use some new clothes too”, speaking to the Raccoons,” and we’ll just have a nice time together”.  By the time we’ve finished eating lunch the raccoons have peanut butter and Kool-Aid all over their mouths, as usual and Grandmother thinks it’s funny as she teases them.  We clean up and do the dishes, mom gets ready to go out and before we know it we’re in Grandmothers car and well, I’m just glad to be out of the house again.   I’ve been rescued from my punishment!  This afternoon is a much appreciated treat from both my Grandparents and Mom is grateful for the help financially.   We girls don’t realize the strain evolved with raising three children.  Grand Mother surprises us at the store when she buys each of us girls our very own "Hula-Hoop".  It's just the greatest new toy that everyone is talking about.  Grand Mothers can be so much fun!



Our family shopping together.


By the next day I’ve remembered that I’m old enough to go to the library.  I know this is a good idea because I can’t get dirty and I can practice reading over the summer vacation.  I walk to school and go inside.  It’s so strange and quiet.  All the desks have been moved into the hall and I walk by one of the rooms to see what’s going on.  The Janitors are refinishing the wood floors!  Wow.  I enter the Library and ask the librarian for some books. 

“Do you have a library card”?  “No mam” I say.  “Our teacher said we could check out books over the summer and my dad went to school here and I’m sure he had one” I tell the woman.  She smiles and tells me that she was not working at the school when my dad was a student there.  Fill out this form and sign this card and then you are welcome to check out which ever books you would like – but only two.  I ask for the reading book from our school class since I know it and think this would be a good book for me.   The Librarian shows me another book called “The Scarlet Letter”.  “Felicity, I think you can read this book and I’m sure you’ll be studying it soon in school.”  “O.K.” I reply and go back home with two books and my very own library card.

The weather is getting really hot now and I stay inside most of the day now until it’s cooler in the late afternoon and evening.  I read and help Mom around the house.  She likes to watch the Soap Opera’s on TV as she goes about her work and I watch too.   Mom is beginning to take me into the kitchen more with her and teaching me about cooking.  I really don’t mind because it’s all new to me and besides I can snitch a bite here and there, whereas before I was strictly forbidden to be in the kitchen when she was cooking.   Now she tells me “Felicity this” and “Felicity that” as she explains most of what she’s doing.   This “Felicity” direct manner of speaking which Mom has suddenly adopted with me is starting to shake me up a little bit!




Very similar to the WWII vintage era steam locomotive which
passed by our street.


One day I’m inside the house helping with the house work and I feel the whole house start to shake.  I hear the biggest noise ever and run outside to see what’s happening.  I don’t know where all this noise is coming from!  Then suddenly I see a WWII vintage era Steam Locomotive passing by on the rail road at the end of our street!  I barely catch a look at it then it’s gone.  WOW!  I’ve never seen one of these before because diesel locomotives usually run on this line and it has brightened my whole day.  I tell my dad about it and his eyes light up.  “Why that’s the kind of train they had when I was a boy.”

Watching our train is one of my favorite past times.  It runs by at least two times a day and I watch it whenever I can.  It always seems to fascinate me.  It’s the bigness of the train I guess with all the cars it’s pulling.  One day I’m watching the train and counting all the cars and reading the names on the side of them to see where they are from.   Reading each one as it goes by when Ronald comes running up from behind me and asks “what’cha doing Felicity”?  “I’m counting the Train cars”.  “How many” he wants to know”.  “26” I tell him, and now I’ve lost my count.  Now we both begin calling out the names on the cars and talking about where they’re from.  Soon the train has passed and we turn around to walk home.

Just as Ronald and I have begun walking we both notice little red speckles on the ground beneath us.  “What are those”?  Soon we’re both on our hands and knees and what do you know, we’ve discovered little baby wild strawberries!  We start picking and eating them.  They are really good!  Soon we’re joined by other neighborhood children and we are all a buzz with the new discovery.





"Fragaria vesca"  - The wild strawberry!



Before I go in our house I see my knees are all green and my hands are stained red from the berries.  I’m not going to get in trouble for this and I know just what to do about it!  Over to the side of the house, get the garden hose, kick off my shoes and wash it all off.  Boy that was a close one, I think to myself.  When I get inside I tell mom about it and she doesn’t believe me at all.  That’s because she’s never seen a wild little red strawberry!

By now summer is almost over.  We still play all of our games but know school will be starting soon.  The Raccoons have started to join us more often now.  “Felicity are those your sisters”?  “Yes; that’s Sharon and she’s Sandra.”  They just used to sit on the curb and watch us play but now are beginning to join in.  Sissy is a new older girl who has moved into the neighborhood.  She knows some new games and we’re having a lot of fun.  She’s taught us a new game tonight called “Flashlight Tag”.

The next morning is the first day of school; we all get dressed in out new clothes, take our new school supplies and walk to the elementary school building four blocks from our house.  The teacher wants us all to write a short theme about our summer vacation and read it before the class.  As my turn comes I walk to the front of the class and read, “I’m Felicity Blaze Noodleman and I’m nine years old”!




Zimmerman public Elementary & Jr. High School as I remember it
in the mid 1950's.  This is where I became a young woman!





Friday, July 20, 2012

The Pharmaceutical Industry







                                                           





The Pharmaceutical                Industry

*  All art was provided by "Google Images" with our thanks.


The chemical "sea of pills".




By Felicity Blaze Noodleman


Jack Andraka, Age 15 
Two articles in the news lately have caught my attention.  The first was about a high school student, Jack Andraka, 15, who won the Gordon E Moore award in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair for developing a test which detects pancreatic cancer with a 90% accuracy rate and is 100 times more sensitive than current tests.  It is faster and cheaper than current tests.


May the large pharmaceutical and medical supply companies eat their hearts out!  They have all been shown up by a youngster with no funding or elaborate facilities that have produced something which is really useful and saves people money and time.  These are the kind of researchers  we need today.  This brings me to the real point of this  article.

The second news article which I found to be of interest in the same field of pharmacology was July 2, 2012.   It was reported that British Pharmaceutical Company GlaxoSmith Kline was fined $3 Billion for promoting antidepressants for unapproved uses and for failing to report safety data about a top selling diabetes drug.  There were also civil penalties for the improper marketing of half a dozen other drugs according to Federal prosecutors.
There were so many dynamics to this case that I can’t believe it.   Here are some excerpts:

·       Prosecutors said Glaxo illegally promoted Paxil for treating depression in children from 1998 to 2003, even though it wasn't approved for anyone under age 18. The company also promoted Wellbutrin from 1999 through 2003 for weight loss, sexual dysfunction, substance addictions and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, although it was only approved for treatment of major depression.    The New York Daily News

·       The pharmaceutical group GlaxoSmithKline has been fined $3bn (£1.9bn) after admitting bribing doctors and encouraging the prescription of unsuitable antidepressants to children. Glaxo is also expected to admit failing to report safety problems with the diabetes drug Avandia in a district court in Boston on Thursday.  The company encouraged sales reps in the US to mis-sell three drugs to doctors and lavished hospitality and kickbacks on those who agreed to write extra prescriptions, including trips to resorts in Bermuda, Jamaica and California.    The Guardian - UK

·       Part of the civil settlement also includes claims that the company overcharged the government for drugs. Glaxo did not admit any wrongdoing in the civil settlement. Despite the large amount, $3 billion represents only a portion of what Glaxo made on the drugs. Avandia, for example, racked up $10.4 billion in sales, Paxil brought in $11.6 billion, and Wellbutrin sales were $5.9 billion during the years covered by the settlement, according to IMS Health, a data group that consults for drugmakers. “So a $3 billion settlement for half a dozen drugs over 10 years can be rationalized as the cost of doing business,” Mr. Burns said. Mr. Burns and others have said that to institute real change, executives must be prosecuted criminally or barred from participating in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, an action known as “exclusion.”     The New York Times
It should be noted that 2012 is becoming a record year for fines set by the Fed. In these kinds of judgments!  What is also really distasteful is a video made at a GlaxoSmith Kline sales convention which shows company representatives offering huge cash incentives and other perks for the promotions of their drugs and other supplies.  Other big pharmaceutical companies which have been prosecuted and fines in the recent past include Pfizer Inc. settling for 2.3 Billion; Eli Lilly & Co fined nearly 1.5 Billion. and Abbot Laboratories settled for 1.6 Billion.  Johnson & Johnson has had two serious recalls of their “Tylenol” products and their problems just don’t seem to end with a fine which could result in 2 Billion settling for its “Risperdal” drug.


The fact which really blisters me about this case is the exploitation of children with powerful psyche. Meds. in this case.  Drugs for adults and not approved by the FDA for children were being promoted to Doctors by GSK.  Drugs which are known to cause suicidal behavior in teens.  When I first heard of this case it raised my interest in writing this article, but as I study it more closely I am beginning to see the really criminal direction this industry has been moving in for some years now! 

I can also say that it seems to me that our youths have become more dependent than ever on so many drugs.  I have to ask what is going on?  This was not the case when I was growing up.  Is it a result of what I call “The Frosted Flake Syndrome”?  Too much sugar in children’s diet and adults who can’t cope with it all?  Children who have become diabetic and are on a regiment of “Ritalin”.  I wonder.





This is becoming a sad commentary on childhood these days.


I suppose we should be glad to see a system in place which oversees and deals with problems of this nature but it’s alarming to see so much happening all at once.  It seems to me that the drug companies have become extremely profit motivated and have thrown caution to the wind as they market their products like never before.   It all reminds me of the drug “Thalidomide” which was marketed in the late 1950’s.  Thalidomide was found to cause birth defects when taken by pregnant woman and had to be pulled.  What a nightmare!



What governs today's health care system?



Pharmaceutical companies view fines in cases like this as “the cost of doing business” and know that the judgments legally point out the way in which they may proceed in the future.  Eliot Spitzer, New York Attorney General, has remarked regarding a 2004 judgement against GSK "this kind of corporate arrogance will continue unless company officials are held accountable for the criminal behavior of their companies".  What is really startling is when it comes to writing legislation in congress for these companies the authors are industry insiders.  After all, they are the experts and congress has very little to do with the process and oversight only arises as a result of a specific problem which has occurred in a mass incident.  It should be noted that the FDA is also made up of these insiders as well.

There have been other cases in the past related to a number of problems in the pharmaceutical Industry.  At one time or another all the companies have been sued in court or have had recalls over a number of various products.  Law firms quite often are looking individuals who have taken a drug as they are preparing for a class action law suit or law firms which are dispensing payouts for a legal settlement by drug companies.

All too many evenings I have watched a parade of TV ads. For new drugs and have been horrified as the side effects have been listed.  Advertising directly to the public is something relatively new for the drug companies.  In the past new pills and treatments have come to us through our doctors.  As I watch these television commercials I have to ask myself am I a doctor?  How do I know if I might need this new miracle cure?  They advise “ask your doctor” or “You could benefit when added to something you are already taking”.  What is becoming all too clear though is how far pharmacological companies will go for profits in marketing their drugs.




The costs of doing business with these companies.

If we view things on a really personal level than it becomes largely apparent that pharmaceutical companies are the real drug pushers in our society and they are bullies who have an arsenal of inducements at their command to convince the public to buy their “stuff”.  From the Federal governments Medicare programs down through the state level, such as here in California with Medical, government is the biggest customer in dispensing the pharmaceuticals to the public at large.  Insurance companies also have become a target for drug companies to “unload” their merchandise.

Too often in the news we hear of the tragic deaths which have occurred from the extreme miss use of pharmaceuticals.  Some under physician’s oversight and also by over dosages and abuse by individuals.  An area of great concern is physical conditioning in the sports world and individuals seeking to achieve a muscular physique through the use of a multitude of different pills and injections.  Is this what they mean when they say “better living through chemistry”?

Now let me ask a question.  Would you take a drug or pill if you knew that in the future you would develop severe complications?  Many people begin a regiment of pills at a young age during a time in their lives when they are relatively healthy.  Added to this regiment are vitamins, health supplements and so forth.  What is going to happen in the future when new illnesses develop as a result of aging?  Isn’t it wise to be prudent?  Let me tell you a story.  A friend of mine has been on chemotherapy for a number of years.  He became ill with a cold and took an over the counter remedy.   He became very ill with and interaction which easily could have resulted in death.  The moral of this is obviously to check with your Doctor about everything you take.  Isn’t that a good rule in general for all substances we’re taking?

Obviously pharmaceutical serve a valid purpose and fill a legitimate need in society.  I’ve seen firsthand for myself radical transformations for the better with patients who suffer with a variety of illnesses and have to be grateful for the availability of such “wonder drugs”.  Let’s all hope that prudent progress will guide the way for us all.

In closing; I was reminded of a poem learned in childhood which may illustrate the need for caution with drugs.




THE GREEN LITTLE CHEMIST

A green little chemist mixed
Some green little chemicals
On a green little day
In his own green little way
Now the green little chemist
Silently lays
Under the green little grasses
That tenderly sway
In their own green little way




Be careful about what you put in your body.  It's not a test tube!



Speaking of childhood this is the choice for next week’s article, “Childhood Memories”.  I’m Felicity and I’ll see you then!







"GUNMAN SLAYS 12 AT 
MIDNIGHT  PREMIER !"

The two faces of suspected shooter James Holmes, (aka) the "Joker"





By now most have heard the appalling news of the young 24 year old Colorado gunman who killed 12 and injured 58 others at the midnight opening of the film “The Dark Knight Rises” Thursday the 19 th.. In Aurora, CO.  The Noodleman Group would like to extend our deepest sympathies to all those affected by this tragedy and especially to the families of the injured by this horrifying incident.


As more information becomes available will we be seeing how Pharmaceuticals may have affected the suspected shooter, James Holmes?  Cases like this in the past rarely have not gone into detail concerning this aspect.  Clearly this young man was seriously disturbed.  He claimed that he was the “Joker”, a character out of the “Batman” stories.

In April of 1999 a very similar incident occurred at Columbine High School in Jefferson County, CO., in which 12 students and one teacher were murdered by two gunmen.  Eric Harris and Dylan Kiebold.  Both gunman committed suicide ending the incident.  Among all of the areas explored by officials dealing with the incident, and there were quite a few, one area surfaced with alarming precursors which may have pointed to that tragedy.  Pharmaceuticals!  Here is an excerpt from a Wikipedia article recounting the facts of that investigation:

Medication

In one of his scheduled meetings with his psychiatrist, Eric Harris complained of depression, anger and to possessing suicidal thoughts. As a result of this, he was prescribed the anti-depressant Zoloft. He subsequently complained to feeling restless and to experiencing a lack of concentration to his doctor, and in April, he was switched to a similar anti-depressant drug— Luvox.  At the time of his death, Harris had therapeutic Luvox levels in his system. Some analysts, such as psychiatrist Peter Breggin, have argued that one or both of these medications may have contributed to Harris's actions. Breggin claimed that side-effects of these drugs include increased aggression, loss of remorse, depersonalization, and mania.  A subsequent study conducted by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices identified Luvox as being 8.4 times more likely than other medications to be associated with violence.

Of all the factors in the Columbine High incident shouldn’t Pharmaceuticals be held equally as accountable with guns in the cause of this tragedy?  What will we be seeing surface as officials begin their complete investigation of Eric Harris?

Felicity B. Noodleman   7.23.2012