Dec
21
2011
Have you guys seen this article floating around Facebook lately?
People are posting this all over their walls with mis-informed messages about the dangers of Neti Pots and it’s making me crazy. I don’t know if I’ve ever told you about my love affair with the Neti Pot, but that little piece of plastic changed my life and I won’t have people talking shit about it.
What these folks are failing to read in the article (and the article’s title for that matter) is that the Neti Pot is not to blame for these deaths, it’s the tap water. Now, I have used tap water in my Neti pot for years — here in New York, in Florida, Georgia, perhaps even internationally and to my knowledge, I am without brain-eating amoebas. However, it seems that may be so because there is one place I haven’t used tap water for my Neti Pot: Louisiana.
That’s right. Both deaths referred to in this article occurred in a state that not only borders the oil-damaged Gulf Coast, but whose water filtration systems were in all likelihood damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. And where did these deaths occur, you ask? Why, New Orleans (Katrina) and De Soto Parrish (only 185 miles north of the Gulf). Maybe the blame shouldn’t even be on tap water but on Louisiana tap water specifically.
CNN wrote their own article on the Neti Pot deaths and they say that the brain-eating amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, that was found in the tap water as well as in the victims’ sinus passages, is totally fine if you drink it. It’s just when it comes in contact with your brain that problems (i.e., deaths) crop up.
Now, I’m no scientist, but I’m thinking that maybe someone should take a little closer look at that tap water in Louisiana and maybe figure out a way to avoid any and all contact with this nasty Naegleria fowleri stuff. But then again, what the hell do I know?
1 comment
Dec
16
2011
A couple of weeks ago I sent my sister an email to discuss the plans for my and Erica’s roadtrip to Georgia to see her and my niece for the holidays. Wanna see her response?
What are you trying to do?? Ruin this Christmas too?? Last year was bad enough. I wanted to try and have a happy Christmas this year.
You wanna know what happened last Christmas? Our mom died. So, what my sister means is that me visiting for the holidays this year, would be as bad as watching our mother die from congestive heart failure last year.
I haven’t really written a lot about Mom’s death and the aftermath of what’s happened since, but you may remember that a few months back I reported that things were going well between me and my sister on our mission to settle the estate. Unfortunately, things changed. As is typical in dealings with money and family, previously civil conversations disintegrated into text arguments and one-word emails, eventually leading to the aforementioned un-invitation for the holidays.
Of course, this isn’t what I envisioned for this Christmas. I thought Mom’s death would somehow bring my sister and I closer together. That the tragedy that was our mother’s too-short life would be something that would inspire us to join forces, to finally become sisters in the traditional loving, supportive manner that other pairs of siblings seem to enjoy. For months, I’ve pictured the road trip down to Georgia and imagined us having our first family holiday without a mom, but with each other. Turns out, that’s not happening. I’m super sad about it, but after a couple of days of crying, I finally accepted the fact that I’ll be spending my and my sister’s first holiday without our Mom on my own.
On the bright side, Erica and I already scheduled time off for the vacation so instead of driving down to Georgia, we’re going to a spa.
7 comments
