Friday, September 2, 2016

Honoring Our Four-Footed Service Workers

 
By Joy Neighbors

Service dogs change lives! September is National Service Dog Month – a great time to learn more about and celebrate the role that service dogs play in our lives every day.

National Service Dog Month began in 2008 when actor Dick Van Patton launched an event to assist in gathering funds for guide and service dog training schools throughout the country.

What began as one fundraiser transformed into an annual celebration to raise awareness about service animals, their specialized training and the vital role they play in the lives of so many Americans.

Service dogs are specifically trained to assist those who have disabilities such as hearing impairments, vision impairments, seizure disorders, mobility impairments, diabetes and certain mental difficulties such as PTSD (Post Tramatic Stress Disorder), Autism and other emotional problems. The role of a service animal is to help a person regain their independence, provide confidence, companionship and protection to their person.

According to the American with Disabilities Act of 2010, “Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities... Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person's disability.”


Most service dogs are larger breeds like Labradors, Shepherds and Retrievers, but other dogs of smaller stature and breed are also trained to assist people, depending on the impairment and situation. Rescue animals are also being trained to fill many of these roles. In 2013, more than 380 rescued dogs were trained and placed with individuals whom they now serve.

Service dogs, regardless of their size are invaluable companions for individuals with disabilities and most wear a special harness or vest that identifies them as service, guide or medical alert dogs.

Here are five ADA recognized types of service dogs that are allowed access to any place open to the public. And remember, not all disabilities are apparent in everyone so don't ask questions and don't judge.

1) Guide Dogs
These are the dogs we may be most familiar with. They are trained to assist their owners who are blind or have low vision in navigating in the world. At one time we called them “Seeing Eye Dogs.”



2) Hearing Dogs
These animals assist people who are deaf or hearing impaired. They are trained to alert their owners via a signal to certain sounds like a doorbell, a ringing phone, an alarm or siren.


3) Mobility Assistance Dogs
These larger dogs can pull a wheel chair, help steady an owner with coordination problems or retrieve items that are needed.

4) Medical Alert Dogs
Dogs in this group are trained to monitor their person closely in order to recognize the subtle signs of a life-threatening event such as a seizure, dangerous allergens or toxins, or changes in blood sugar.

5) Psychiatric Service Dogs
These animals are trained to assist owners with situations such as PTSD, Autism or depression. The dogs are trained to help alleviate the clinical signs of the disability.

Although the ADA does not recognize therapy dogs and emotional assistance animals, many businesses, schools and other public places do. These dogs may be required to pass a Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test and receive a Therapy Dog Certification.

Therapy dogs provide emotional and psychological assistance to people in hospitals, nursing homes, hospice centers, mental health facilities, schools and libraries. These dogs are allowed to interact with many different people instead of being handled by only one person. People are encouraged to pet therapy dogs. They're known for boosting confidence, offering support and unconditional love to those they interact with.

An emotional support animal helps those who suffer from depression, anxiety and other psychological disabilities. The animals are not trained to perform specialized tasks and cannot assist in reducing the effects of a disability. Both therapy dogs and emotional assistance animals must have documentation from a mental health professional stating that the animal is necessary to this person.

One rule to always remember, do not distract or try to interact with a service dog while it is working. The services these dogs offer their owners are vital to their everyday well-being. Please allow them to do their jobs without interference – someone’s life depends on them.

Friday, August 19, 2016

Rest in Peat: Bog Bodies

 
By Joy Neighbors

A Peat Bog
For thousands of years, bodies have lain under the mire, waiting for discovery in the murky depths of northwestern Europe’s numerous bogs – those wetlands made up of decomposing plant material (peat) that locals cut and dried to heat their homes.

Bog bodies are the well-preserved (including mummified skin, hair and organs still intact) remains of people who usually have died a violent death in the swamplands of such countries as Denmark the Netherlands, Ireland and Germany. The oldest known bog body dates back to 8000 BCE and consists of the skeletal remains of a female known as Koelbjerg Woman. The oldest well-preserved bog body is called Cashel Man, who dates to 2000 BCE and was discovered in Ireland.

Grauballe Man
Close to 1,000 bodies have been discovered in the world; many subjected to violent deaths and left for the boglands to dispose of. Researchers believe these people were either human sacrifices or criminals punished for their crimes.


Tollund Man
Most bog bodies date from the Iron Age when peat bogs covered a large area of Europe. The most famous bog people of this era include the 2,400-year-old Tollund Man, 2,000-year-old Lindow Man, and 1,500-year-old Grauballe Man. Pre-Roman villagers believed that they could appease, or have favors granted by their gods by tossing possessions, and people in the form of sacrifices, into that slimy black pit. Most of the bodies bear similarities in the manner in which they were bound or staked out to die indicating a ritualistic killing.

Bogs were also used as convenient “killing grounds” for the criminals of a society. Many still wear the ropes used to strangle them, some bear the stab wounds that ended their lives, and others show signs of the torture inflicted upon them.

Harald Bluetooth
Bog bodies have also been identified by using the legend and lore of the area. In 1835, Danish ditchdiggers came across the remarkably well-preserved body of a woman who had been staked down and left to die in a place now called Gundhilde’s Bog. The swamp was named after a legendary eighth-century Viking queen who, it was said, was on her way to marry Danish king Harald Bluetooth when she was ambushed and drowned.  Apparently the legend was true.

The U.S. has it’s own version of bog people in Florida. These remains are between 5,000 and 8,000 years old and consist only of skeletons; skin and internal organs did not survive in this mire. Windover, Florida is the premier bog site in the U.S. – where in 1982, the excavation of a pond led to the discovery of these American bog people. The remains were found mostly lying on their left sides in a fetal position with their heads aimed toward the west; researchers believe that this may have been a community cemetery bog. Over 160 bodies were unearthed. The dig ended in 1987 with only half of the excavations completed. It is now awaiting a new generation of archaeologist with updated techniques to discover more.

But bog people are not just those who died in the distant past – archeologists have discovered the remains of Russian and German soldiers who fought in Poland along the Eastern Front during WW1. And a WWII Russian pilot whose plane was hit in-flight, crashed into a bog in northern Europe. His remains have been discovered, perfectly preserved for over half a century.

Friday, August 12, 2016

Gold Star Families

 
By Joy Neighbors

For the past few weeks Gold Star Families have been in the news, but many Americans don’t know what the term means. Gold Star Families indicate immediate relatives - the mothers, fathers, children and spouses of U.S. Armed Forces members who died in battle or while supporting certain military activities. It is a status no one wants, but so many must bear.


Gold Star Flag
The Gold Star refers to the service flag, which families fly to show they have a loved one fighting or  serving in the military during a period of war or hostilities. Although the term Gold Star Family is fairly new, the flags have been flown since World War One. A Blue Star (or stars) indicates family members in the U.S. Armed Forces currently deployed during any war or conflict. If a loved one is killed while serving, the blue star is replaced by a gold one to indicate the ultimate sacrifice.



Grace Darling Seibold
The term “Gold Star Mothers” was coined by Grace Darling Seibold who banded a group of mothers together after WW1 to support and comfort one another in the lose of their children and family members. 

In 1928, 25 women met in Washington D.C. to officially establish the American Gold Star Mothers group. In 1936, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt designated the last Sunday in September as National Gold Star Mother’s Day. (September 25, 2016) 


Gold Star Wives began before the end of WWII. It started as a group of wives banding together to support and assist one another. Today, the group reaches out to those who have recently lost a spouse, and works together supporting all surviving spouses. 



Gold Star Families include fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, or other loved ones who lost a loved one who was in service to this nation. In 1947, a lapel pin was created and is presented to the family members of Armed Forces members killed in combat operations. 

The U.S. Army sums up the Gold Star Families sacrifice best: “The strength of our army is our soldiers; The strength of our soldiers is our families. The army recognizes that no one has given more for the nation than the families of the fallen.”

Indeed, the sentiment applies to all of our fallen service personnel from every branch.

Friday, July 8, 2016

Living in a Cemetery


Cemeteries go by many names - referencing this as a final abode; names like “eternal home” “city of the dead,” “charnel house,” “necropolis,” and “marble town.” But there have been people – living people, who have chosen to reside in the cemetery. No, not necessarily the homeless, and not those looking for a “creepy place” to party. Sometimes it’s just someone who can’t bear to loose a loved one, so they decide to move with them ….


The Evergreens Cemetery
Jonathan Reed was a retired merchant from Brooklyn, New York. He was in his sixties when his wife, Mary died on March 19, 1893. She was interred in her family’s mausoleum in The Evergreens Cemetery and Jonathan went to visit her every day. His father-in-law found such devotion to be in poor taste, so Jonathan limited his visits. When Mary’s father died, Jonathan took things in hand and had Mary removed from the family vault to a mausoleum he had purchased on the other side of the cemetery – one where he could visit for as long as he wished.

As summer turned into autumn, Jonathan had a wood stove installed for heat. He began moving furniture in; a comfortable rocker, a table and chairs so he could eat all his meals there - with Mary. He decided the place needed to look a bit more homey so he hung paintings on the wall, brought the family parrot in to live, and placed Mary’s knitting by one of the chairs – as if she had just left the room and could return at any moment.

Reed Mausoleum
People talked. Many went to see if this was real. The first year, Jonathan Reed had over 7,000 visitors. It seems that he never really believed Mary had died. He thought that “the warmth had simply left her body” and if he kept the crypt warm and cozy, she would continue to sleep comfortably.

In May 1905, Jonathan was found by cemetery workers lying unconscious on the crypt floor. He died a few weeks later and was placed in the homey little tomb he had created; where he went to visit Mary - to sit and talk with her for 10 years. The door of the mausoleum was locked that day, and the Reeds have never been disturbed since.


Then again, necessity may be the reason for such a move.

A Brazilian businessman moved into a tomb after his business failed and his family disowned him. In 2000, 35-year-old Fabio Beraldo Rigol was a broker in Santa Isabel, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Rigol moved into a crypt with his best friend; his friend, however, had been dead for several years.




Rigol said that after he lost his job, he turned to drugs and his family kicked him out. He went to the grave of his best friend to “discuss things” and decided to move in. With enough room for six coffins, the tomb provided Rigol with shelter from the elements, and safety. (Few people want to bother a guy living in a crypt.) Although it could get lonely at times, Rigol didn’t mind, saying he wasn’t very talkative. No word if he still resides there.

~ Joy

Friday, July 1, 2016

Toddler Looks Life-Like 145 Years After Her Death

 
Last month construction workers made a bizarre discovery while digging under a San Francisco garage – a glass paneled coffin. But things got even stranger when they realized they could see the well-preserved remains of a 19th century little girl holding a flower.

The 3-and-a-half foot long lead and bronze coffin has two glass windows covered with dirt and grime. But when workers wiped them off, they could see a blond haired young girl dressed in white.

Researchers have determined this residential neighborhood was once the home of an Odd Fellow Cemetery during the late 1800s. It is estimated that about 30,000 people were buried there. Apparently, when bodies were relocated to a common burial plot in Colma, California during the early 1920s, the toddler’s grave was missed.


The City of San Francisco said it was the homeowner’s responsibility to deal with the child’s remains so the residents contacted Garden of Innocence; a California group that buries abandoned children. The organization estimated the girl to be about three-years old when she died. They plan to hold a graveside service for her at Colma, California where the other caskets were reburied almost 100 years ago.

The child’s body was nestled in a bed of eucalyptus leaves. Her clothing indicates that she came for a family of means. She held a pink rose in her hand and someone had woven lavender in her long blond hair. Her identity is not known.

~ Joy


*Special thanks to Mike Murray for this fascinating tip!

Friday, May 20, 2016

Call the Death Midwife


Midwives have been assisting women in the birthing process for thousands of years, assisting and providing care to women, not only during birth but also during the stages of pregnancy and postpartum.

But a death midwife, also known as a death doula, is not as common in our society, although these individuals have also been there, assisting the dying for centuries.

Most death midwives are trained in the care of the terminally ill, and include hospice nurses, nurse practitioners, and other medical professionals who assist and ease the process of dying. Others are trained with a focus more toward emotional and spiritual needs.

A death doula can help reduce a person’s anxiety about dying, decrease pain, and provide the patience, kindness and compassion needed during this transition, both for the dying, and their family members.

Death midwives say their job is to make the final exit as peaceful and pain-free as possible. Most view their ability to assist someone as a privilege: an honor.

Many times, the dying simply need someone to talk to; someone to share their concerns with about their disease and prognosis, the pain and suffering that might accompany it, or how to get theirs affairs in order. 

Others may want family members summoned at a certain time, or a final visit with a devoted pet. Midwives see to all of this – anything to assist in making the death experience more dignified, supportive, and comfortable.

This is not a vocation for every one, but if you feel a calling to this profession, there are several end-of-life doula programs available. Research the offerings and find one that resonates with your beliefs and comfort levels.

If you are searching for a death midwife, check with your local hospitals, funeral homes and hospice centers. They should have suggestions for death doulas in your region so that you, or your loved one, may go in peace.

~ Joy

Friday, May 6, 2016

Remembering The Hindenburg Disaster


Charles Lindburg
Amelia Earhart
With the 1930’s came a new age in aviation. Charles Lindbergh made his successful solo crossing of the Atlantic in 1927, and Amelia Earhart followed on his heels as the first female to fly solo across the Atlantic in 1928.

German Dirigibles
Commercial aviation was popular as American Airways and United Airlines offered the public a way to travel across the country that was even more exciting than rail or auto. When Germany began offering air travel by dirgible, the public, and the press, were in awe of the massive airships.

Approaching Storm
Thursday, May 6, 1937 had been a tense day for locals; a storm had been brewing all afternoon and residents of Lakehurst, New Jersey were feeling out of sorts. Family, friends, and members of the press had been expecting the arrival of the Hindenburg, a modern German airship, around 5 a.m., but inclement weather had pushed back the ship’s scheduled arrival until late in the afternoon.

Hindenburg
The luxurious airship was the toast of the Nazi government in 1936 and had made ten successful crossings over the Atlantic, carrying over 1,000 passengers. The “lighter-then-air” ship flew about 85 miles per hour and could carry up to 72 customers per trip.

Hindenburg Dining Room
For $400, passengers relaxed in elegant accommodations and dined on gourmet foods, marveling at the astounding views available from the air as they passed over several American cities. The ride was said to be smooth and trouble-free.

But it would not be so during the late afternoon hours of May 6 when a deluge of heavy rains began and the dirigible was delayed from landing until the storm passed.

Ground Crew
At 5 p.m. in Lakehurst, 92 Navy crewmen and 139 civilian ground personnel were deployed to the airfield to assist with the airship’s landing. The men were to grab hold of the mooring lines and help bring the big dirigible down in the high winds.



Capt. Max Pruss
It was just a few minutes past 7 p.m. when the airship was cleared to dock at Lakehurst. Captain Max Pruss was worried about docking in wind speeds that were clocked at 25 knots (about 30 mph), but he knew that after the day-long detainments, passengers were more than ready to get off the airship.

Pruss ordered about 1,300 pounds of water from the ballast to be dropped. Finding the ship’s stern was still too heavy, Captain Pruss ordered another 1,100 pounds of ballast water dropped as he tried to bring the dirigible in. The attempt was too fast so Pruss ordered the crew to reverse engine thrust.

At 7:20 p.m. with the ship 300 feet in the air, a gas leak was discovered. It was now a race to get the ship on the ground and the passengers off quickly.

But at 7:25 p.m., hundreds of onlookers saw a small flame at the top of the tail before hearing an explosion. Within seconds, the tail was engulfed in flames. Passengers had only seconds to respond. Many jumped from the windows of the airship, still 30 stories above the ground.

Thirty-four seconds later, the fire had spread to the ship’s midsection as the Hindenburg hit the ground. Shifting furniture trapped many inside the fiery hull. Others, including the captain and crew, jumped to escape the blaze as the airship fell to the ground.

Those who were there to help moor the craft became the unofficial rescue crew, pulling people from the fiery wreckage and taking them to the airfield infirmary to be treated for burns. Others were taken to the room set up for the press; now the unofficial morgue.

Of the 36 passengers on board, 13 died. Sixty-one crewmembers were on board at the time of the tragedy; 22 airmen and one ground crewmember were killed. It was speculated that a spark of electricity ignited the leaking hydrogen gas causing the explosion and blaze. The cause of the leak was never determined, and no evidence of sabotage has ever been proven.

Reporter Herbert Morrison
What remains vivid from that night is the radio report given by broadcaster Herbert Morrison as he watched the Hindenburg erupt into flames. The harrowing account conveys the shock and horror of that tragedy even now - 79 years later.



~ Joy