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Sacred Hunt

2009-11-26T09:09:00.000-08:00

I put this together last night.

It's a trip to the desert of Wirikuta.

It's about birth, and life,

and living the fullness of things.

And its about giving thanks,

For the richness that abounds,

and the creation that we share.

May we all have Thanksgiving,

Each moment of every day.

And may life be our dream,

as death becomes our ally,

and the profane grows Sacred.

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William Albert Narum

2009-11-22T12:39:00.000-08:00

Bill Narum ( January 11, 1947-November 18,2009)

We were just getting into our El Pastor tacos at Fonda San Miguel when my pants vibrated. It was Tolleson, the music lawyer that I've known since Armadillo days. It was Wednesday and the week had already been pretty full. I had met with the EUC on Monday in Executive Session and on Tuesday with the RMC in another executive session. In both Committees, we received endorsements for the Generation Plan that will provide the residents of Austin around 55% of their energy from Renewable energy and efficiency by 2020 at a cost of about 22%.

I told Dana as we walked to dinner that night, how happy I was, and I remarked that just about now would be the time for something terrible to happen.

"I have bad news,"says Tolleson.

I almost quipped back, "What is Ed even more dead?"

"Bill Narum died this afternoon while out at Acorn."

Acorn was the 20 acres out in Milam County that Bill and Paula and Dick had purchased the last time the world was ending back in the mid 70s. I pretty much started my renewable career out there building Dick's passive solar house.

At the time that the land was purchased, we all lived in a old cotton baron's mansion outside of Taylor where we had Herbie the Weather Scan in our living room and a giant coaxial cable running from there out to the head end of the Taylor Cable System, thanks to its owner Gillis Connelly.

Taylorvision was an out growth of the video group Space City Video, which had moved from Houston to shoot the shows at the Armadillo. But at Taylorvision, we shot the football games, the fourth of July picnics, and we actually sold advertising to the merchants in town. For several seasons, I was the basketball voice of the Ducks, calling one season with my infant son resting in my tummy pouch.

Bill was the leader and artistic director of this group of vidiots. I joined the group as my advertising agency in Austin went Everwuchawe, and I fell in with Dee, who would become the mother of my children, and partner during our young adult years.

It was from this giant house that Bill art directed the Video Primer, a seminal book of the Guerilla TV movement. The Austin Sun's graphics were born here as Nightbyrd came out for several weeks to focus Bill on his project.

The video commune consisted of Paula, Dee, Mike and Kathy and their family, Dick, Mitch, John, and a few others. We didn't just connect to Taylor's cable head, a group would also be dispatched weekly to the head-end of the cable in Austin, thus giving ACTV its first presence.

Bill was one of the most unusual combinations of scientist and artist I ever met. A trip through his web site will give you the amazing breath of his body of work.

He was not just a music artist, even though that may be how the story will be written. He, in fact, didn't do a lot of Armadillo Posters. He did do the first ZZ Top poster for Armadillo... I saw it last night on the mantle in his studio off 360 while visiting with his partner Gloria. True. his work with Bill and Billy and ZZ Top was exceptional. He designed their logo, their albums, their stages, their trucks, and he created their visual image. He also designed their web page presence.

Even though Bill did do the "Silver Haired Daddy " Threadgill album design for me, most of our work was in promoting renewable energy. Bill was the Art Director for Spectra, the official publication of the Texas Solar Energy Society in the early 80s. He illustrated one issue which covered every energy technology known and still not known in a beautiful work called the Compendium.

He helped design my solar gas station, an advanced electric vehicle, a 100% self sufficient solar double wide, a wind turbine, and all kinds of things as we worked together thinking and plotting a new world and future.

When I wrote Silver in the Mine for the City of Austin, Bill did the design and illustrations for the book. Like any good project, we almost strangled each other over it, getting over it before it went to press. Bill also helped with my three other books, most recently doing the basic layout for Beyond Light and Dark.

The last time we saw him was on the east side. We bumped into Tolleson on 11th street across from the Victory. He invited us to come inside. There was Bill. Soon, Hoover delivered his smothered Pork Chop special. We chatted for a good bit and left him and Mr. T. to do their legal work.

Many years ago, Paula, Bill's partner at the time, told me she asked Bill who was his best friend, and he apparently said it was me. I would have thought he would have said Macho, his good friend in radio at KLOL in Houston.

I talked to Dan last night from Bill's studio. (Captain Macho) He had called Gloria to see how she was doing.

He was out spending the night at Acorn trying to sinc in with the vibes of his longtime good friend. He told me he even talked to Bill on the day that would prove to be his last.

Bill had a jillion friends, and almost that many clients.

He was a genius.

He merged the world of art

with the art of being.

His daughters, Michelle and Nico,

his brother Jon, sisters Heidi and Wendy,

were graced to have been his family.

As were we all.

As were we all.

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Ceremony and Celebration

2009-11-19T21:13:00.000-08:00

The plans for Edward Fales Alexander (November 25, 1942 – October 17, 2009) are finally shaping up.

The ceremony and celebration for Ed's remarkable life will take place on Sunday, Dec. 6, 2009, 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. at Flat Creek Ranch (www.txsranch.com)

.
Directions and Map are available here. (http://www.txsranch.com/directions.htm) It’s about an hour’s drive from Austin so start out early.
.

Plans currently call for a Hilltop Ceremony that begins at 12:00 noon. After some story telling and blessings, we'll proceed in a line (with your instrument of choice) to Blue Hall for lunch.

Be sure to bring a chair or a blanket.

For lunch, bring potluck side dishes, desserts, and beverages. There will be meat, potato salad, and cobbler provided.

A family photo album will be available if you want to add a picture, write something, or include a memento.

Camping is available beginning Friday, 6:00 p.m.- Sunday 6:00 p.m. and overnight accommodations for cabins and rooms are available Friday and Saturday nights.

For Camping and/or Accommodations
Contact James Strickland by E-mail at: Strick@childinc.org

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Edward Fales Alexander

2009-10-23T10:44:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday morning, while enjoying the fine sheets and comfort of our XV Beacon Street Hotel room, we received a phone call from a close friend in Austin. "Ed is dead", she said. "How", we asked? Somehow, this Billy Goat of the high mountains and Jedi Master of dark dangerous caves had managed to hit his head while entering the relative tranquil waters of the Medina River.

Here is the obituary that will likely end up in the papers this weekend. It's a product of several contributors. I edited it slightly:

Edward Fales Alexander was an extraordinary person and a special friend to each and all who knew and loved him. His sudden, tragic passing on October 17, 2009, leaves a void in the rich tapestry he wove during his much too short but brilliantly traveled journey.

Ed never met a stranger. And together, he and his beloved wife Brigit joyfully welcomed all comers to their enchanted homes in Real de Catorce, Mexico and Austin, Texas. Ed had more friends than there are stars in the Texas sky and all who were blessed to have known him are better, happier people for the experience.

Ed was born in Amarillo, Texas on November 25, 1942. He loved his Lone Star roots, a favorite topic for his endless tales. He graduated from Vanderbilt University and received a graduate degree in Physics from the University of Texas at Austin in 1968.

Ed was always in the middle of fun, ever the kindest and most cantankerous of the bunch, at once a shining light on your shoulder and a practical man of the earth. A traveler at heart, he trotted the globe the way some people walk around the block.

In the early ‘70s, he drove across the Sahara Desert with his longtime pal Charlie Loving, narrowly avoiding being held captive by a group of spear wielding locals. Ed traveled the road from Austin to Real de Catorce and back with his family and friends many times. If night fell and they were tired, they would pull off the road, put down their sleeping bags and sleep under the stars. Sometimes, he would take the three hours to stop in Bustamante just to get fresh pecans.

On one trip around Mexico, Ed met and fell in love with Brigit, whom he soon married. Of his adventures, perhaps Ed loved those involving caves most of all. He fell in with a circle of spelunkers in 1964 and those adventurers remained friends to the end, with him at the Austin Cavers reunion camping on the Medina River in Paradise Canyon the night he died.

Before moving back to Austin in 2008, Ed lived for twelve years in Real de Catorce, Mexico. Ed continued to explore, traveling and camping around Mexico and hiking the Sierra Catorce Range with family and friends and his dog, Cleo. He would load up the red Izuzu Trooper with Brigit and put his daughter Mimi on top with Cleo running behind as they climbed up the rugged mountain roads to scenic and wonderful places.

If Luc found a snake in the road, Ed would pick it up and everyone would have a good look and then later Ed would preserve the snake in the freezer for later dissections with the kids. Learning was an every day adventure at the Alexander home.

Ed’s children, Thomas, Mimi and Luc—kind, compassionate, and curiosity-filled—are a testament to the great care and tremendous love Ed poured into them.

Ed had so many special memories with so many friends that the stories and the names can’t possibly all be noted. It would take ten books to capture just the highlights of Ed Alexander, a legend in his time.

Ed was preceded in death by his parents Kleim and Myrtle Alexander and his brother Charles. He is survived by his wife Brigit, daughter Mimi and sons Thomas and Luc; nephew Chuck and niece Susanne.Vaya con dios, Eduardo.

We already miss you so much.

A celebration of Ed's life will be held in Austin on a date and place to be determined. Friends are encouraged to bring a picture, a written memory or a memento to be included in a book for his family to keep."

Ed was like a brother to me. Even though we only became close in the last 9 years, we had been acquainted for almost 35. On Monday night, after spending time with Brigit and Luc and the others who had gathered in his incompleted house renovation there at his sprawling Riverside Farms, I came home to find that The Mexican was on one of the movie channels.

We watched, and in a few minutes, there was Ed in that white suit snoozing in that rocking chair waiting for his passport. Not too many of us get immortalized on the silver screen.

Even fewer deserve it.

Ed most certainly, definitely did.

And that passport apparently came in

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Furniture Man at ACL

2009-10-08T08:57:00.000-07:00

Click on the image to enlarge.

Furniture Man II

2009-09-15T18:56:00.000-07:00

click on the graphic to enlarge

Furniture Man

2009-08-10T08:18:00.000-07:00

Our cartoonist friend, Charlie Loving, left this on my desk last week. It's another edition of the continuing adventures of the unlikely super hero, "Furniture Man."

Click on the strip to enlarge.

If you want to know how this is going to turn out, watch the network news some night. Big Pharma is all over the news with their advertising. We'll get a new health plan alright. And, they'll do everything they can to kill the public option. (forget about single payer)

RESPECTISM AND HUMAN SURVIVAL

2009-07-24T22:32:00.000-07:00

We talk about decreasing war and crime, pollution and discrimination, starvation and the nuclear brink, but if we do not recognize that we are the source of our problems and change our ways, we will meet disaster.

We need an agreement between people who believe in human rights and the fragility of our planet's thin halo of life, that a respectful society is a pragmatic necessity for human survival. Some might choose to call belief in this necessity respectism. Once this initial consensus is achieved, there are at least three steps to take towards building a respectful society.

First, respect for others, self and place must be universally promoted. In other words, respect must be widely and constantly advertised urging each person to respect others, themselves and the world around us, and to fully expect the same from all institutions and leadership.

Second, respect must be based on listening dialogue, honest negotiation, fair settlement and the avoidance of violence whenever possible to settle differences. While every individual and society has the right to true self-defense, the success of a respectful society will ultimately be measured in the scarcity of all types of violence

Third, it is essential to keep the disrespectful from having power over others. Throughout history, certain types of people have siezed power for their own cruel self-gain using violence, lies, fear and subversion of ideals. We must break this cycle, by educating the public to recognize such persons and work together to remove or isolate them from power, be it big or small.

If you think these ideas too simplistic or too idealistic, please ask yourself these questions. Is it better to treat one disease or countless symptoms? Can a promotional campaign succeed with simple messages that resonate? Can we survive without changing our behavior?

If you believe this proposal to be worthy of sharing, please feel free to distribute this text. Ultimately, a respectful society will depend on having enough people working together to build a web of respect. Discussion among those seeking to be respectful is the first step.

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Photo courtesy of freepixels.com

The Seed Cleaner

2009-07-01T14:58:00.000-07:00

We went to see Food Inc the other night. It's really quite good.

Here's the trailor. And here's the opening of a decent review from the Boston Globe:

"As you might gather from the title, Rob Kenner’s documentary “Food, Inc.’’ is, in part, concerned with the extent to which industrial food production has replaced farming in America. It’s part activism, part school-assembly lecture.

If you’re told where most fast-food chains’ ground beef comes from, how much E. coli is in it, how much ammonia has been added to kill the E. coli, and how many illegal immigrants the meatpacking companies recruit, underpay, and leave prey to police raids, will you still want to eat that double cheeseburger?

The filmmakers are guessing no." more

But the part that got me was the part about seed and Monsanto. Monsanto has developed seeds that are "Round Up" ready and they want you to pay to plant them every year. They own it and you can only use their seed once.

And, if you don't plant or use their seed, and your neighbors do, and you end up with some of their seed in your fields, you as the farmer have to prove that you didn't use their seed. It's not exactly the kind of thing that farmers are real good at.

Ultimately, even though you are planting the same seed strain you've been planting for years, you may be pulled into court by Monsanto. Monsanto is not very happy about the way the movie portrays them. They are so unhappy, they have dedicated a lot of their web site to setting the truth straight.

Monsanto says:

In agriculture, plants and seeds with enhanced traits or genetics may be patent protected. This is true in the U.S. for plant varieties as well as biotech innovations. Monsanto is one of many seed companies that patent their innovations. Growers who purchase our patented seeds sign a Monsanto Technology/Stewardship Agreement — an agreement that specifically addresses the obligations of both the grower and Monsanto and governs the use of the harvested crop. The agreement specifically states that the grower will not save or sell the seeds from their harvest for further planting, breeding or cultivation.

In Food Inc, there is an older man call Maurice Pharr, and he has a machine that cleans seeds for replanting. Monsanto doesn't have much use for that.

Food, Inc. Fiction: Maurice Parr, a seed cleaner against whom Monsanto took legal action, claimed he settled with Monsanto because he could not afford the legal costs of going up against the company.

Monsanto Truth: Maurice Parr operates a seed cleaning business in Indiana. Mr. Parr had received many clear communications about the patent law around Monsanto’s patented Roundup Ready® soybeans, and he knowingly disregarded this information. Mr. Parr confused farmers about the law regarding patents, which led to some of his customers breaking their contracts by saving seed as well. Mr. Parr did not “settle with Monsanto.”

Rather, Mr. Parr took his case to court, and the U.S. District Court in Lafayette, Indiana issued a permanent injunction against Mr. Parr prohibiting him from cleaning Roundup Ready soybeans."

However in the next paragraph, Monsanto discloses their settlement:

"Monsanto has agreed not to collect the damages awarded against Mr. Parr as long as Mr. Parr honors the terms of the court order."

And or course, Mr. Parr did not take Monsanto to court as their language implies, Monsanto WAS the plaintiff.

Mr. Parr was leaning on his HISTORICAL understanding that farmers have rights to their seeds. But in Monsanto's world, that right should just as well be gone. So they must destroy the seed cleaners.

There is something beyond evil with Monsanto's behavior.

Like the railroad tycoons of 120 years ago, or the oil tycoons of 80 years ago, they have gained a monopoly in the fields of our farmers.

And when the Seed Cleaners are gone,

Farming will be in their hands.

There is a saying about never eating your seed corn.

These folks are making it the law.

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rape seed field art courtesy of adam dabrowski art

Adopt A Tree

2009-06-10T09:30:00.000-07:00

*
Legend

There was a desert.

For a vast distance
nothing grew until, quite suddenly,
a great and very large bird
appeared.

The bird spat out a seed
which fell to sand, aching for life.

As it sunk below the surface
where we cannot see what happens,
a cry echoed from sand
to stone, from crevasse to karst,
from cave to fossil, a vibrant cry
of thirst resounded, underground,
where we can’t see what happens.

The cry criss-crossed its own
thirsty rhythm, intersected itself,
grew stronger, more urgent,
more perfectly beautiful —
a dark, brilliant necessity.

The seed stretched and broke,
sang and again sang, and again
sang it’s cry of thirst —

until deep below the surface
a flowing, jubilant,
cool, emerald answer
emerged.

It is said the thirst of Earth’s
great trees calls water
from depths which are invisible
causing springs to flow.

©Susan Bright, 2009

Susan Bright is the author of nineteen books of poetry. She is the editor of Plain View Press which since 1975 has published two-hundred-and-fifty books. Her work as a poet, publisher, activist and educator has taken her all over the United States and abroad. Her most recent book, The Layers of Our Seeing, is a collection of poetry, photographs and essays about peace done in collaboration with photographer Alan Pogue and Middle Eastern journalist, Muna Hamzeh

* Photo by Alan Pogue.

follow me on TwitterAnnouncements:

For up to date information about how you can help Save the Heritage Trees at Barton Springs:
BartonSpringsPublicProcess.com -- please take a minute to send the letters posted there, and/or one/s of your own.

Aielli Unleashed: Listen to Bill Oliver, Danny Britt, Beth Gallager, Marvin Dykhuis sing and play tree and river songs. Susan Bright reads the poem above. Bill Bunch talks about our Heritage Trees at Barton Springs.

Press Conference: Announcing an Adopt-a-Tree program for the heritage trees at Barton Springs. Thursday, 11am to noon, entrance to Barton Springs pool.

SB calling for the tree behind her to be named
the Poets' Tree --
pledging and calling for pledges of other poets to adopt
this beautiful old tree in the name of poetry.
To pledge email: sbpvp@sbcglobal.net

Action: Send a letter asking Council to strengthen, not dilute, City Code to protect Heritage trees. There will be a council briefing June 11, 2-3 pm, City Council Chambers. Bring Signs. Meetings are broadcast on municipal TV cable channel 6 and on 88.7 FM radio, starting at 1:30 p.m.

Barton Springs Heart And Soul -- New video by Brian Leonard

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Save Our Trees at Barton Springs

2009-05-13T15:24:00.000-07:00

Action Alert:
Urban Forestry Board Hearing
6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 19
Mexican American Cultural Center, 600 River St.
Bring signs. Arrive on time to sign up to speak.

4. Environmental Board
6 p.m. Wednesday, May 20
Austin City Hall, 301 W. Second St.
Bring signs. Arrive on time to sign up to speak.

Interview with Bill Bunch --

I have been impressed with the outpouring of love
and concern people in my home town have expressed
for our heritage trees at Barton Springs and in Zilker Park —
in all our parks and throughout the city—
since, under the auspices of the BartonSprings Master Plan,
a tree report was published that calls for cutting down
28 beautiful, old trees around the Springs
and another 30 or so in the park.

I took the pic above so we can see how much shade
one of the City's new saplings provides, compared
to the old pecan directly behind it marked for cutting.

email council: Ask them to Save Our Trees

The children at Pease Elementary School, the oldest
school in town, know to save the trees and
have shared drawings with us thanks to their
art teacher Desi Burke, a regular morning swimmer.

email Parks Board: lhg@grandecom.net,
dchimenti@austin.rr.com,mvbostick@seton.org,
jfrancell@tnc.org,saramarler@sbcglobal.net,
janehrivera@austin.rr.com,mvane@gardere.com

Unfortunately, the city doesn't always, or very often even,
replace trees they cut down. This tree was cut 2 years ago.

See Twitter updates at end of post.

The children suggest we could take care of our trees.

Ya think?

email Parks Director, Sara Hensley: Sara.hensley@ci.austin.tx.us

The small, darker green tree by the steps was planted
for Beverly Sheffield ten years ago. The huge pecan
flush to the bath house (three people are standing nearby)
is marked for execution. In a hundred years Bev's tree will
have a similar canopy to the one they are planning
to cut down — this summer.

There are legends that it is the thirst
of Earth's great trees that draws water from
underground, makes springs flow.
We know they pull water from the sky
down to the aquifer.

Sign up to get SOS action alerts.

As I write Don Gardiner is conducting a tree-by-tree
learning tour of these trees, so we can learn how to
save as many of them as humanly possible.

email Environmental Board members:
marygaymaxwell@sbcglobal.net,moncadataz@sbcglobal.net,
rodahart@yahoo.com, jonbeall1@onr.com,
dbezanson@tnc.org, john@bseacd.org,
maryannneely@austin.rr.com

The tree behind our old friend tree, supported by steel poles
since I began swimming here in 1971, is starting to provide
shade to back up the old leaning pecan. It is 30 years old.

This cutting of trees, if we don't stop it, will strip
the park and pool of the beautiful tree canopy
for decades.

Why would anyone want to do that?

email members of the Forestry Board: arborworks@austintx.com, texastreecare@hotmail.com, wildewoode@grandecom.net,tgallo@wildflower.org, s.leigh@mail.utexas.edu

One argument is that the City will plant new --
really big trees. That these new ones will be safe.

Can someone explain how a new tree that can be
transported, roots wrapped in burlap, transported
in a truck, can possibly be less likely to fall down
than these old giants which have been hanging on
to the earth here for more than a hundred years?

These drawings by children are laminated. We will hole
punch and tie them with ribbons to the pink tape
around the trees the city wants to cut down,
so there will be something beautiful and hopeful —
next to the Tree Report pages the City has hung
on condemned trees, blessings from the best of us,
our children, blessings for these old souls, our heritage trees.

Add your voice to the work of creating
a tree friendly paradigm for our home town.

If you have children who love trees, laminate
their drawings and put them up next time
you're at the Springs.

Copy these links and one to earthfamilyalpha into your twitter
notes and onto your facebook pages so all your friends can help you
help us save the trees. Voices from afar are welcome —
our city loves tourists.

Here are events, official and communal, where
we can continue the work of creating a tree
friendly paradigm for our home town.

1. Saturday May 1 — 9:45 AM
Press Conference and Community Wide Meeting
for Save Our Trees at Barton Springs Pool
WHERE: Outside the Main Entrance to Barton Springs Pool
WHO: Nicki Bishop, ISA-Certified Arborist; Michell Brown Owner, Xanadu Nursery; Graham Rasor, Masters in Horticulture from Texas A&M University; Cheyenne Thomas - Arborist, Robin Rather-3 time former Chair of the Save Our Springs Alliance with her child, and other elementary children displaying their art work especially drawn for this event, Bill Bunch-Executive Director-Save Our Springs Alliance
WHAT: We, the citizens of Austin, call on the City of Austin to slow down the plans of the Parks and Recreation Department (PARD) to cut down 28 heritage trees at Barton Springs Pool. We are asking the City to investigate all alternative options to save these trees, as well as to consult further with local experts on their opinions and solutions to keep both citizens and the trees safe. We are not only asking the City to initiate measures to preserve the trees but also to consider a tree-friendly regime for all city parks that includes tree maintenance, planting and preventative care. We appreciate the City's concerns regarding the safety of citizens and look forward to ongoing dialogue and together finding creative solutions to raise the needed monies to ensure that all city parks retain a beautiful, natural canopy of shade from healthy, stable trees.

Click to read an independent study of the trees by ISA Certified Arborist Don Gardner.
Click to view the Tree Report commissioned by the City of Austin.
Here is their map of all the trees scheduled to be removed or pruned and monitored.

Pink and green tape has been tied around the living trees to reflect the color coding on the map which indicates which trees will be removed (pink tape) or pruned and monitored (green tape).

2. Sunday, May 17th, noon - 3
Save The Trees Activist Picnic
South gate (off Robert E Lee)
Music, poetry, letter, cell, text, emails to council and boards and commissions.
Contact: jj1305@txstate.edu.
go to "Save Barton Springs Trees" on Facebook.

3.
Urban Forestry Board Hearing
6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 19
Mexican American Cultural Center, 600 River St.
Bring signs. Arrive on time to sign up to speak.

4. Environmental Board
6 p.m. Wednesday, May 20
Austin City Hall, 301 W. Second St.
Bring signs. Arrive on time to sign up to speak.

5. Scheduled hearing for 5/14 to amend city code to make
it harder to cut down heritge trees has been postponed.
Right now the new schedule calls for a briefing on the
proposed new ordinances on June 11 and action on June
18. Stay tuned.

email council: Ask them to Save Our Trees

©Susan Bright, 2009

Susan Bright is the author of nineteen books of poetry. She is the editor of Plain View Press which since 1975 has published two-hundred-and-fifty books. Her work as a poet, publisher, activist and educator has taken her all over the United States and abroad. Her most recent book, The Layers of Our Seeing, is a collection of poetry, photographs and essays about peace done in collaboration with photographer Alan Pogue and Middle Eastern journalist, Muna Hamzeh

Click to see Austin New Real program: Tree Friendly Paradigm featuring Susan Bright (SB), John Correy (arborist) and Pam Thompson (show host) recorded 23rd, tech by Stefan Wray.

follow me on Twitter

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Fourteen Days

2009-04-30T11:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I connected up with an old friend for a few hours in the late afternoon. He was without a car so I picked him up at the Half Price book store which he had walked to after getting his hair cut. We settled on the Alligator-whatever-it-is next to the book store as a reasonably decent place to catch up.

Jeff's been in Louisianna lately because that's where much of the movie action is these days, and he's definitely in that business. Towards the end of our chat, he said, "Did you hear that the WHO announced that there have been 7 confirmed deaths from the Swine Flu?" Jeff's a serious guy, and a former reporter, so I didn't just PooPoo his claim, but the story didn't resonate with my physician partner who I immediately called for confirmation.

Later in the evening I saw the story on one of my lefty type news services, but even then, I wondered if the story was somehow manufactured. In my mailbox this morning, confirmation of the accuracy of the lower numbers was found, thanks to the Australians.

Only 7 swine flu deaths, not 152, says WHO
Sydney Morning Herald
April 29, 2009

A member of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has dismissed claims that more than 150 people have died from swine flu, saying it has officially recorded only seven deaths around the world.

Vivienne Allan, from WHO's patient safety program, said the body had confirmed that worldwide there had been just seven deaths - all in Mexico - and 79 confirmed cases of the disease.

Unfortunately that [150-plus deaths] is incorrect information and it does happen, but that's not information that's come from the World Health Organisation," Ms Allan told ABC Radio today. "That figure is not a figure that's come from the World Health Organisation and, I repeat, the death toll is seven and they are all from Mexico."

Ms Allan said WHO had confirmed 40 cases of swine flu in the Americas, 26 in Mexico, six in Canada, two in Spain, two in Britain and three in New Zealand.

Ms Allan said it was difficult to measure how fast the virus was spreading.

She said a real concern would be if the flu virus manifested in a country where a person had had no contact with Mexico, and authorities were watching all countries for signs of that.

"There is no pattern that has emerged at this stage to be able to say that it is spreading in a particular way or it is spreading into a particular country ... the situation is continuing to evolve," she said. (more)

And even though the headline might calm your concerns a bit, another story in the Herald says:

"The Federal Government's pandemic plan, a 132-page manual issued to medics, media and the public, insists that once the world reaches phase five, Australians should stock their pantries with food and bottled water to last 14 days, check on elderly neighbours and put emergency numbers by the phone."

So, stock up, but don't panic.

The H1N1 story is not just an abstraction for me. Last Friday, two good friends and I made what was, by all standards, a very uneventful crossing to our respective homes in Mexico. Our little village is in the State of San Luis Potosi, not that far from one of the epicenters of the disease.

After a long day of driving, we ate dinner, went to bed, and woke up the next morning to find ourselves reading in the San Luis newspaper about some kind of swine flu deal. Since, we were hatching some plans to go to the desert to be with a Shaman for a couple of days, I called home, asked my Dr. partner for some advise, and headed for the sacred lands.

We remarked to ourselves as we bounced down the narrow mountain road that leads from Catorce to the altiplano below that this was a good start for a horror action movie. You know, four guys head out to the wilderness only to find upon their return that the world had changed.

Well, when we did get back, there were no bodies on the side of the road, but there was a lot of angst, and the usually large weekend crowds that flock to this magic pueblito were non existent. It was, like the pueblo fantasma above, a ghost town.

The residents had all kinds of opinions ranging from "follow the money", to blaming a giant pig farm in La Gloria , to the following email that I received from a resident of San Luis who was in one of the hot zones:

"Here in San Luis every thing under control in an indoors routine till the 6th that activities start again.The only Hospital general, is a 5th world hospital, worse than Thailand in the 80's. How could they be able to analyse, isolate the virus, and be sure what is is?

In Matehuala they say there are cases, how could they be able to know for sure what it is?

Very strange!!!!

Do you know the ulterior motifs? (sic)

When Obama was in Europe at the G20 briefing, Angela Merkel said that Mexico is ready to become the 51st star of the USA flag. That was her only comment.

Who created this big game? Secretaría de Hacienda is getting millions off dollars for the flu. The statistics say that every 10 minutes a child dies of dehydration since years and nobody says anything."

I wrote back, "There are many reasons to think many things about this event. But whatever we might think, it appears to be dangerous."

With some of the more sophisticated folks in the village, I talked about disaster capitalism and how certain forces use natural and unnatural disasters to bring about economic and civic changes that could not occur without the event. We talked about the Shock Doctrine, Naomi Kline's seminal work describing decades of disaster capitalism.

Yes, a Pandemic will be very good for some folks.

And very bad for a lot of others, like the Mexican tourist industry for example. It won't help the global economy either which arguably already has a possibly fatal case of the pig flu.

We got out of Mexico and left our little village as soon as we could. We weren't sure if the border would close, or we would be subject to quarantine, as phobic politicians began to demand that we close our borders completely. By the time we were on the road, some of our politicians were already in their fear gear even as the CDC expressed their views of its limited value.

As we made our way back, we saw our first signs of the look of Pandemic. Almost everyone on the road who was in public, such as food handlers or toll collectors, had masks and gloves. At the Casita de Cobre, there were signs and handouts. The army set up check points. We saw one ambulance that had picked up at least one sick member of one traveling family. We applied hand sanitizer everytime we paid a toll or bought gasoline.

But when we got to the American side, where passive testing had been ordered by Homeland Security, the guards had no gloves and no masks. And in true form, they spent most of their time hitting the sides of the car with that putter-looking thing trying to find drugs, and even more time than that trying to figure out if the fresh orange marmalade that was given to me in the pueblo was a permissable item. (they had already taken our Whole Food apple)

When they did ask us how we were feeling, we told them we were fine. But at the immigration stop further in, the health issue wasn't even mentioned.

Like our trip down, the trip home from Catorce was more or less uneventful.

But, instead of going back to work at work,

I'm working at home, in three days of self quarantine.

And I carry hand sanitizer everywhere.

Just because some Capitalist somewhere

is going to make a lot of money over this,

Or some world organization may greatly increase its power,

It doesn't mean it's not dangerous.

Fourteen days of food and water might be a good idea too.