Purim a.k.a. The Story of Esther

Dearest Yenta,

Might I make a suggestion?  I suggest that you take two aspirin before reading or hearing the Purim Story so that you might just nip a hangover in the bud.    Now that won't hurt!

I LOVE reading/hearing the story of Esther...I will have to find out what the book is that we used to read at our Celebrations.  I have to call Gramma Bonnie for that one.

Enjoy your celebrations, don't drink too much...okay...go ahead...I know that this is the one time it is excusable. 

Love You...Tammy

*** See my note, below re: Tylenol

The book of Esther is one of my favorite books of the Bible.  My grandmother and my sister were named after this queen.  I have to say, this is the most colorful rendition of the telling of that story I have ever read.  At times I really did LOL (laugh out loud).   Great job there, Yenta.

Thank you my dawlinks!  It's one of my favorites too.  And it's not because of the drinking, Tammy bubbeleh, which I don't do much of, by the way.  It's because it has all the elements of a good story, a good moral, and it was written by the ONE that really knows how to write!  Who could ask for more?  And by the way Alice, my Bubbie was also Esther. A great lady!

I'm glad you liked it.  You should see it acted out, it's a fun time!

Your Yenta

***LOVE the interaction above! Naturally, I always want to interject a slice of health education where possible, so I am appreciative of Tammy's comment about pain relievers. Naturally, consult with a reputable pharmacist or medical provider for more information, but it's a good place to state that it's widely known that there is a synergistic effect of alcohol and acetomenophen or 'Tylenol'-type pain relievers -- the combination is very toxic and damaging to the liver. Besides, it is just funnier to say 'take two aspirin' as it was the old joke about 'and call me in the morning' advise from doctors.  How complicated things have become anymore, with all the potions on the market today! 

In my years when I was admitted to the occupational therapy program at Colorado State University I worked for the health education department of the student health center and this was something that the campus community really worked to broadcast.  Many children grow up taking "Tylenol" brand or similar for this, that and the other thing, and parents naturally aren't educating them about the caution related to combining with alcohol when they are kiddos -- then they grow up and start consuming alcoholic beverages, perhaps without their parents knowing about it.  It can be quite serious! NOW, BACK TO THE FUN!

Enough about THAT, now that the core education is out of the way, let me go on to talk about Esther!

I've always wondered why EVERYONE had an Aunt Esther it seemed, even me! Great Aunt Esther in my case, as I have no aunts or uncles since both my parents were only children.  Esther was my mother's aunt, older sister to my beloved 'Nanny'/grandmother. When I was four, Nanny, who had lived in an adjoining house to my immediate family's, left to go live/take care of her older sister. It was only going to be until Esther was not living at home or was not living, but then she ended up outliving my grandmother!

There was quite a story about when my mother took her future husband and my future father to meet Aunt Esther, nobody ever knew what happened in the house, but he came running out of the house with her chasing after him moments after everyone else had gone outside.

She was quite a character: In her young adulthood, she had been asked to marry by an unknown radio man, at the time, named Lowell Thomas, and her father said 'he's just a radioman, marry an engineer so you'll have enough money to live on'.  And then he went on to be famous and quite wealthy! 

Esther followed her father's advise and married an engineer, living out her life in Spartanburg, South Carolina. I always figured that might have been part of why she was so unpleasant and difficult, and I believe it might have been why my mother did her 'hands off advising' of my life.  Can you imagine, seeing the person you loved and were dissuaded from/"not allowed" to marry (because she gave her power away, as was the tradition in that era in the early part of the 1900s), becoming rich and famous and travling the world as a celebrity? 

His love letters to her when they were courting ended up being sent to my mother after Esther's death, as she had no children, and my mother forwarded them on to Mr. Thomas' secretary for their discretion. There is a little museum about him outside of Cripple Creek, Colorado, where he grew up in a little mountain mining town called Victor, but it was always closed when I was in the area to view aspen trees in the fall so I did not see if they made their way to 'his' museum.

Sharing the fun and laughter of this story, in my mind, is excellent medicine for the body, mind, and spirit! 

Live and Learn.  Learn and Live Better! ~~ Mardy

PS -- I wanted to know when Purim was this year in order to re-run this at the appropriate time and found a website which I liked for those who might be interested in learning more about the traditions -- they're good reminders at the very least (such as giving to the poor, to friends, etc.). 

www.chabad.org/holidays/purim/article_cdo/aid/648312/jewish/Purim-2011-Guide.htm

and the ever so good about.com: judaism.about.com/od/holidays/a/Purim.htm

In 2012 and 2013, we have added new information about foods which cause inflammation, which leads to causing or contributing to 'all' the chronic illnesses (with the exception of a few of the cancers -- and for cancer, I chose to link from Lumigrate to "Cancer Schmancer" which takes an approach of educating about what causes cancer -- toxins we put on our bodies, inhale in our buildings and vehicles or outdoors, and eat and drink in our diet. 

So I encourage people to use this FUN story to look at how culture and traditions keep us eating the same things, even after we 'know better' -- we are held back from 'doing better' sometimes. Are there ways to adapt the traditional Hamantashan recipe to use a recipe other than wheat (since our modern wheat is extremely devious what it does within our modern-day bodies, including it's components after digestion crossing the blood-brain barrier).

When you're drinking the drinks that go with the story, are they going to add to the toxic burden of your body or fuel you? There is much at the resources I provide at this link, about alcohol and grains and other additives which can be contributing signficantly to people's moods, behaviors, mental clarity, and physical symptoms, which are 'all' the chronic illnesses we think of.

 www.lumigrate.com/forum/fix-your-broken-brain-healing-your-body-first-gut-key-ultra-mind-solution-mark-hyman-md

That, above, is currently in the 'gut' forum because that is the 'scene of the crime' where the foods start becoming problematic to the mind and body (and spirit's) well-being. And here is a link to the foroum on food, where you will see TWO topics that I also recommend reading.  

www.lumigrate.com/forums/preventive-medicine-concepts/nutrition/food

One is by Dr Jeff McCloskey, related to foods and inflammation. The other is my reporting on a seminar I attended for the allopathic medical community in Grand Junction, Colorado last February, by a local pulmonologist whose wife had resolved body aches/pains/problems by learning about foods and inflammation and they saw other things in their family improve. So his interest was piqued and he tore into research and learned, presented, and did his part to 'spread the word'.  I hope you will do the same with this creative, FUN, innovative story which sets us up for talking about foods, spirits, drinks, and .... traditions! This is how we all .....

Live and Learn. Learn and Live Better! ~~ Mardy