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In 1993 a film was produced entitled And the Band Played On. It was based on a book by Randy Shilts; who died of AIDS in 1994. It is a star studded story of the first years of the AIDS epidemic in the United States and revolves around the work of Dr. Don Francis who was an immunologist with a background studying both smallpox and Ebola.

His work at the Centers for Disease Control involve attempting to understand the nature of AIDS, the bureaucracy and apparent indifference of government, the impact on humanity which imparts some of the most profound drama a person may witness — and the rivalry of two teams pursuing the identification of the virus and the subsequent accolades that discovery will impart upon their respective careers.

After first being softened by the plight of Ryan White then watching this film I stopped being the classic redneck homophobe with every joke you can think of regarding how AIDS is contracted in favor of more compassion for those affected by HIV, AIDS, and the horrible death sentence to which it used relegate those who became infected.

I recommend that all of humanity watch this flick if only once in an attempt to gain the understanding it gave to me. Though my religious convictions remain intact, you’d be surprised at the layers of callousness And The Band Played On can remove from even the most hard hearted personality such as those like myself.

Every June 27th the National Association of People with AIDS in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as other local and national groups in the United States hold National HIV Testing Day.

It is to promote testing for HIV, the virus which causes AIDS in those who may be at risk on behalf of those who are living with this 21st century plague.

The number of HIV infections is on the rise and it is said that there is a 20% infection rate where the victim is unaware of their HIV status.

HIV testing is that critical first step toward control of this scourge which crosses ethnic and age boundaries with a devastation to health unparalleled in modern time with no definitive cure presently in sight.

To learn more about how to participate in National HIV Testing Day visit the NAPWA HIV Testing Day Web site or email nhtd@napwa.org.

Some of my fondest memories are those of visiting my grandma Ida who lived on a farm in Salley, South Carolina. We would go there just about every time dad changed duty stations. There were times when we were close enough to commute — sometimes the trip would entail a two hour ride from Hanahan or Goose Creek in South Carolina. Other less frequent times we would travel from Virginia Beach, Virginia and have an eight or so hour trip one way. It was always good to see her and embark on the various adventures the travel would entail.

One of my favorite activities would be gathering eggs. She maintained a fairly large flock with a couple of roosters and they would pick various spots to “set”. Sooner or later there would be an egg there. Sometimes two or three. I was told to always leave a single egg in the nest at all times or the hen might not return to the nest.

When I inquired as to why we were to leave ‘just one egg’ I was told that chickens couldn’t count.

Later on when we relocated to the same area after my dad’s retirement from the Navy we had chickens of our own. My dad could build just about anything and constructed a chicken coup and fresh eggs were the norm for us throughout that time. My parents always tried to indulge me in my various hobbies and interests and I even obtained a few ducks. Those were much larger eggs and sometimes contained two yolks.

I had a few of those for breakfast at times but must admit my ‘city boy’ preference for chicken eggs as I thought the duck eggs were a little overpowering for breakfast. It is my understanding that duck eggs are superior for use in cakes and other baked goods.

May is National Egg Month.

The American Egg Board (AEB) is the U.S. egg producer’s link to consumers in communicating the value of the incredible egg. Our mission is to increase demand for egg and egg products on behalf of U.S. egg producers.

Excerpt: American Egg Board Web Site

Eggs are a concentrated powerhouse of nutrition. I eat eggs for that reason. There are those who have allergies to eggs and egg products but barring such contraindications everyone should consider an egg or two in the diet from time to time as a good source of a lot of what’s good for you!

Nope, ain’t going there. This particular observance may as well not even be. Animal rights activists whine about the inhumane treatment of food animals before and during slaughter. We have that bizarre, previously unseen dementia in humans known as “new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease” secondary to consuming the flesh of ‘mad cows’.

An industry which shoots up it’s product with antibiotics and throws diseased animals into the mix for consumption certainly doesn’t deserve a plug.

Yeah, I eat beef and veal every now and then but I’m actually more partial to lamb these days. No, I don’t consume it nearly as much as I did before the lawsuit against Oprah. The bottom line:

Though I don’t dispute the nutritional value of red meat in the diet; the slaughterhouse exposes have left me with little appetite for it anymore and there are both equal and better sources of dietary protein.

Agriculture was a better thing back in the days of Spencer Smith and Wagener-Salley High School. The FFA, growing crops, animal husbandry IN PARTICULAR and such had a much better spin back then prior to learning of the depravity that can go on in a slaughterhouse environment, how veal is made, and food animal health and hygiene especially.

Now get on out to MacDonalds and eat that burger !

This is another one of those obscure observances that really have your best interests in mind. Being a wise health consumer entails a lot these days. It is not enough to go to some practitioner and involve yourself in their mandate — but it is a time to seek, learn, and know just what is good and perhaps not so good for you from a health perspective.

Research is that thing you invoke when your gut feeling says perhaps advice or treatment regimens may not be everything you’d hoped for. I’d like to say that “that is why we have doctors and nurses” but I’m afraid that the playing field is quite uneven from a standpoint of qualifications and even philosophies.

There are practitioners out there with marginal credentials, medicine errors, malpractice complaints lodged against them who remain out there in circulation. Where the professional body won’t regulate itself adequately to protect you — you need to take the initiative to protect yourself.

An institutional license is an excellent indicator of a person who may require more structure and support in their practice of medicine. I once knew a nurse who bragged of her ability to keep her job in light of numerous medication administration errors because she kept changing agencies for which she worked. Then there is the ‘wholistic’ man out purely to “sell things” and that is the stated primary focus of his practice.

The word ‘iatrogenic’ refers to illness induced by recommendations or therapy and/or the complications thereof. The field of medicine downplays theses circumstances. This may be in an effort to hide the fact that in actuality the pharmaceutical industry rules their domain.

Whereas the physician was once in charge, the marketing departments of the drug companies now decide courses of treatments and even go so far as to make up names for conditions suffered by the human body.

The DEA has a pretty dismal record for enforcement attuned to the public good and as such should be regulated by a physician agency instead of one in the corner of the drug companies who would have us subsidize the prescriptions of the world.

The physician is supposed to be in charge of the field of medicine. Not some nurse. Not some pharmacist. Not some governmental tool of the pharmacy industry’s army of lobbyists. Being a wise health consumer entails an ability to discern regarding health care — to know the difference between the money making industrial complex and the factors which may be called “care” …

Research your health care before you embark upon it. We should attempt not to be ignorant in matters of being a health care consumer and too many are out for themselves in this arena at the expense of the patient.

It’s National Grapefruit Month. Time to celebrate a wonderful form of citrus.

I have to admit it to be an ‘acquired’ taste for me; much like beer and liquor — maybe even collard greens as well. I wasn’t born enjoying the taste of any of these things. Now I like them all, but I digress … again.

The grapefruit is an evergreen. Time was that these subtropical plants bore fruit with yellow to orange skins and usually had white segments of tart unmistakable citrus.

Over the years there were various cultivars and their varying flesh coloration from white to pink to red and even some which are very sweet indeed.

My favorite is the ruby red and my dad was partial to both grapefruits as well as ruby red grapefruit juice which he kept cold in the fridge. I was known to turn up a bottle and drink it down on occasion. In retrospect, this may have been where my taste for them evolved as well. I recall times where we would all partake of grapefruits packed in boxes.

The thing that made this noteworthy was my need for great spoonfuls of sugar atop the grapefruit halves I consumed in my youth. Tart is pleasing to the adult palate whereas sweet seems to please the child’s — or so it was with me. I know young children who like the tart flavors as well.

Now I can peel them and eat them like an orange. I simply grew to like that flavor regardless of the tartness of the variety.

Grapefruit are grown in the US in various states such as Florida, Texas, Arizona, and California. Grapefruits are good tasting to most adult palates and a healthy source of vitamin C and bioflavonoids.

Though I really don’t think you should go out and throw a party featuring a large tub of iced grapefruit; National Grapefruit Month is a grand time to introduce or even rediscover one of those suprisingly refreshing, healthful foods — the grapefruit.

Happy National Grapefruit Month !