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| Coquitlam Connection |
| From the Editor's Desk |
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| A bartender is sitting behind the bar on a typical day, when the door bursts open and in come four exuberant blondes. They come up to the bar, order five bottles of champagne and ten glasses, take their order over and sit down at a large table. The corks are popped, the glasses filled and they begin toasting and chanting, "51 days, 51 days, 51 days." More blondes arrive and join the group until finally, the tenth and final blonde arrives with a picture under her arm. She walks over to the table, sets a picture in the middle and the table erupts. Up jump the others and they begin dancing around the table, exchanging high-fives while chanting, "51 days, 51 days, 51 days." The bartender can't contain his curiosity any longer, so he walks over to the table. There in the center is a beautifully framed child's puzzle of the Cookie Monster. When the frenzy dies down a little, the bartender asks one of the blondes, "What's all the chanting and celebration about?" The blonde who brought in the picture pipes in, "Everyone thinks that blondes are dumb and they make fun of us. So, we decided to set the record straight. Ten of us got together, bought that puzzle and put it together. The side of the box said 2-4 years, but we put it together in 51 days!" |
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| Greetings Fellow Earthlings Well it seems someone took offence to an item I put in the last newsletter that was intended to be humourous. I find humour sometimes has a rather enigmatic nature. The juxtaposition of elements which one person finds hilarious, another may find offensive. Certainly cultural influences ranging from political to religious bear on humour. However humour has a way of keeping us from developing too narrow a focus and opens our eyes to other views of the world - and what better way to take another viewpoint than with a smile on our face. So if anyone has an objection to my particular sense of the ridiculous I would certainly welcome quiet discussion and in the end we may agree or we may agree to disagree. This month we have our usual eclectic mix of articles but to kick off the summer (it is out there somewhere - hiding near the equator I think) we have an article about electrolytes. Electrolytes are those all important chemicals that keep the bodies circuits (nerves) working as well as powering the cellular machinery to take up material necessary to good cell functioning. This article goes into how to recognize electrolyte imbalance both mild and severe. A must read for all ostomy owners. We then have an article on reasons for those mysterious things that go bump on your stoma followed by an interesting look at some new cancer research. Then it is back to stomas and their favorite nemesis - fiber. (Speaking of electrolytes and fiber, I used to tell people I was on a high salt, low fiber diet) For those who can still afford to fly, we have some travel tips for ostomates in the wake of heightened security procedures. Next is an ode to the banana - "prosaically speaking" (Did that joke work? - if not you can pelt me with your left over banana skins at the picnic.) Our next article is on giving your stoma (and peristomal skin) some TLC. I'm afraid I break some of the rules outlined here for which I am sure Andy or another ET will chastise me. Finally we have an article about visitation. This one focuses on visiting new temporary ostomates. The reaction to a receiving a temporary ostomy can be quite hostile and the way this visitor handled it should be a page to be added to every visitors personal guide book. Don't forget the picnic at the end of the month. Bring yourself, some friends, some food and some fun. Until then Stay Well Bob |