Health Update April/may

Greetings, Friends and Affiliates.

It's been a long time, and we've been busy trying to keep up with everything. Now after several visits to assorted medical people in Hinton, Princeton, and Charleston (some of them two hours' drive away), Gavin has gone back into hospital to have a cyst in his abdomen drained. (Keep your sense of adventure here, friends. You'll need it.) The thing formed after his 12-hour surgery in November, so now he is at home toting a drain bag with him. He is to measure the fluid drained off, and return to Charleston for inspection next Wednesday--a fine start for the merry month of May. We are hoping that the relevant physician will be satisfied to authorize removal of the drain.

The drained fluid shows no infection and no symptom suggesting cancer.* Two of us at least are quietly jubilant at both these facts. It seems too that the procedure has reduced the pressure and thus the intractable pain in his back and abdomen; so you can expect to see us at SummerFest and Sirius Rising in mid-July in Sherman NY. With Yvonne's support we'll see how many we can offend at one sitting.

This year we will go back into history some little way to look at ancient beliefs and rituals from the Indus Valley civilization and the Aryans which are the roots of present-day Wicca. As many of you know, part of the School of Wicca's course requires that students study Hinduism.

The reason for that became increasingly clear as we looked at where the founders of the various Wiccan/Witch movements came from in the mid-1800s. Without exception, all relied on the East for the basis of their paths. So we hope to see you there and we hope for some lively discussions.

Lady Rae Blackhood, whom many of you know, has also tentatively agreed to go to Sirius Rising and Summerfest. Not only is she a good speaker; she can also bring expertise gained in a lifetime of nursing to Gavin's aid in case he needs to deal with health problems.

Be strong. Live sensibly. The longer your lifespan, the more noses you can rub in the (unwelcome to conventional thinkers) successful life you're demonstrating.

Gavin and Yvonne

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

* Yvonne traces the no-cancer life we two have enjoyed so far to the Edgar Cayce suggestion: eat three raw almonds every day. Remember when everyone with cancer was making pilgrimage to Mexico to get treated with laetrile? Okay. Laetrile derives from apricot seeds. Botanists know that apricots and almonds are very closely related. I rest my case. The best aspect of it all is: Optional is not mandatory.