Sadness, comes in Waves

Lately, like Shakespearn plays, life seem to get more dramatic...as the cast of characters take on different personalities...the pressure of society, the pressure of the economy, and the pressures that we place upon our selves..seem to squeeze upon our life forces. As age works upopn our bodies, and our vision is depleted, the mental powers that gives us vision, in hope and mental images also wains.
We look forward now more to survival than to goals that illuminate our smiles and challenge our imagination. We look to medicines to alleviate pain, real or imagined.And Challege now has been replaced by battles.. one after another, or some simultaneously.
Seriousness of purpose, seems to replace sillyness of joy. And I am sure you can sense in my writing here tonight, a change in tonality.....a change in sentence structure, a change in the choices of words...
Today I recived a call from a friend, that I suffered with, helping with an addiction. The problems were not only addiction and health related, but legal as well. When my friends and family suffer, I suffer along with them. Three years have passed and I thought and prayed the road to recovery was paved with the stones of hope and the jewels of progress. But a phone call today, confirmed my dread from lack of communication with this friend for a few months. All achievements of the pst three years MIGHT have been lost. A relapse came crashing down, and my friend lost his job, an had to enter a detox. The one word greeting "hello" was all I needed.The depression...the negativity in the pronounciation of that single word..tole me everything. No conversation was needed. My stomach with the one word felt as if some one kicked me with all their might. I new....and I was always afraid that this call would come. Unfortunately it did.
The Sadest past, I only can give some tough love. and encouragement. I no longer have the opportuneity to fight others battles....and my greatest fear, is that this person, also, has lost the will to fight. Addiction is a disease. It is not an affliction that occurs in bad people. Our society is not set up to help people the way they need help. Jail is not a cure. It is only an incubator for most addicts...they just learn how to be better criminals....and addicts when they are relaease. I was hoping my friend would make it...and I still will remain positive and give encouragment.....but my energy is not as it was....three years ago

On the positive side, it is now about 5 weeks since my friend BOB got sick with what they diagnosed as pneumonia. Bob found out from the visiting nurse,that 3 other people who had what he had, are now back in VAlley Hospital with a relapse.....I wonder if it could have been the swine flue.....since he got so sick, so fast and almost died. The good news is that he is now home for over a week..and gaining strentgh...daily....In the begining of his illness, I did think he would make it...and if you remember I said, even thought I am not a beliver...I still prayed every night...that he pulls thru.....and if there is any higher power listening or reading my blog(Do GODS read BLOGS?) I dont think they have computers in Heaven....but I guess if you are a GOD...you can gain direct access without one? I thank all the higher powers...or power for having BOB back with us.

Business picked up a bit....but its crazy..one day one customer spends a small fortune..then for two days nothing comes in at all...now that can get depression. Everyone here is depressed and on edge.

To change the subject to something more pleasant and tasty....I will give a recipe now, that is currently in the oven cooking.....COUS COUS...Morroccan Style...or maybe Bergen COuntry Style... here is the recipe:
To a Dutch oven filled with the liquid from cooking a few pounds of chicken for BUDDY DOG, I added: Two medium baking potaotes cubed, one large sweet potatoe cubed, three stalks of celery and their leaves, two large onions cut up, one large parsnip, three medium carrots, one red pepper, on can diced tomatoes and juice,half can chick peas,three large cloves of garlic, teaspoon each of tumeric,cinnamon,cumin,dried cilantro, half teaspoon saffron, teason dried mint.....and half teaspoon "Harrissa" an ISraeli or Morroccan chile paste....(will add more when eating...and I put in just a little salt....then I added two large lamb sausages that were freshly made at FAIRWAY SUPERMARKET in PARAMUS. Ordinarily, I would also add a pound or more of fresh lamb meat..but trying it more to the veggitarian side tonight....I will bake it in the Dutch oven until all the veggies are soft..then taste and correct the spices.... Then serve over cous cous.... It is served more or less in soup form, and I dont thicken it at all...that is the way I have had it in Morrocco and across Europe.