Antivenom: Live and Let Die

(Public Domain)

The story of Adam, Eve and the Serpent is quite well-known, even among non-believers.  Many would agree that serpents can be life-threatening, although some would distinguish between physical and eternal life.

If eternal life is your goal, it could be best to ignore the temptations that a serpentine figure might offer. If physical life is your perceived end game, it still might be wise to proceed cautiously through slithery terrain. In either case, advance preparation is key.

An effective “antivenom” for slippery slopes can be devotion to a Truth that could ultimately yield freedom from all vicious cycles.  Or, you could instead spend precious days, months and years encouraging snakes to bite your temporal flesh.

The latter is what a fellow named Tim Friede is all too familiar with.  After becoming comatose from self-induced poisoning, Friede later declared, “I know what it feels like to die from snakebite.”  He went on to repeatedly defy the adage “Once bitten, twice shy.”  After more and more bites, Friede was finally ready to abandon the Serpent.  And yet, he then wistfully uttered, “I do miss it.”  An all-too-common feeling we humans tend to have while loosening the grip of toxic habits...

Resources

https://news.yahoo.com/news/man-let-snakes-bite-him-025559322.html 

Earning Its Stripes

Andes Mountains
(Photo by Jorge Morales Piderit)

Far from being yellow-bellied, the yellow-striped Alsodes vittatus frog has emerged victorious after 130 years of virtual extinction.

This stalwart species has managed to survive within Chile’s frigid mountain streams by wedging between rocks and surfacing only at night. 

Its adaptability offers possibilities for the long-term survival of other endangered groups - perhaps including hope for humanity itself. 

Resources

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/rare-creature-found-after-130-years-in-the-chilean-mountains/ss-AA1ECqy6

Hens for Hire

Commercial Chicken House
(USDA Photo)

Why buy eggs when you can simply rent hens?   Although hosting hens is certainly no cheaper than plucking eggs from a market bin, it can be more educational, and even more nutritious.

Kids who know nothing about eggs outside of Humpty Dumpty might be tickled to learn  that omelettes originate from the same orifice as chicken droppings.  They might also be strengthened from eating fresh eggs rather than by waiting a month or two for the oldies to arrive from farm to grocery.

If you’re wondering how to care for hired hens and your wallet is bulging with Los Angeles wealth, there’s a solution at hand.  Just call upon “Rent a Chicken,” and your yard may soon be transformed into Hen Central, “predator-proof coop” and all.

Resources

https://news.yahoo.com/news/lifestyle/backyard-barnyard-rising-egg-prices-015348903.html

 

Food for Thought

Diocese of Chiclayo
(Photo by Frank Coronel Mendoza) 

We all eat to live (and then some), celebrities included.  The difference is that our daily bread does not appear as breaking news, whereas the pope’s sometimes does.

When waiters in the Peruvian city of Chiclayo were recently asked what then-Bishop Robert Prevost used to order, their tongues went a wagging.  One recalled that, back around 2015, the menu read as follows: Breakfast consisted of “fried chicken or pork belly… washed down with orange juice and coffee.”  Lunch “was sometimes stewed goat; dinner was chicken broth.”

Prices weren’t divulged, yet one server couldn’t help but add: “He didn’t tip you, that’s for sure, but he gave you his blessing.” 

Resources

https://news.yahoo.com/news/blessings-not-tips-pope-leo-210016026.html

Drunk without Drink

(Photo by Bernard Spragg)

According to many religions, life as we perceive it can be quite illusory. 

Case in point: Those who appear to be drunk may not have imbibed a single drop of alcohol.  They may instead suffer from a rare condition known as auto-brewery in which the body converts carbohydrates into ethanol.

This can occur when “microorganisms capable of fermenting alcohol outgrow normal gut flora.”  Probiotics plus a low-carb diet have been effective for restoring gut health.

Sometimes a rose is a rose is a rose, but sometimes it’s a horse of a different color.  Investigating before assuming can avoid mistaking manure for perfume.

Resources

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/doctors-repeatedly-told-this-toronto-woman-she-was-drunk--but-she-never-had-a-sip-of-alcohol-what-is-auto-brewery-syndrome-194746438.html

Mitochondrial Eve

Eve in Paradise
(1305 Armenian Icon)

It’s interesting to note that science has become so much more believable than religion.

Case in point: Eve.  When the Bible speaks of all humans descending from one woman named Eve, many respond with cynicism.  Yet when scientists speak of all humans descending from one woman “who lived 200,000 years ago in Botswana,” many respond with assent.

These scientific findings stem from mitochondrial research, which is why this “Mother of all Folks” came to be known as “Mitochondrial Eve.”   At least the name stuck, even if the belief didn’t… 

Resources

https://en.as.com/latest_news/scientists-discover-that-all-humans-come-from-the-same-mother-who-lived-200000-years-ago-in-botswana-n/

Salt of the Interview

Salty Stone at Dead Sea
(Photo by xta11)

During biblical times, salt was a treasured item.  When Jesus called his followers “salt of the earth,” he was highlighting two essential qualities: flavoring and preservation.  The disciples were expected to enhance society in the way that salt enhances meals and were expected to preserve morality in the way that salt preserves food.

These days, business leaders have been utilizing salt to separate the sheep from the goats.  During lunch interviews, potential hires may be sneakily subjected to a “salt test.”  They are closely watched to see whether they salt their food before tasting it.  If they dare to commit such an offense, their chances of joining the company are immediately reduced to zero.  Why?  It is believed that those who hastily salt their food before analyzing the need for this may do the same with weighty on-the-job decisions.

Although minor choices sometimes do foreshadow major problems, a hasty hiring decision based upon one such narrow point seems already tainted.

Resources

https://www.ladbible.com/community/boss-salt-pepper-job-interview-trick-906471-20240509

https://www.gotquestions.org/salt-and-light.html#:~:text=Jesus%20used%20the%20concepts%20of%20salt%20and,role%20of%20His%20followers%20in%20the%20world.&text=In%20the%20same%20way%20that%20salt%20enhances,the%20flavor%20of%20life%20in%20this%20world.