Tips for Fighting the Winter Time Blues
The darkest months of the year are upon us. Many of us will find it noticeably more difficult to carry out our activities of daily living over the winter months. Our daily rhythms are driven by biological functions called Circadian rhythms. Research suggests that seasonal or winter depression is often a result of an imbalance between your body’s circadian rhythms and rhythms of the environment! Secretions of the hormone melatonin appear to be particularly important in winter depression. This hormone, nicknamed the “Dracula” hormone, is secreted by the brain’s pineal gland when our surroundings are dark, but not when they are light. Most people are able to adjust to these internal changes. For those who struggle with mood changes in the winter, however, the results can feel crushing.
Mission: Possible
Recapturing the selflessness that built America Based on an interview by Douglas Graves
“It would seem as if the rulers of our time sought only to use men in order to make things great; I wish that they would try a little more to make great men; that they would set less value on the work and more upon the workman; that they would never forget that a nation cannot long remain strong when every man belonging to it is individually weak; and that no form or combination of social polity has yet been devised to make an energetic people out of a community of pusillanimous and enfeebled citizens” (Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America Volume 2).
Band of Brothers
The term, "band of brothers," has been made famous in literature, history, entertainment, and politics. Its first known use was in Shakespeare's Henry V: "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he today that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother." The phrase was used in Wilhelm Tell, wound its way through both sides of the Mason-Dixon line in the Civil War, a WWII book and movie, and suffered a more contemporary resurgence with John Kerry in the 2004 election. It signifies fellows who share a close comradeship in a shared struggle, bonding as closely as actual blood ties can make them.
Beware: Winter Hazards Could Cause a Hernia
Take care during winter activities to prevent developing a hernia or reinjuring a repaired one, warns St. Luke’s general surgeon Emanuel F. Nogueira,MD.“A hernia occurs when an internal organ or other body part protrudes through the wall of a muscle or other tissue that normally contains it. A strenuous activity, such as lifting and throwing heavy snow, or yanking the starter cord of a snow blower, can put extra strain on the abdominal muscles. This could cause a hernia or reinjure one that had been repaired previously,” says Dr. Nogueira, chief of surgery and director of the Hernia Center of Excellence at St. Luke’s Upper Bucks Campus. Dr. Nogueira has earned the Surgeon of Excellence in Hernia Surgery™ (SOEHS) designation by Surgical Review Corporation.
In the Eyes of the World
In the eyes of the world, my father was just an average man — never invented anything, never made a speech, never sat on a committee, rarely ever gave his opinion to anyone. Truth is, I couldn’t tell you much about what he thought, or even what his political leanings were. What I do know about is his heart. He served in the Army Air Corps during WWII and was in an airplane mishap when everyone bailed out. His parachute malfunctioned and he ended up with a steel plate in his knee, one in his head, and blind.
My Name Is Connery, Sean Connery
Thomas Sean Connery was born in the Fountainbridge area of Edinburgh, Scotland, on 25 August 1930. Sir Sean died peacefully in his sleep in the Bahamas. "My name is Bond, James Bond." For movie watchers of the 1960s, that is one of the most familiar lines in movie history. It was the legendary spy 007's way of introducing himself.