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Lauren Forcella

Girl’s Mother Too Grumpy To Talk To

www.StraightTalkForTeens.com

Dear Straight Talk: I'm 15 and I live with my mother and her boyfriend. My mom doesn't let me go anywhere. Not that I ask — I already know she will get mad and say no. I’m not sure where her stress comes from, maybe money, but I'm always in trouble for stupid stuff, like not cleaning things well enough, or forgetting, (never real trouble, like at school or anything). Because she’s always so mad at me, I’m afraid to talk to her and I keep everything inside. I long to talk to her about personal stuff, mother-daughter stuff, but no matter what topic I attempt, everything always gets switched over to her stress, and I never get to tell her about me. I really want to let her know about problems I'm having. How can I get her to listen? — “Annie”

From Emily, 15: Being a mother seems like a hard job, and if all you talk about is what you want, I can see how she could take offense. Is it possible that she holds everything in at work, then vents at home? Or does she have too much to do? Try asking how her day went. If she snaps, don't take offense, just ask again the next day. Cleaning the house may seem stupid to you, but it would probably brighten her day, and doing it before she asks will really help things. For the moment, put your needs aside and attend to hers. In the end, you and your mom will have a better relationship.

From Katrina, 15: When my step-mom moved in, the situation was a lot like yours. She always seemed angry or disappointed in me and I got in trouble for the small things as well. I eventually started writing notes to her, that way I could talk without her anger and stress interfering. Eventually we grew fairly close and now we are very honest with each other and can talk about almost anything.

From Ashley, 20: Tell her exactly what you said in this letter — or better, write her. Writing will help you get more of your own feelings out, and because she can't interrupt you, it can soak in. Writing was very effective for me when I needed to talk to my parents during difficult times.

From Jennifer, 14: My dad is like this with me and I’m glad I don’t live with him full-time. He is deaf to my needs and feelings. It’s “his way” or the “highway.” I once wrote him a letter, on the advice of my mother, and he just laughed while he read it. I don’t have advice other than to find someone else you can talk to, and find a healthy way to vent your frustrations

Dear “Annie”: The advice from your peers is excellent. Please don’t let Jennifer’s experience stop you from writing your mother a letter. Jennifer made the mistake of delivering her letter in person. Instead, place the letter (or send the email) such that your mother will receive it in your absence. Like Ashley says, the message needs to “soak in.”

Apart from the advice given, there is little you can do to change your mother. Her behavior is her trip, not yours. We only have two real freedoms in this world: how we deal internally with the things that happen to us, and what we decide to give our attention to. So, focus your attention on what you can do right now, in both attitude and action, to ensure your happiness. I advise getting a job. Babysitting is in high demand, transportation is usually provided, and it gets you out of the house. By saving your income for a car, you will have transportation to a better job and/or to college. It’s your life. Work with the two freedoms you have and make something of it.

Write to Straight Talk at www.StraightTalkForTeens.com or PO Box 963, Fair Oaks CA 95628.

Poppoff!
Mary Jane Popp

Health First Aid

www.poppoff.com

YOU can survive anything. That comes from the man in the know…Dr. Cass Ingram. The survival range? How about Poison Gas and Nuclear Exposure to Fleas…naturally! Dr. Ingram says it’s so in his book, “Life Saving Cures.” Dr. Ingram is a Physician and Medical Researcher who seeks the safest and natural remedies for a wide range of illnesses. He goes for the natural substances to work quickly, safely, and reliably. He actually told me on the “POPPOFF” Radio Program that these remedies saved his life, and the lives of his friends. And when he says natural, he’s not kidding. He refers to inexpensive stuff like Raw Honey, Garlic, Onions, and maybe a bit more sophisticated cures like Oil of Oregano.

Got a cold? Dr. I says try Oil of Oregano, Raw Honey, and Flavin-C to dry up that snooty nose. The little one has colic? How about Oil of Fennel, Oil of Oregano, and Oregano Juice.? And there’s that…we all whisper it…constipation problem. The good Doc says go for Red Grape Powder, Nutri-Sense, and Bromo-Zyme. Ladies, this is always a hot one we need to cool off…hot flashes. Dr. Ingram claims Royal Kick, Oil of Fennel, and Oil of sage will cool you down. Nerves got the better of you? Seek out the Wild St. John’s Wort, Oil of Lavendary, and Oil of Rosemary. You think I was kidding about the Nuclear Catastrophe thing? No way. Juice of Oregano, Juice of Rosemary, Kelp/Iodine, Oil of Cumin, Oil of Rosemary, Resvitanol, Oil of BayBerry, Oil of Sage, Selenium, Nuke Protect ™ and Folic Acid will help your survival. Naturally, Dr. I goes into how much and how often in the book.

From abdominal pain and Aids to Yellow Fever, Dr. Ingram has a natural cure. I did notice he mentioned Oil of Oregano a bunch of times. Seems he discovered the antiseptic powers of the Wild Herb and crude essential oil in 1995 as a result of a personal illness. This led to a grass roots movement. No pun intended. So his reference to Oil of Oregano refers to the high quality mountainous Wild Oregano. Also the neat part of this book is that half the book addresses the illnesses and the other half addresses the natural remedies and how they can be used.

Naturally, this book is not intended as a substitution for Medical Diagnosis or treatment. It was written by Dr. Cass Ingram to provide vital information in the event of catastrophes…especially in light of September 11 and the subsequent events. Unfortunately, that threat may be with us for a long time to come. Dr. Ingram is the author of some twelve books, including “The Cure Is In The Cupboard” and “Supermarket Remedies”. “Life Saving Cures”…How To use the latest and most powerful natural cures for the 21st Century…is available at Bookstores everywhere. It’s time we take responsibility for our own health and well being! LIVE LONG AND WELL!!!

Phil Cowan

No Good for the Goose... or the Gander

Imagine if someone rolled into a public park in your community, whipped out a chainsaw, and dropped a good-sized tree, which they proceeded to whack up and take home for firewood. Unthinkable, isn’t it? Yet other natural resources in our public parks are being ravaged in just as callous a fashion, and authorities do nothing to stop it.

Animals, particularly waterfowl, are being regularly poached in William Land Park. Yes, you read correctly, people are taking ducks and geese from Sacramento’s largest public park for their personal consumption, or to sell at market. When alerted to the problem, the city merely shrugged. Sacramento City Parks spokesman Hindalo Brima said, "We have no evidence to back up these (poaching) claims."

Really, Mr. Brima? What about the issue of fourteen missing geese? Where the flock of domestic geese at the park once numbered seventeen, now only three remain. Said Brima, "We do not track these geese…we don't know if the population dwindled because they went to another public park or pond." As domestic geese, they don’t fly, so what happened? Did they sneak across Broadway one night and set up shop over at Southside? Catch an RT bus to McKinley?

After some grumbling by Land Park residents, News 10 (KXTV) covered the issue recently, but even then, they gingerly tiptoed around the central question without ever addressing it: Who would be doing such a thing? Well, since everyone appears to be too politically correct to point fingers, allow me (I‘m not terribly big on political correctness-- just terribly big). Members of the Southeast Asian community are poaching these animals, a dirty secret that authorities have ignored for many years.

Sacramentans surely remember Kao Khae Saephan, the Laotian immigrant who was arrested in 1991 after knocking his wife unconscious with a frozen squirrel, whereupon police found several more in his freezer. Outdoorsmen have long protested the hunting practices of Southeast Asians, specifically that when they hunt, they hunt everything. Blackbirds, blue jays, squirrels, deer, bears, if it moves and has meat on its bones, they take it and eat it. This disrespect for our law and our environment has continued unabated for a very long time, in our parks, in our National Forests, on any public land where wildlife is available to be taken, and here’s the infuriating part: the immigrants are not to blame. We are.

These folks come from cultures where they’ve always been hunter-gatherers, and they’re just doing what they know. Our damnable, disgusting devotion to cultural sensitivity has turned us into such pantywaists that we no longer have the gumption to insist that the Southeast Asian community assimilate even this much. We’ve become so paralyzed by the fear that we may be branded xenophobes, or worse, racists, that we’d rather see our own laws and culture, which are clearly superior (and I have no compunction about saying that), replaced in a way that the vast majority of us find profoundly objectionable. Some may call this a simple “clash of cultures,” but as long as we continue to back down, and refuse to be assertive, even on matters where we know we’re in the right, it’s a clash our culture is losing. The multiculturalists have been telling us for years that no culture is better than another, and they couldn’t be more wrong. Ours is better, and we should be making an effort to keep it that way. Or would you prefer to forage for your next meal?

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