Do Tell - in Paradise

[Guest guest]

Name: ( In Paradise )

Country: Paradise California USA

Age: 52

Type of EDS: don't know for sure - chiari /EDS / multiple

sclerosis and ocult spinal bifida stuff rolled together - some

medical history consistant with vascular type - tent. accepted to

the NIH study but no dates booked yet .

Occupation: retired ( disability ) neuropsych nurse , chemical

dependancy councler certified as well . Former owner /

mannager of a music booking agency and whip cracker road

mannager - also former PBS / NPR ( Public TV and radio

producer ).

-- now chiari and disablity's advocate / Board member of both

Wishes and Rainbows and an Independant Living Center

serving the northern third of CA ,( Feels like a full time job now -

but actually just an average effort of 4 hours or so a day as my

energy permits ) -- still doing a bit of volunteer work with PBS

/NPR as well / and a bit of volunteer work with world music

festivals ect .

Volunteering/Hobbies: Tradional music -world music focus ,

LOTS of advocacy efforts through Independant Living Center

service , efforts with three chiari suport groups / and Wishes and

Rainbows efforts ( a small nonprofit org . serving those with

chiari and syringomyelia ) - LEARNING from all of you about EDS

( my newest pleasure getting to know you all - and finding so

much valuable understanding from your experience and suport !)

Camping at music festivals - natural sciences and gardening

efforts in POTS /raised beds lately ( sooo much easier ) - lol -

with a LOVE of flowers and a black tendancy thumb -tehehe !

= I gotta say your all really wonderful /sweet and kind folks that

I'm so much enjoying gettting to KNOW too :-)

Current issues/stressors: NOT understanding my own EDS

boundry's so overdoing efforts physically . It makes soo much

sense now - but learning with the help of a GREAT

neurospecialist rehab PT that I've developed some TERRIBLE

habbits trying to compensate too - LOL . - three surgery's

pending / on hold while the EDS issue gets sorted out better -

revision of spinal bifida repairs done 30 years ago , shunting for

continued cerebeller compresion following a very conservative

chiari decompresion ( done correctly GIVEN the EDS thank gosh

- just not enough bone removed to get all the presure off my

lower brain - shunting the ONLY safe ave. now given the EDS ) -

mulitple sclerosis rollar coaster ride thrown in to give me an

extra challenge in all this,

-- but a POSSITIVE " issue " too is that LIFE IS GOOD despite

this all - and I'm LIVING IT UP enjoying as MUCH as possible of

each day too ! that ties to a stressor - I tend to push too hard /to

far - LOL .

Current joys/announcements:

I mannaged to send my daughter to Europe this

summer --{{{ big time envy }}} = despite living on a very tight

budget - MY lifelong dream to go - and MIXED feelings I got HER

there before MYSELF - ( giggles ) -- she's a true blessing and joy

to me and really deserved this .

Shes slowly but determinedly still working her way through

college still at 26 / having been willing to put aside a " Normal "

attendance to give me LOTS Of help remaining in my home

through some really challenging years with all that's turned up

haywire physically . Thats a big joy to me too -- I LOVE watching

/being a part of her growth as a great gal -- being a mom brings

me great joy STILL and this has been a really wonderful thing for

both of us to celebrate !

Hearing her experiences /stories and seeing the growth and

changes getting to go to Europe brought in her mind is a great

joy !

Summer tomatoes = YUMMM ( not to forget all the great summer

fruits and veggies too - Farmers market that is RIGHT next door

to my home once a week led to abandoning attempts to grow my

OWN veggies - they do SUCH a better job -tehehe !

= going camping in the high sierra's this next week at a music

festival right next to Yosemmite national park sleeping under the

stars -and dancing in the meadows ( a 25 year simi anual

tradition that I LOVE and which gives me a spritual renual each

time ) -- ONE joy attached - I bought a FABULOUS below zero

sleeping bag this last festival and was WARM for the first time

there in years - YIPPEEE - tehehe . -- Simple pleasures tickle me

NO end --

and my daughter's nickname for me

" freeze dried hippie " == it makes me laugh EVERY time I hear it

or think of it again --she's soo right = LOL.

My last joy here -- LIving in Paradise ( yep there really is a town

with that lovely name here ) -- it's in the northern foothills of the

" High Sierra " mountians on the side of an active volcano Mt

Lassen -- rural / quiet ( our town really does roll up at dusk ) - but

critters abound - lakes /creeks /rivers -nearby in the forest -

bears -big cats - in town deer - coons in the trash - possums

hanging from my trees in my yard - ( Nasty sharp teath and

territorial - LOL ).

== HUMMING birds dive bombing my head -and hovering at the

EDGE of my ears when I go to refill the feeder - LOL - but looking

sooo lovely ! == It's the sort of town any rural loving lifestyle gal

would be FORTUNATE to live in -- much like vacation

destinations most folks just get a few days in a summer cabin

living in -and DAILY reminds me how beautiful a world surounds

me !

Since were all getting to know each other -- here are my two

favorite " true stories " about Paradise

A few years back -- a great " quandry " arouse when a young

yearling bear wandered into the edge of town and discovered an

abandon fruit orchard no longer being harvested -- the plums

OVERRIPE and turning to great alchol content . He gorged -

getting drunk and acting VERY happy much to both the

ammusment and alarm of neighbors and the State Dept . of Fish

and Game wardens resposable to " relocate " him back farther in

the forest . -- There was a standoff for several days -- the

wardens afraid to tranqualise him because he obviously was

drunk -but NOT at all sure they could disturb his slumber and

SORE head waking up either ! -- HE'd wake -- stumble around

OBVIOUSLY out of sorts for awhile - GO back to gorging on the

plums and get silly /happy dancing and batting at nothing but the

air -- fall back into that passed out state of oblivion --wake and

start all over again == ( Roaring in giggles over the TV reporters

footage of watching the days long drama unfold - ) -- finally he'd

had enough and just wandered back into the forest -- BUT he's

come back each late summer for several years now -- going on

a bender again too !

And the story about how Paradise got it's name .

During the CA gold rush of 1850's -- gold was discovered here

soon after the first " strike " discovery of gold in the creeks /rivers

about 100 miles south of our town -- and a BIG minner's

community of tents on the rivers and creeks sprung up here on

the side of the vocano along the creeks and rivers . -This area

became known as Pair of Dice for the gambling halls / a rather

ROUGH and tumble gathering spot where many actually FOUND

gold / and came to let of steam after all the hard efforts of

minning . MOSTLY men -- few women came to the camps the

first couple years .

Slowly a larger more permanant community of halls /buildings /

mining stores ect .sprang up to serve the 100,000 or so minners

scattered here on the mountian -- then low and behold - some

" respectable " gals arrived too !

They FIRST banded together to start a church ( it was a pretty

ROUGH and tumble sort of ' " town " by then !!

-- and then their first offical effort --to CHANGE the name of " Pair -

of -Dice " == they quickly settled on Paradise -- and thus our

name :-)

So when you see me sign in Paradise -- now you'll know

the " rest of the story " = too me it really IS a Paradise !

Thanks soo much to all of you who've been posting their " do tell "

stories and bits too - it's really helped to get to know you all a bit

better !

In Paradise