12:22 a.m. - 2004-02-09
Coincidence
Good morning dear diary. The internet connection at the hotel costs extra. I wanted to record today though so I wouldn't lose the details. I'm on a tight budget, so this will be the only other entry until I am home again.
There was one really strange synchronicity while I was on the airplane. At the beginning of the trip, I was leafing through the on-board magazine. Just checking the movie (Intolerable Cruelty with Catherine Zeta Jones and George Clooney) and the radio channels that were available. The magazine fell open to an article that was about the research of Dr. Paul Cox, a British Columbia ethnobotanist, who is studying traditional herbal medicines in Hawaii. The article had a precis on several plants used in native cultures world-wide, that are now standard treatments for a variety of disorders. The latest recovery/discovery may be of a plant he is studying now that appears to stop the HIV/Aids virus in its tracks. What is unique about Dr Cox is that he has refused patents on drugs he has already helped develop, insisting that the patents and the money from them are instead returned to the native community that had been using them for centuries.
The synchronicity came into play when I opened the book I'm midway through called "The Serpent and The Rainbow" (1985)by Dr Wade Davis - another British Columbia ethnobotanist - educated at Harvard. He was, at the point I resumed reading, detailing his observations of the practices of the Vodoun in Haiti, who use potent native flora and fauna to creeate the phenomenon of zombies. The plants he discussed, as he was analysing the potions, were the same ones listed in the precis in the on-board magazine in 2004. They also both related back to a book I read about ethnobotanical practices of the Songhai tribe in West Africa by Dr Paul Stoller/Sheryl Olkes. Just strange. One of the biggest health issues for developing countries located in tropical zones is water-borne parasites that live in both the human population and animals used locally for food. It debilitates then destroys an incredible reservoir of human potential. Yet a very ancient practice of West Africans seems to indicate that one of the botanicals discussed in all three sources might hold the key to addressing that issue. Hmmmmmmmm.
I spent a lot of the rest of the journey chatting with the Returning Officer for the constituency north of mine. Some local issues where we share problems, but since he's also an old hand, he told me more about the international assignments he's had over the years. We got to discussing "reasonable risk" as it relates to working in Afghanistan and Iraq. I allowed I would be willing to go, but only if it was a UN sponsored vote. The international scrutiny and the potential loss of the goodwill of their normal trading and cultural partners would be a lot more protection for us than the Canadian army dealing with the Taliban in Afghanistan or the US/British led coalition dealing with the Ba'ath terrorists in Iraq, even though they are doing the best that it is possible for them to do under the circumstances. Occupying forces, regardless of intent, won't be seen as a stepping stone to self-government just by definition.
When my AC finally arrived, my assistant and I went out for supper with her. There is a Tim Horton's kiddycorner from our hotel, that serves wonderful fresh-made soups, sandwiches, chili, and baked goods for a very reasonable price. We just sat and reviewed all the weird things that had happened to each of us over the course of the day, since we were all separated from each other on the day's journey. Then the talk turned to getting to know each other a little better. Back to our rooms. Luxury of a long hot soak in the tub, then self care for me. Something I never have time for at home. I think the other two just meant to get extra shut-eye since our classes begin at 6 am Calgary time. Just called my guys and they're fine, so I think I'l follow their lead now.
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