Home Community Newsletter Vol 3 Issue 74

Arthritis Insight Newsletter * Vol. 3 Issue 74 September 19, 2001

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Welcome to the 74th issue of the Arthritis Insight Newsletter. All back issues will be posted at /community/newsletter/
Feel free to pass this newsletter around to others who may be interested.

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The information in this newsletter should not take the place of advice and guidance from your own health-care providers. Material in this newsletter is provided for educational and informational purposes only. Be sure to check with your doctor before making any changes in your treatment plan. Information presented here is the opinion of the authors and has not necessarily been approved or endorsed by the medical advisors.

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Notes From Tina
(tina@arthritisinsight.com)
Tina Underwood aka KrissyJo

Wow, what a week. I agonized over what to write today. Should I keep it light? Or focus on the events of last week? What will our readers want to see? My mind has been on little else, so it is hard to focus on an arthritis related newsletter. I will do my best, but I fear there will be little related to arthritis in this issue.

As a community this has touched us many ways. I know several community members have friends still missing in New York City. And we have at least one member in New York City as part of the rescue effort. And as the weeks and months pass I am sure we?ll all be touched in many more ways.

I hope, by now, those cowardly bastards realize they failed miserably in their attempt to weaken us. They have only made us stronger. I picture them looking down, like the Grinch looking at Whoville, with amazement in their eyes as they see the entire country singing "God Bless America". What a shock that must have been. My hope is that we continue to pull together, continue to amaze them with our unity and strength.

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Ron's Ramblin's
(ron@arthritisinsight.com)
Ron Griffin aka IndyRon

This past week has taken its toll on all of us I am sure. It took a long time for me to realize that I was not watching some creation from one of the major computer graphic studios. There was a magnetism that kept drawing me back to see if a commercial was on, or if the scenery had changed. Sadly it hadn't. With each passing day, the realization of the enormity of the tragedy grew. There is nothing that we can think, say or do that can erase the image of destruction from our minds. I taks some solace in the fact that for the first time in my life, I see the country pulling together with one common focus, to right the wrong done to over 5,000 innocent people.

But more than just a national focus, I am heartened by the attitudes of all of the free world. The free world has now decided that we have been pushed way to far and that we are not going to take it any more.

OK, what are a bunch of gimps going to do. One hell of a lot, because we are already a very large and unified extended family. Our family does not know physical borders, nor does it know a specific language, or religion or political bent. We as a family cross all boundries and areas of the world.

What we can do, is what we do so well, what we do almost every day of the year. We can provide comfort and support to each other and to our fellow sufferers across the world. The one thing thing that can and will defeat the kinds of evil that we have witnessed is wave after wave of careing and love. Not a physical love, but the love of and respect for living things.

Each time we are beat back, we as a family will hold each other just a little tighter, will send real or cyber hugs to anyone who needs or wants them and eventually, the demon will be smothered.

When the kind of caring and support that I have seen in our little part of the world becomes more noticed, and multiplies, hopefully, we who inhabit a small speck of dust hurdling through the galaxy will realize that there is a much better way of life than trying to destroy each other....

A pipe dream? I hope not.

(((((((((BIG WORLDWIDE GROUP HUG)))))))

~Indy

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Tina's Tips
tina@arthritisinsight.com

Arthritis can affect your ability to do even the simplest of tasks. I've heard some people say, "Accept your limitations." I'm not sure accepting them is the way to go. I prefer to challenge those limitations, work around them, finding alternate ways of achieving the same goal. Every week I'll share some tips I've found to work around those annoying limitations and I hope all of you will send in your tips too. We may not be the next Martha Stewart, but sometimes the simplest things can help so much.

Anyone who sends me five new (never published on AI) tips and includes their mailing address with get an Arthritis Insight easy grip pen!

This is from Denise:
I have "inflammatory arthritis" and cats that love can cat food. No not the ones you can open with the electric can opener the pop top ones. So I use a spoon and put the end thru the tap and use it as a lever to open the can. Works wonders on bad mornings at 5:00am when they want to eat and you want to sleep!

And two from Dawn:
I work in an office situation and found that if you use an automatic stapler it is easier than trying to squeeze the real stapler.

I have found that if you buy the squeeze mayo or jelly it is easier than trying to fight with the lids.

Check out more tips at /living/tips.html and send in yours today to Tina@arthritisinsight.com

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What's New?

God Bless America!
America Under Attack
We've gathered links and information about Tuesday's attacks.
/america.html

Featured Discussion-Arthritis & Hobbies
From airplane models to zombie chasing, arthritis can impact all of our hobbies. But that doesn't mean we have to give them up. As I've said before, "I've heard some people say, "Accept your limitations." I'm not sure accepting them is the way to go. I prefer to challenge those limitations, work around them, finding alternate ways of achieving the same goal." And this applies to our hobbies as well.
Coming September 24:
Sex, Intimacy & Arthritis
For some it's a delicate topic, others may find it offensive, but most of us want to talk about Sex, Intimacy & Arthritis. And talk we will! The week of September 24 will bring a very in depth Featured Discussion. Don't be shy! Please take the time to answer this quick survey.
/feature/survey.html

Question of the Week:
What was your favorite childhood hobby or activity? Why?
/community/question

Advice for Better Living
My Dr. wants to put me on Remicade. I am allergic to Embrel and the other drugs have not worked for me! I am currently on Methotrexate, Prednisone and Arava! I can survive on these drugs, but not to the point of being able to work! I have small veins, with a tendency to blow out and my question is has anyone else with similar problems been on Remicade? If so, did they have problems with the infusion?
/living/advice

Birthday Board
A buncha new Happy Days added
/community/

Photo Album
Cush lives! PAC NW mini gimpfest and more.
/community/photo

Member Stories
Linda shares her story, Cecilia updates hers and KJ updates her Arava Journal.
/community/stories

Get Involved
There are some great meetings planned for the Kalispell Montana area.
/community/involved

Expert Advice
I can hardly walk for five minutes and it is very painful I do other sitting exercise and some yoga. This I think is not enough. Kindly let me know how to increase my walking. Is cycling better and will it give enough exercise, I mean stationary bike. I have OA IN BOTH KNEES. i CANNOT SWIM. tHANKS Salma from Pakistan.
/medical/advice

Speak Out!
Bill Anderson Speaks Out! on the Canadian Healthcare system and Remicade.
/community/speak/index.html

What do you want to see on Arthritis Insight or in the Newsletter? Let us know and we'll do our best to accommodate!

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Arthritis Insight Chat
/community/chat

Calling all ADULTS! Join us this Monday at 9:30pm Eastern time for a lively discussion about Sex, Intimacy & Arthritis with Drs. Waters and Hoch.

For the complete schedule see:
/community/chat/schedule.html

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Cooking with Char
Char LeFleur
Char@arthritisinsight.com

Hello everyone. This is NOT going to be a column in the traditional sense of my column. But more a short conversation with my friends.

Last week, on Tuesday, the world changed forever. And at this time I would like to appeal to you all, to NOT direct your pain and anger toward our own people who have originally come from the middle east, or whos ancestors came from the middle east. The great strength of our nation comes from the very diversity of our people. Unless you are a Native American, ALL of us have ancestors who came from other places in this world.

All of Islam is not responsible for what took place in New York City, Washington DC, and Pennsylvania. A group who call themselves Muslims is responsible. But what they believe, and the acts they carry out, make their beliefs a perversion of the faith they profess.

Our country needs to deal with the perpetrators of these dastardly acts, but first we need to find out who they are. We need to be certain before we act.

In the mean time we need to hang on to family and friends. And to pray for strength to face what still lies ahead.

God bless the USA!

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Because so many of us are proudly displaying the American flag, here are some tips to do it properly:
Flag Etiquette-From the United States Flag Page
http://www.usflag.org/

STANDARDS of RESPECT

The Flag Code, which formalizes and unifies the traditional ways in which we give respect to the flag, also contains specific instructions on how the flag is not to be used. They are: The flag should never be dipped to any person or thing. It is flown upside down only as a distress signal.

The flag should not be used as a drapery, or for covering a speakers desk, draping a platform, or for any decoration in general. Bunting of blue, white and red stripes is available for these purposes. The blue stripe of the bunting should be on the top.

The flag should never be used for any advertising purpose. It should not be embroidered, printed or otherwise impressed on such articles as cushions, handkerchiefs, napkins, boxes, or anything intended to be discarded after temporary use. Advertising signs should not be attached to the staff or halyard.

The flag should not be used as part of a costume or athletic uniform, except that a flag patch may be used on the uniform of military personnel, fireman, policeman and members of patriotic organizations.

The flag should never have placed on it, or attached to it, any mark, insignia, letter, word, number, figure, or drawing of any kind.

The flag should never be used as a receptacle for receiving, holding, carrying, or delivering anything. When the flag is lowered, no part of it should touch the ground or any other object; it should be received by waiting hands and arms. To store the flag it should be folded neatly and ceremoniously. The flag should be cleaned and mended when necessary. When a flag is so worn it is no longer fit to serve as a symbol of our country, it should be destroyed by burning in a dignified manner.

Note: Most American Legion Posts regularly conduct a dignified flag burning ceremony, often on Flag Day, June 14th. Contact your local American Legion Hall and inquire about the availability of this service.

Displaying the Flag Outdoors

When the flag is displayed from a staff projecting from a window, balcony, or a building, the union should be at the peak of the staff unless the flag is at half staff. When it is displayed from the same flagpole with another flag - of a state, community, society or Scout unit - the flag of the United States must always be at the top except that the church pennant may be flown above the flag during church services for Navy personnel when conducted by a Naval chaplain on a ship at sea. When the flag is displayed over a street, it should be hung vertically, with the union to the north or east. If the flag is suspended over a sidewalk, the flag's union should be farthest from the building. When flown with flags of states, communities, or societies on separate flag poles which are of the same height and in a straight line, the flag of the United States is always placed in the position of honor - to its own right.

..The other flags may be smaller but none may be larger.
..No other flag ever should be placed above it.
..The flag of the United States is always the first flag raised and the last to be lowered. When flown with the national banner of other countries, each flag must be displayed from a separate pole of the same height. Each flag should be the same size. They should be raised and lowered simultaneously. The flag of one nation may not be displayed above that of another nation.

Raising and Lowering the Flag

The flag should be raised briskly and lowered slowly and ceremoniously. Ordinarily it should be displayed only between sunrise and sunset. It should be illuminated if displayed at night.

The flag of the United States of America is saluted as it is hoisted and lowered. The salute is held until the flag is unsnapped from the halyard or through the last note of music, whichever is the longest.

Displaying the Flag Indoors

When on display, the flag is accorded the place of honor, always positioned to its own right. Place it to the right of the speaker or staging area or sanctuary. Other flags should be to the left. The flag of the United States of America should be at the center and at the highest point of the group when a number of flags of states, localities, or societies are grouped for display. When one flag is used with the flag of the United States of America and the staffs are crossed, the flag of the United States is placed on its own right with its staff in front of the other flag. When displaying the flag against a wall, vertically or horizontally, the flag's union (stars) should be at the top, to the flag's own right, and to the observer's left.

Parading and Saluting the Flag

When carried in a procession, the flag should be to the right of the marchers. When other flags are carried, the flag of the United States may be centered in front of the others or carried to their right. When the flag passes in a procession, or when it is hoisted or lowered, all should face the flag and salute.

The Salute

To salute, all persons come to attention. Those in uniform give the appropriate formal salute. Citizens not in uniform salute by placing their right hand over the heart and men with head cover should remove it and hold it to left shoulder, hand over the heart. Members of organizations in formation salute upon command of the person in charge.

The Pledge of Allegiance and National Anthem

The pledge of allegiance should be rendered by standing at attention, facing the flag, and saluting.

When the national anthem is played or sung, citizens should stand at attention and salute at the first note and hold the salute through the last note. The salute is directed to the flag, if displayed, otherwise to the music.

The Flag in Mourning

To place the flag at half staff, hoist it to the peak for an instant and lower it to a position half way between the top and bottom of the staff. The flag is to be raised again to the peak for a moment before it is lowered. On Memorial Day the flag is displayed at half staff until noon and at full staff from noon to sunset. The flag is to be flown at half staff in mourning for designated, principal government leaders and upon presidential or gubernatorial order. When used to cover a casket, the flag should be placed with the union at the head and over the left shoulder. It should not be lowered into the grave.

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Notes and Insights:

Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to: Jonie, Katie, Joshua Wall, Kim McCarthy 2, Danielle Allen aka Danigran, Penni, Mary Z., Dolphin aka Dawn Knoepfle, Marilyn, and Adrinia aka Tracy! Check out all the birthdays at /community/birthday and make sure to send them an arthritis-friendly e-card:
/cgi-bin/postcards/postcard.pl

Wanna help?
Having surgery? Starting a new drug or treatment? Filing for disability? Keep an Arthritis Insight journal so all of our members can share and learn from your experience. If you want to keep a journal just let us know. Write an article! We always need articles on all subjects relating to arthritis.
C'mon folks, we can't do this without you.

Donate!
Arthritis Insight will always be free for anyone to use, we will never charge any fees. We try very hard to keep our operating costs as low as possible, but running a website as large as Arthritis Insight can be expensive. To date we've relied on our few sponsors for support and have paid for many of the expenses out of our own pockets. No one on our staff currently receives a paycheck for their hard work and dedication. Although you are not obligated in any way, if you are financially able to help support Arthritis Insight, it would be greatly appreciated. In exchange for your donation you'll receive some thank you gifts, a tax deduction and the satisfaction of knowing you are partly responsible for the entire Arthritis Insight Community.
/about/donate.html

Ken Akers Cheer Fund
Donations to the Ken Akers Cheer Fund will be used to send flowers and gifts to those community members who are hospitalized, flaring or just in need of some good cheer. The Ken Akers Cheer Fund sent out four gift baskets last week!
/community/kenscheerfund

Arthritis Insight Wish List
We realize that many of you are unable to contribute financially to Arthritis Insight. But we need more than money. Please check out our wish list and see if you can help.
/wishlist.html

Thank You!
A great big thank you to our "Diamond Level" Corporate Benefactor, allaboutarthritis.com. Please stop by their site and say hello!
http://allaboutarthritis.com

And another big thank you to NeedaBasket.com (http://needabasket.com). NeedaBasket is now Arthritis Insight's official gift basket company. They are giving us a great discount and donating baskets for our Arthritis Warriors. Stop by and tell them thanks for the support!

And a huge thank you to Kimberly!

Glucosamine Clinical Trial:
Boston University Medical Center is currently testing Glucosamine for knee osteoarthritis in an internet-based clinical research trial. Normally, joining a clinical trial would mean going to a study center for repeated appointments, but this trial is carried out entirely over the internet. If you qualify, you will participate for three months by simply filling out online forms on your experiences and taking a daily nutritional supplement (either Glucosamine or a placebo), which will be mailed to you by the center. If you are interested, please visit the website: http://etrials.bumc.bu.edu to see if you qualify.

Special Offers for Arthritis Insight Members
Whenever possible we will try get to our sponsors to agree to discounts and the like for our members. Here are our current special offers:

Sore No More gel (http://www.sorenomore.com) will send a free sample of the pain relieving gel to any Arthritis Insight Community Member who emails them at dma@glogerm.com

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The AI Help Desk
Linda Peck
Linda@arthritisinsight.com

http://www.helping.org - While we are all deeply saddened by the tragedy of Tuesday, September 11, you can help now by supporting the relief efforts. Relief organizations tell us that they most need cash donations to fund special resources and personnel.

My prayers go out to everyone who has been touched by the horrific events of September 11th.

=== Computers 101 ===

Q: Help! I can no longer see pictures on web pages, all I get are boxes with little red "X"'s in the corner. If I right-click the picture and select Show Picture, the picture loads. Any ideas?

A: Sounds like your pictures got turned off somehow. To get them back on, open Internet Explorer and click the Tools menu, Internet Options, then the Advanced tab. Scroll down to the multi-media section and check the Show Pictures box. Hit OK and your pictures should return.

Oh, here's a tip-in-a-tip: If you want to really browse the web fast, turn off your pictures. This makes your pages load a whole lot quicker. It's a handy trick if you're looking for information and don't want to wait for a hundred pictures to load. One caveat though - some websites use pictures for navigation, so if you have your pictures turned off, you may not be able to get around too well.

Keep Your Modem Quiet

Does your modem make too much noise when it dials? If you think so, you're not alone. Now, the "regular" way to get rid of excess modem noise is to go to the Control Panel, open the Modems icon, click your modem, then the Properties button, and turn the volume down from there.

Well, I have ran that tip in the past and it always seems that there are people out there who it doesn't work for. So, I did some digging and came up with an even better way. Since I have no way to test this on all the different modems out there, I can't make any promises, but it did work on our machines (note that this doesn't seem to have any effect with AOL / CompuServ).

To get your modem to be quiet when it dials, try this:

1. Hit Start, Settings, Control Panel, and open your Modems icon.

2. You should see your modem listed on the Modem Properties screen. Click it (select it) and hit the Properties button. Click the Connection tab, then the Advanced button.

3. You should see a box labeled "Extra Settings". Enter the following into it:

ATM0

By the way - that last character is a zero - don't accidentally use the letter "o". Hit the OK button until your out of your modem settings and give it a try. The modem shouldn't make a sound when it dials. Oh, and for those of you with kids, no - I don't have a magic set of letters to keep them quiet. Sorry :-)

=== Tip of the Day ===

Instant Properties

Here's a quick little trick you'll like. If you need to get the properties for something (like an icon, for instance), just hold down your ALT key and double-click it. Instant properties! Try it with "My Computer" or one of your regular desktop icons.

And yes, I know that you can also right-click an item and select Properties from the resulting menu. I just thought this was cooler.

Source: Computer Tips & Techniques
http://www.worldstart.com
Copyright 2001, Worldstart - Reprinted with permission.

=== Member Websites ===

http://sites.netscape.net/erobertson1 - This is Elaine's personal homepage. It contains some links to her favorite places. Stop by sometime!

http://www.monarch.net/users/Lynsplace- Lyn shares his musings, music, pictures and thoughts. You'll soon find out what a talented guy he is.

(Aaron - please contact me concerning your website.)

=== This Week's Links ===

http://lightacandle.sol.dk/index.jsp - Light a candle against terrorism.

http://www.hugsandhope.com - Making a difference for sick kids.

http://www.tiklsoft.com -Shareware, freeware and demo programs for all platforms.

"If we remain paralyzed by terrorist attacks, then the terrorists win twice."
linda@arthritisinsight.com

Help Desk Archives:
/livng/help/index.html

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Weekly News Summary
Karen Sears
kaekae@arthritisinsight.com

Rheumatology Patients and Physicians Differ in Ranking Status Outcomes
The health and symptom status outcomes valued most by patients with rheumatic diseases differ considerably from those judged most important by their physicians, researchers from the University Hospitals of Cleveland report.
http://rheumatology.medscape.com/reuters/prof/2001/09/09.18/20010917prof002.html

FDA Grants Priority Review for Supplementary Enbrel Indication
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted priority review status to Immunex Corp. and Wyeth Laboratories' joint application seeking to use Enbrel (etanercept) for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis, the companies jointly reported on Monday.
http://rheumatology.medscape.com/reuters/prof/2001/09/09.18/20010917rglt006.html

Exercise Deemed Most Effective for Relieving Fibromyalgia
Patients with fibromyalgia find that exercise is more effective in alleviating their symptoms than medication or alternative treatments, according to results of a prospective Canadian study.
http://rheumatology.medscape.com/reuters/prof/2001/09/09.17/20010914clin015.html

Endometriosis May Be an Autoimmune Disease
Immunomodulating therapy may be an alternative to traditional estrogens as a treatment for endometriosis.
http://rheumatology.medscape.com/reuters/prof/2001/09/09.07/20010906clin001.html

Hip Replacement May Boost Risk of Some Cancers
A new study has found that while people who have had hip replacement surgery are at a slightly increased risk of skin, prostate and blood cancers, their overall risk of cancer is the same as that of people without artificial hips.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/200109178/hl/hip_2.html

Treatments for Chronic Fatigue Show Mixed Results
Exercise therapy and a type of behavioral therapy show promise for relieving the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome, according to a review of clinical trials of patients with the illness.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010918/hl/fatigue_1.html

Medical Device Maker Recalls Artificial Hip Part
French medical device maker Saint Gobain Advanced Ceramics Desmarquest is voluntarily recalling a number of lots of a femoral head--or ``hip ball''--used in hip prostheses to connect the femoral stem to the pelvis, according to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010917/hl/hip_1.html

Herb's Active Ingredient Fights Inflammation
The active ingredient in feverfew, an herbal remedy touted for migraine relief, appears to block a protein key to inflammation, researchers at Yale University report.They say the findings may open the door to the development of a new class of anti-inflammatory drugs.Feverfew has been used for centuries as a remedy for migraine headaches and fever, lead study author Dr. Craig M. Crews noted in an interview with Reuters Health.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010917/hl/herbs_1.html

Leeches Making Comeback as Pain Reliever
Leeches, the tiny blood-sucking parasites used by doctors to treat a variety of ailments before the advent of modern medicine, can help relieve chronic pain caused by osteoarthritis, according to research published on Monday.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010917/hl/leeches_1.html

No U.S. Drug Shortage Due to Travel Limits Expected
Despite concerns that drug distribution may be disrupted as a result of the current limitations on US air travel, the nation's three largest drug distributors, as well as an industry representative, said that systems are in place that ensure a normal supply of medicines throughout the country.
http://us.news2.yimg.com/f/42/31/7m/dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010913/hl/travel_1.html

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Contribute
Have you written something you think our subscribers would like to read? Send it to Tina@arthritisinsight.com and maybe we'll use it in our newsletter.

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A Closing Thought
In honor of those brave men and women that gave their lives last week.

The Creation of the Fire Fighter

When the Lord was creating fire fighters, he was into his sixth day of overtime when an angel appeared and said, "You're doing a lot of fiddling around on this one."

And the Lord said, "Have you read the specification on this person?

Fire fighters have to be able to go for hours fighting fires or tending to a person that the usual everyday person would never touch, while putting in the back of their minds the circumstances. They have to be able to move at a second's notice and not think twice of what they are about to do, no matter what danger. They have to be in top physical condition at all times, running on half-eaten meals, and they must have six pairs of hands."

The angel shook her head slowly and said, "Six pairs of hands...no way."

"It's not the hands that are causing me problems," said the Lord, "it's the three pairs of eyes a fire fighter has to have."

"That's on the standard model?" asked the angel.

The Lord nodded. "One pair of eyes to see through the smoke and where they and their fellow fire fighters should fight the fire next. The second pair here in the side of the head to see their fellow fire fighters and keep them safe. And the third pair of eyes in the front so that they can look for the victims caught in the fire who need their help."

"Lord," said the angel, touching his sleeve, "rest and work on this tomorrow."

"I can't," said the Lord, "I already have a model that can carry a 250-pound man down a flight of stairs to safety from a burning building, and can feed a family of five on a civil service paycheck."

The angel circled the model of the fire fighter very slowly; "Can it think?"

"You bet," said the Lord. "They can tell you the elements of a hundred fires and can recite procedures in their sleep that are needed to care for a person until they reach the hospital. And all the while they have to keep their wits about them. Fire fighters also have phenomenal personal control. They can deal with a scene full of pain and hurt, coaxing a child's mother into letting go of the child so that they can care for the child in need. And still they rarely get the recognition for a job well done from anybody, other than from fellow fire fighters."

Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek of the fire fighter. "There's a leak," she pronounced. "Lord, it's a tear. What's the tear for?"

"It's a tear from bottled-up emotions for fallen comrades. A tear for commitment to that funny piece of cloth called the American flag. It's a tear for all the pain and suffering they have encountered. And it's a tear for their commitment to caring for and saving lives of their fellow man!"

"What a wonderful feature. "Lord, you're a genius", said the angel.

The Lord looked very somber at the angel and said, "I didn't put it there."

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Arthritis Insight Newsletter Copyright 2001