4.05.2017

Journal, September 5, 1976 AM (Sunday)

I can’t get over how fast the time goes, September already. <I would have been gone by October 18 if it weren’t for Sofia.> Oh, I wonder what I’ve gotten myself into! In today’s paper (which they delivered last night) there were 4 articles concerning scientific developments. The most exciting was the apparent elucidation of the reason for the aging process by a team of researchers in San Francisco. They speculated about raising the life expectancy of a person to maybe 800 years! Realistically they hope to find an enzyme which inhibits the “sticking together” of molecules & resultant general clogging up of vessels, stiffening of structures, etc. which is aging. The head of the team says they’re shooting for an extension of the life span of at least 15 to 20 years & maybe even 80 years eventually. For now he says the best you can do is eat right, take care of your health and take vitamin E (which has been proven to inhibit aging)! I had never heard that about vitamin E, just the virility shit. I’m going to find out what foods are high in it & eat them! Maybe I’ll even buy capsules to take daily or whatever! I don’t want to live forever, just a few extra years!

Anyway, I started to write about the 4 scientific developments to make a point. It’s this. I feel left out down here! I feel like science and technology are leaving me behind while I’m here in limbo. Worse, I can see them zoom by, (semi-see them) through the translucent medium of the daily paper. My “Scientific American” would help, but they’re in Friendship {WI, my hometown}. Oh shit!

I cut my lawn by “cuma” {small curved machete-like tool} power yesterday, & carted off 3 basketfuls of green stuff. It really needed cutting badly. A friendly Mormon missionary (who is trying to convert the neighbors) stopped to ask how I liked using a curved machete (‘cuma’ is the common term here) to cut grass. Other than the 3 blisters I got from it, I’m no worse for it. I swear he and his sidekick have been there (at the neighbors) every night for a week!

“Vera Cruz” was the one Colon movie at the Cine Coloseo last night. Dean Current, Steve Pamperin and I trucked on down to see Gary Cooper & Bert Lancaster as super machos in the bloody setting of the Mexican revolt against Maximillian. Just part of the tough life here in the LDCs (Less Developed Countries, the latest semi-official euphemism).

No comments:

Post a Comment