AFTER the GOOD NEWS, more NEWS and ADDENDUM

"All animals eventually grow old and die. It's an inevitable fact of life - except when it isn't. Some animals, like tortoises and lobsters, never grow old, and learning their secrets could let humans live as long as they want."

"For most animals, there are three basic ways they can die: disease, injury, or old age, which is also called senescence. But a select few species are seemingly immune from aging itself, a phenomenon known as negligible senescence. The gradual accumulation of cellular damage and degradation that will eventually kill other animals (including us) slows to a virtual standstill, prolonging the life - and, in fact, the youth - of any animal lucky enough to be negligibly senescent."
(see the Link for this article)

I was at the clinic early Friday morning to check out the results of various tests with a fine young Doctor who was thorough, intelligent and willing to spend time explaining every detail. The details were somewhat daunting.  We are most concerned over very high blood pressure that she feels needs medication. It could be chronic hypertension (stroke or heart attack danger). I came home with ten pages of material to review and an Rx waiting for me at my druggist that I'm not yet sure I'll take till I've read and understood everything.  Another blood test was taken for more specific check of potassium levels with a follow up for results to be reviewed May 5th. And X-rays show the knees are definitely problematic-the probable cause of leg instability and there's been significant deterioration. A course of eight physical therapy sessions has been prescribed.  My sweet friend Michael ('Archangel') accompanied me bless his golden heart, and afterwards we stopped by a favorite eatery on 14th Street.

~*~

EARTH DAY TODAY

"It was first observed in 1970, but its roots go back to the 1962 publication of Rachel Carson's landmark book exposing the effects of pesticides and other chemical pollution on the environment. Troubled by the lack of attention pollution was receiving on the national stage, Wisconsin senator Gaylord Nelson began going on speaking tours, trying to educate people and politicians about environmental issues, and while the public was concerned, the politicians didn't pay much attention. During the late 1960s, Senator Nelson had the idea to harness the energy and methods of the student protests against the Vietnam War to organize a grassroots conservation movement. At a press conference in 1969, he announced plans for a nationwide demonstration, to take place the following spring. It was a gamble that paid off, and the public's response was enthusiastic. Gladwin Hill wrote in The New York Times, "Rising concern about the environmental crisis is sweeping the nation's campuses with an intensity that may be on its way to eclipsing student discontent over the war in Vietnam." Twenty million people nationwide participated in the first Earth Day, on April 22, 1970, and the government finally took notice, forming the Environmental Protection Agency and passing the Clean Air, the Clean Water, and the Endangered Species Acts. According to the Earth Day Network, Earth Day is celebrated by a billion people, making it the world's largest secular holiday."
(Source NPR The Writers Almanac)

I'm heading out to Fifth Avenue with Wendy Daly to see what we can see. The city bikes are free and the Avenue is closed to traffic with events from the Battery to Harlem.
 ~*~
Addendum
Wendy  brought gifts of rice pastas, but had to go home after a short visit sgarubg tea at my place but I walked anyhow--crossing 23rd Street East to 7th Avenue, I ran smack into the end of the Sikh Day Celebrations. Yellow school buses lined the street, and colorfully garbed Sikhs crowded the sidewalk for many blocks. I took no pictures of them out of respect. There was an unrelated Hoop Troupe at Madison square...

...just finishing their routine

 for Earth Day

and then a lovely visit with my friend Joanne up at Dharma Mittra's yoga studio where she works.

 Grey with billowing shades of grey clouds occupied the skies all day and it rained lightly now and then.

LINKS

Turtles
http://io9.gizmodo.com/5618046/the-mystery-of-why-turtles-never-grow-old---and-how-we-can-learn-from-it

Sikhism

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikhism