var switchTo5x=true;

Category Archives: The past & present

Traipsing For the “Sain.”


Ginseng; a Health Panacea for Millions, Or Is It?
Ginseng, the “root” of all evil to several health conditions, and the real and perceived boon to assisting in various medical issues.
Many locations near woods and waters Ginseng can be found and has at least a few die-hard seekers of this profitably sold root, traipsing around in those wild places.
Today, there is so much interest in Ginseng that there are television reality shows that follow ginseng hunter’s lifestyle in their pursuit of earning big dollars sales rewards.
Ginseng today is sold in every pharmacy and drug stores in capsule, pill, tea, and oil extracts, forms. Being one of the most well-known herbs in the natural medicine world, ginseng has been in use for a long time in traditional Chinese medicine and other parts of Asia. It has also been used extensively by peoples of North America as a stimulant and treatment for various conditions.

While there are 11 different ginseng species, the term ginseng is applied to both American and Asian/ Korean ginseng. Among these the true ginseng plant comes from the Panax genus.

The active compounds in ginseng which give this plant its therapeutic properties are known as “ginsenosides.” Various ginseng species have different types and properties. As such, each type offers different health benefits with the following being some of the most prominent ones:

Ginseng offers good stress Regulation. Both American and Asian varieties of ginseng have exhibited the capacity to cope with both mental and physical stressors. Individuals who take ginseng for stress management report an increased sense of wellbeing.
This anti-stress mechanism works by controlling the adrenal glands and regulating the stress response and hormonal changes due to stress. When subject to stress, the stress hormone, cortisol, is secreted to counteract stress, and maintain homeostasis ( a good level of “calm.)” But, too much cortisol secretion can be problematic and ginseng can improve this situation by regulating its functions.

Added Ginseng to this pie!!!!!! Great!

There is a long tradition of ginseng-hunting in the United States. It can even be traced from Daniel Boone, the folk hero frontiersman and locally and far more recently to John Frank Warner who was mentored during walks in the woods of the Plateau by his grandpa Warner. “Johnny” became a sort of guru in the ways of the “sain” as it was called in days of yore. He watched his Papa dry it and make medicine out of it. Today and for the past decades John Warner Herb Co. has been a go-to place for Natural Herb Products right on Highway 127 South.
Ginseng, as a medicinal herb, has become a hot energy-drink ingredient, and a trendy remedy for all sorts of maladies. Modern days; Miller, carrying his $2 ginseng-hunting permit, typically finds the leafy plant in Maryland’s Savage River State Forest on steep, shady slopes and digs up the gnarly roots with a long screwdriver.
Hunting ginseng never made anyone filthy rich, but with the plant picked to near extinction in China, where it is long revered, and with Asians prizing American ginseng’s calming properties, a pound (half a kilogram) of high-quality root can net hunters more than $1,000. However, in 2017, the value of an American pound of Ginseng was from $75 to 135 dollars per pound, based on condition of the roots.
Note* at least 15 states have banned the taking of wild ginseng due to it becoming a scarce commodity and so many people digging up private, state and federal wilderness properties. And poaching as seen on recent TV shows is a problem too!
But ginseng can be grown, and the ban affecting state land could be good news for ginseng growers.
There are a few varieties of ginseng: the wild stuff, which hunters dig up in the middle of nowhere; there’s cultivated, which is grown in raised beds, often in artificial shade. – Wisconsin, although known for cheese, is the largest cultivated ginseng producer in the country – and there’s wild-simulated ginseng, which is planted in woods and left to the mercy of nature.
American ginseng was especially widespread along the Eastern Coast of the US, but, due to its popularity (and selling price on the black market), it has been over-harvested (especially in the 1970s). It is illegal to take ginseng from any national park, and national parks are dealing with poachers by giving stiff fines and even jail time to those who get caught.
Ginseng was one of the first marketable herbs in the US, starting back in 1860 when Wisconsin shipped 120 tons of wild ginseng root to China!
Today’s millennials are mostly home-bodies and they aren’t as interested in hunting. They’d rather sit behind their computer and play with their computer games, and go to health food stores or order everything on-line without getting their hands into the “good earth.”

NOTE* Please read my hundreds of articles new and old at: www.AmericanPressTravelNews.com

The Cat’s Meow

American Press travel news–Feb. 19th, Bob and Barb “On The Road Again”—Cats, Felines, Pussy Cats all have two things in common; fangs and claws, even the cutest ones do. Of course, many more common traits as well, but we’ll explore some of them later.
There are big cats, small cats, and every size, furry feline, with every hair and coat type, in between.
The American Veterinary Medical Association says more than half of U.S. households, or nearly 57 percent, owned a pet at the end of 2016 and most of them own one or more cats.. Nearly one in four households nationwide, or 38 percent, owned one or more dogs, which the association says is the highest estimated rate of dog ownership since 1982, when it began measuring ownership.

One of the most common pets in the world, cats are known to be the most independent animal pets. If you are a cat lover, you’d be interested to know how many cat breeds there are in the world. Read on you’ll find out! Imagine the average cat can spend two thirds of the day by sleeping. A cat who is 10 years old only stayed awake for 3.3 years in its lifetime.

We accept these intriguing animals as pets, however some of the Asian countries consider them as food. In fact, cat meat is very popular in most of the Asian countries. The sad fact is China alone among the far-eastern nations, consumes more than 4 million cats in a year. There are animal lovers that try to do something about this, but the government of China still allows it.
Going back in history, the Papal declared that the cats are evil during the Spanish Inquisition and untold numbers of cats were slaughtered in Europe! Sometimes the is such thing as “cats revenge” After Europe murdered so many of their cats, and as the amount of the cats dramatically decreased, the mice and rat population increased in about the same proportion. As a result, the great pestilence (Black Plague) occurred, and millions of people lost their lives during this period. On the brighter side; bet you didn’t know that we sent a cat to space? The first cat that went to space went there in 1963. Her name was Felicette, a French cat. She came back to earth without any problem.

Although we have fed them at our homes for thousands of years, cats still have plenty of wild instincts. Unlike the dog, cats lower their head while they are chasing their prey. Female cats usually use their left paws more, while most of the male cats prefer to use their right paws more.
Many people are allergic to cats (my wife Barb is one of them). After much research, and speaking to specialists in allergies, it appears that cats dried airborne saliva from their fur- cleaning tongue is the culprit. Its breathed in by everyone in contact in their homes, and everywhere cats abide, and causes allergic reactions to one in ten people.

You have probably heard many different vocalizations coming from your cat. But we can easily say that you have not heard all their voices, even though you are living with your cat for years. They have more than a hundred different vocalizations, while this amount is only limited to about ten in dogs. And that’s enough for me!!

Like dogs, cats don’t have sweat glands in their bodies. They sweat through their paws.
Cats purr and meow, and rub their scent glands all over any part of your legs. People think they love them for this. Not so fast! Cats love other cats, that’s it, except for them bonding with you for food and comfort.

Besides sleeping so much of the day and night, cats spend another third of their time by cleaning themselves, or each other.
According to International Progressive Cat Breeders Alliance (IPCBA), there are 73 different cat breeds in the world with many variations in their personalities and temperament. However, there are some cat breeds which are not recognized as a breed yet, so more breeds will come into being as well.
A few things that are quite negative about cats: When left to their own instincts they not only kill rodents, but also birds. Its their nature to pursue anything that moves and tries to escape their claws and fangs. What I don’t like is that they do their business inside, even if its inside a box of cat litter there are odors. Cats also can transmit disease to humans. I do not kiss cats or dogs for this possibility. My doctor daughter-in-law spent time in the hospital herself a victim of Scratch-Fever.
So, remember; of course love them all, they are great companions even with their faults.

 

Discovering a Secret City

Japan suffered greatly for being the aggressor in a war they mightily regretted.
And a cousin was in the middle of it all!

American Press Travel News-Bob and Barb “On The Road Again-this time in Oak Ridge, TN–Secret City No Longer a Secret

“Shhh, don’t ask and don’t tell was the official mantra of,  and for anyone living and working in Oak Ridge, Tennessee over 7-decades ago.

Barb and I jumped at the opportunity to check out a terrific area that offers museums, fishing, great restaurants, and even bird watching, not necessarily in that order.”

 

Imagine visiting a city that wasn’t even on the map until the late 40’s. People who lived in that city had no address and phone available to the outside world. Their street addresses were in coded names. It was as if they lived on an island, did everything together on a social basis with what turned out to be an extended family of some 75,000 people. These were specialists, and their families in unique scientific fields in physics, chemistry electrical and chemical engineering, boiler making, construction specialists, metallurgists, and heavy construction development where K-25, a mile long was the largest building under cover of roof, at 44-acres was constructed at that time.

In1941, just after Pearl Harbor was bombed, most all of these folks were brought to a place that they couldn’t write home about, or have their friends and family visit.

They were on a mission, an incredible mission to assist in ending the war in the Pacific and what they wrought, the Atom Bomb did just that, after this hellish bomb was unleashed on Japan, it helped save hundreds of thousands of our service men and women, who would have had to storm the beaches of Japan, and those people that would assist them.

Oak Ridge is the city that allowed teams of physicists and brain stormer’s like Einstein and Teller to name just a very few, to help make this deed a reality. Today, about 8-decades later, there is still tight security for much of the business end of the city that is devoted to developing modern technological advances in nuclear medicine, nuclear power and various other technologies, with some of them absolutely top secret even today.

Some facts about early Oak Ridge are in order here: The Oak Ridge Reservation encompassed 59,000 acres in 1940s, Oak Ridge used one-seventh of the electricity produced in the U.S. during full production, the average age in Oak Ridge at the time was 27, Oak Ridge didn’t appear on a map until 1949, it was not incorporated as a city until 1959. Because of the secrecy demands of the Manhattan project, the Oak Ridge High School football team was only allowed to play away games, and the opposing team was not given the team roster of the players, they were only known by numbers. Every person over the age of 12 had to wear an identification badge at all times during the 40’s.

Visiting the American Museum of Science & Energy we passed by a large image of
Einstein who had penned a letter to President Roosevelt that helped convince him to initiate the development of the “bomb” before Nazi Germany could do it. This letter helped kick off the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge. The entire story is now in plain sight for visitors to this museum and it’s a terrific place to bring the family. Any age range can learn much from the hands-on displays and mind games that challenge with their simple and complex games designed to broaden the mind and enlighten the curious. Oak Ridge continues to earn the U.S. the title of “Super Power.” Live demonstrations, audiovisuals, machines, and devices will definitely keep you and the children entertained and delighted. We also visited John Rice Erwin’s open-air museum called “the most authentic and complete replica of pioneer Appalachian life in the world.” The museum contains over 250,000 pioneer relics including 30 log structures from pioneer times, a chapel, a schoolhouse, cabins and barns replete with actual relics of those times. Outstanding!

.  We went fly-fishing with guide Clayton Gist (865) 806-7803 and yes, got braggin’ rights! Gist explained that the Clinch River is probably the premier trout river in Tennessee. We headed for Big Ed’s Pizza at Broadway in Oak Ridge, terrific on our way home.