Out and About – Week of November 30th

Thanksgiving 2020 is now in the history books. If you decided to ignore the advise of the Health Department and traveled to visit family, I wish you the best of health. Hopefully, you didn’t inherit the virus, or share it with any family members. For those who heeded the Health Department’s advise and stayed home alone, I commend you for having consideration for others. This virus is not fake and if you think it is, try getting a hospital bed in one of the many hospitals that have reached capacity. Everyone has the choice of being a part of the solution or a part of the problem.

Tuesday is December 1st. If you are among the many who send gifts via the United Postal System, please know that it is not too early to take those parcels to the post office and send them on their way. I don’t know how many still send Christmas cards, but you can probably hold off for another week or two. It never ceases to amaze me how many folks wait until the last minute to take their boxes of Christmas joy to the post office. If you procrastinate and wait until December 20 to mail your packages, the chances of your loved ones receiving them by Christmas are slim. If I could get a dime for every person I’ve seen waiting until the last minute to mail Christmas packages, I’d be a rich man. It’s also fun to watch these folks get upset with the postal clerk when they are told that the gifts might not make it before Christmas Eve.

The Centreville and Three Rivers Lions Clubs are both busy with their annual project of selling containers of nuts. The packages contain an assortment of different nuts and the purchase is a bargain no matter where you purchase them. Any Centreville Lion can handle the purchase or you can visit several of the banks in Three Rivers. They have them on display. Both of these projects result in being able to help those in need not only in St. Joe County but throughout the world.

The above paragraph is a segue into the answer to the question, “Why don’t you ever see cashews in the shell?” Here is the answer. The oil that surrounds the shell is very irritating to the skin and can cause blisters. (Cashews are in the same plant family as poison ivy.) This makes the harvesting of cashews nasty work. If you were to try shelling these nuts at home it would also be a difficult task. Even roasting the shells causes a noxious smoke to be given off. No one would bother, therefore the packager does it for you.

Another interesting thing about cashews is that they can help prevent tooth decay. It seems that the oil in the nut is so powerful that it inhibits the growth of plaque-producing bacteria. This is something I must check out with my dentist.

We are approaching the season of giving. In my mind, I feel that we should always be in the season of giving, especially when it comes to having the opportunity to give back. Here are a couple of quotes from some notable individuals:

“There is something about giving to others that takes the spotlight off your own pain.”
~ James Dobson

“A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received.” ~ Einstein
See you Out and About!

Submitted by Norm Stutesman