Sea Sickness and Inspiration in the North Atlantic

Inspiration can come from the strangest places. In this case, it came from the top deck of a whale watching boat 30 miles out in the North Atlantic. It wasn't the whales that were inspirational though, it was the vomit.

Departing on a clear summer day from the rocky coast of Maine, my group decided to sit on the top deck of a double hull whale watching boat. Since it was calm seas, we figured we wouldn't get bounced around too much and the best view would be from the top of three decks. Much like a large airplane, there were rows of seats separated by two walkways running lengthwise; we sat down in the middle row of seats.

We pulled away from shore and motored slowly out of the bay. Everything seemed perfect – beautiful summer weather, cool sea breeze, smiles on everyone's face. Then, we picked up speed.

Accelerating to 30mph (fast for a 140 ft catamaran), the “calm” seas did not seem so tranquil anymore. We soon felt every wave as the horizon line in front of us went way up...then down...then up...then down again. After 45 minutes of continuous motion, many on board could not help getting sea sick.

That's when the screaming started. Nobody could figure out who it was, but a person standing towards the bow of the boat on the right side vomited - up and into the wind. Consequently no less than 15 passengers behind that person got rained on by chunks of vomit. The smell was horrific. A second person who no doubt was close to losing it themselves got a whiff; they too let loose – this time over the side but the fierce wind blew their stomach contents back up onto the poor passengers once again. Everyone was yelling and screaming, some started running for lower decks with their hands over their mouths trying to keep from throwing up themselves. Small children started to turn white with sickness and vomit into their backpacks, while their parents could barely help since they were also sick beyond what their will power could hold back. People were speckled with vomit from head to toe – on their hats, over their sunglasses, splashed on their jackets and pants.

About this time I began to remember the scene from the movie “Stand By Me” where one of the characters tells the tale of a pie eating contest that turned into a puke-fest. (Ironically, I also recalled how the movie was taken from a book written by Steven King who himself was from Maine).

Deck hands now rushed to the top deck with sanitizer and paper towels. As they cleaned, the stench of stomach acid lingered and was now getting mixed with the fowl smell of cleaning solution. Two more people threw up – one in a ziplock bag and another over the side. The people on the lower decks were either getting soaked or knew not to go upstairs.

As the remaining passengers on the top deck ran for cover, my group sat in amusement while trying to keep our composure. The vessel continued to surge onward. Little by little the crowd on the upper deck thinned out until just a few remained – determined to see wild whales no matter what they had to go through.

The message inspired from this adventure is PERSISTENCE: In less than 15 minutes after the calamity the vessel was surrounded by whales in all directions - we had traveled directly to their feeding grounds. Those who braved the journey on the top deck had the first and most spectacular view of all. The people who panicked and ran for cover were squirreled away in the belly of the vessel, wiping vomit from their faces.

I must admit, we decided to sit in the comfort of the bottom deck on the way back to the dock, but the memories of our whale watching trip will be of all the action up top.

Fresh Taxes on Alcohol: Opposing Views

One week ago, coverage of a press release was published stating that new research has found that “boosting taxes on alcohol leads to lower rates of alcohol-related disease, injury, death and crime.” The headline of the news story covering the results contained words that are sore points for Dirty Tractor: “Alcohol-related problems” and “taxes.”

To be more specific, “alcoholism” is more of a touchy subject with us, but “TAXES” is a plain old four letter word.

The press release contained findings that led Bloomberg/BusinessWeek to say that doubling taxes on alcohol could result in a “35% reduction in alcohol-related deaths, an 11% reduction in traffic crash deaths, a 6% reduction in STDs, a 2% reduction in violence and a 1.4% reduction in crime.” But before we raise taxes to help society, let’s consider the source of the data: University of Florida students read 50 published papers on the subject matter and composed a study from a conglomeration of previous studies…

Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for public health, which no doubt has a great cause, we cannot question the study any more than that. Rather, we question WHO would be affected the most by double the taxes on alcohol. The groups most likely to lessen their drinking from higher cost would be:

1. College Students
2. Underage Drinkers
3. Um.. that’s probably it

Furthermore, if taxes are increased substantially on alcohol, the market for bootlegging and illegal distribution could be opened back up. There must be data somewhere on the new market for low cost cigarettes after taxes on those went through the roof – now costing more than $8 per pack in some places. If it becomes more attractive for people to break out the stills again, what will THAT do? Moonshine is no good on the liver or people’s behavior- The study did not take prohibition-type schemes into consideration…

On the other end of the spectrum from the university study, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States issued their own counter press release on the SAME day. In it, they state “this research does not account for the enormous economic impact a high tax policy prescription would have on the hospitality industry and its consumers. Not only would this proposal punish responsible adult beverage alcohol consumers, it would also hurt thousands of employees and small businesses in the hospitality industry in every town in America.” Another good point.

Raising taxes on alcohol in the Unites States is not the answer to help society; the repercussions for doing such would be felt across the world. Any benefits that might be gained could be outweighed by the increased health and societal risks of unregulated spirits and loss of people's livelihoods.

You want to get the numbers the news outlet published? Take a look at the age, sex and basic demographics of the people who cause the traffic deaths, STDs and crime. Focus on educating THEM.

Raising taxes would also have close to zero effect on that other touchy subject for us: Alcoholism.

Do Heavy Drinkers Actually Live Longer?

After an August article in TIME Magazine on heavy drinkers outliving non-drinkers, news outlets have heavily covered the subject. I for one never bought into the “drinking is good for you” mindset, so the story took me by surprise.

I can understand how a drink every once in a while can help reduce stress and may help a little in the long run, but the TIME piece focused on heavy drinking. Furthermore, the way the piece was written leads me to believe it was more for justification to drink; almost to clear the author’s conscious.

There was a sentence that started to make sense of the glamorized findings though:

One important reason is that alcohol lubricates so many social interactions, and social interactions are vital for maintaining mental and physical health.

Dirty Tractor published a July post on the effect social interaction has on mortality rates (Friends and Family Equal 50% Less Chance of Death?) which ties in with the results the story was written around. What it comes down to is this: A social life helps you live longer; and whether it is at bars, parties, clubs, family gatherings and more, drinking does seem to bring people together.

What is the lesson here though - on a blog that often discussed liver disease?

Quite simply: Be sociable. Here’s an article published in a magazine trying to show drunks live longer than teetotalers, but it’s not because of some mysterious health benefits from alcohol, but the health benefits from the indirect effect it has by bringing people together.

So, for people who are living sober after recovering from alcohol addiction: Be sociable. For people who are battling illness: Be sociable. For family members dealing with a loved one’s sickness: Be sociable… You get the idea.

Healthy Liver Cells grown from Human Skin

In a modern-day scientific breakthrough involving liver disease, researchers have discovered a technique to grow brand new liver cells from human skin stem cells. The research has brought hope to those afflicted with irreversible liver disease one step closer to feasible treatment.

This was not embryonic stem cell research; the skin cells were taken directly from patients who suffered from liver disease, then manipulated to act as stem cells, ultimately becoming liver cells.

Imagine… cirrhosis patients donating skin samples to grow their own new liver cells…

It should be noted that in this case the experiments were performed on subjects who suffered from hereditary forms of liver disease. Still, not only is this an exciting advancement for liver disease treatment, it also is opens possibilities for new techniques to treat and possibly regenerate other types of organs.

Cambridge University in the UK published its results in the Journal of Clinical Investigation and a brief news story on the subject appeared here.

Photo credit: diseased liver cells: University of Cambridge

Friends and Family Equal 50% Less Chance of Death?

Time Magazine just released an article about people's social networks dramatically effect mortality rates. Apparently, the cumulative findings of 148 studies involving 300,000 men and women show an amazing statistic: Those with very few social connections had a 50% higher chance of death than people who have many friends and family close to them.

The article did not mention relationships built on online social networks, rather it discussed how the physical presence of people who share a common bond has an undeniable benefit to one's health.

There is no doubt friends and family are valuable to have close by in times of sickness and turmoil, so in some way it seems the studies have proved the obvious. We're skeptical of that 50% figure though, and don't think it pertains to people with severe illnesses. However, if having friends and family around can help an average person that much, surely it would have a measurable effect on everyone; regardless of physical condition.

To read the article, click here.

Changed Perceptions

A few years back I began a subtle change of how I perceive life and death. It first started when I learned a close family member was diagnosed with irreversible liver cirrhosis. A year later another family member’s health took a turn for the worse from complete kidney failure. It was last year however, when the pregnant driver of Dirty Tractor Racing passed away from a brain aneurysm that my perception of life and death got suddenly real.

I suppose it could be called maturity, and everyone questions what the meaning of life is at some point, but so much has happened in addition to family and friend’s illnesses and passings that it seemed like life’s lessons were concentrated all together in an extremely short period of time. I often find myself relating to what an old Boss of mine use to say: “Stop the world, I want to get off!”

I am however finding silver linings more often than before. A perfect example happened this morning while driving to work. I heard the Jimi Hendrix song “Castles made of Sand.” In it he tells the story of a young Indian who dreamed of growing up and being a warrior chief. As a boy he would “play war games in the woods with his Indian friends.” When he finally was old enough and “he would sing his first war song… fight his first battle… something went wrong; surprise attack killed him in his sleep that night."

Up until this morning I always thought it was such a sad song since the Indian waited his whole life to be in a battle but died the night before it ever happened. Today though it seemed to be the perfect ending to his life though – he was able to die with dreams of a glorious fight and beating his rivals, without experiencing the cold and brutal reality of what it might have been like.

Something didn’t go wrong, it went right.

Unfortunately it seems only through struggle and hardship can some people (like me) see things for what they really are. I'm sure I have a lot more learning to do, so in truth I don’t want to get off the world - I just want the spinning to slow down a little!!

Thinking Hard About Beer Battered Food

This past weekend, I had to recall how much alcohol is actually in beer-battered food. I was getting ready to begin frying some fish with a person suffering from late stage liver cirrhosis, so naturally the thought popped into my head “how much alcohol will be in this?” The answer is none; the alcohol evaporates quickly as the fish is fried, leaving only the taste of the beer behind.

My second thought was that this particular individual has not had a beer in three or more years after being diagnosed with liver cirrhosis. As a recovered alcoholic, I was worried the taste would cause him to crave it again. It turned out all the taste did was cause him (and I) to stuff our faces with not only the fish, but every veggie we could get our hands on in the fridge and dip in the batter – a good ol’ fashioned beer batter fry-a-thon.

However, my early hesitation was warranted. After struggling for years with medication regimens, doctor appointments, hospital stays and more, one afternoon of fun would not be worth a setback. This was walking a thin line as far as I’m concerned, but as of now the only thing we’re craving is to go catch more fish… And when a person might not have much more time left, he deserves an afternoon at the lake.