Meandering Jerri Type Post

So yesterday I read an item in an AARP publication about yet another
outrage perpetrated by FEMA against Katrina survivors.  Apparently,
many of the trailers they gave to Katrina survivors as temporary
living quarters are contaminated with fomaldehyde.  This is a red flag
for me because someone I know has become permanently disabled from
multiple chemical sensitivities as a result of prolonged exposure to
formaldehyde.  Since carpet, curtains and many other types of products
are now routinely bathed in formaldehyde,  the trailers should have
been cleaned thoroughly before giving it to people to live in. Now
many Katrina survivors are ill from formaldehyde exposure in addition
to their other problems.

Once a person has become sensitive to formaldehyde by prolonged
exposure, it's hard to avoid it.  All new clothing is bathed in
formaldehyde, so you can't go shopping for new clothes.  If clothing
is put through the washing machine, that removes the formaldehyde and
you never have to worry about it again.  But that's why clothing has
warning labels about washing it before wearing.  My friend has to wear
a face mask in public because so many people are wearing unwashed
formaldehyde contaminated clothing.

My friend also has to worry about an upcoming aerial spraying by the
U.S. Department of Agriculture for the Light Brown Apple Moths which
are supposed to be an agricultural disaster.  They could also be a
health disaster for asthmatics and people with chemical sensitivities
because the spray has never been tested on humans.   Many people in
the San Francisco Bay Area are worried about this, but the USDA seems
determined to spray for years until the LABMs are completely gone.

On a lighter note today I went to see Nim's Island, a children's movie
in which Jodie Foster plays an agoraphobic rider who has a writing
persona as a heroic adventurer played by Gerard Butler speaking with
his normal lovely Scottish speech.  I thought the characterization and
the acting were wonderful in this movie and the relationship of the
child Nim with the animals on her island was charming.

This Wednesday I'm going to New York for Passover, so I won't be
posting here next weekend.

I have also applied for library school, so momentous changes in my
life are afoot.  Stay tuned.

Shomeret