Lifestyle

In 1983, my best friend and I drove clear across the 175 bridge into Mesquite to see Flashdance. Many things would follow that experience. I would cut the necks off all my sweatshirts. I would get a Jennifer Beals perm, which, despite my mother’s insistence, was nothing like the Urban Cowboy perm. I would entertain random urges to learn welding. I would begin my life’s work of wanting to live in an abandoned factory with a pit bull companion. Mostly, though, I would hurt my back. See, the night was eventful. As I left the theater, ripe for a spontaneous dance off as any selfrespecting 15-year-old girl would be, I high kicked in front of my friend’s car. It had rained while we were in the movies. My white Keds sneakers slipped on the oilslicked asphalt, and I fell hard, sliding underneath the trunk of the car like a teenage wicked witch of the 80s east. My wounded pride and tailbone limped into my parent’s bedroom later that night. “Help,” I whimpered. My mom gave me the treatment du jour: a BC Powder, a heating pad for my lower sacrum, and firm instructions to lie flat on my back until further notice. My how back pain treatment times have changed.

Noah and the ark, according to Nicole, 8: “Noah had built an ark, and other people did not believe him. He got two of each animal, and then he loaded all of his stuff. It flooded, and he lived.”

B

Sniffles, cough, sore throat ... these can be symptoms of any number of conditions, but are often a byproduct of the common cold.

In 2018, a lone gunman opened fire inside the walls of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, killing 17 people and injuring at least that many more. Two weeks later, the surviving students returned to campus. It was February, after all, and the school year show must go on. While I recall story after story about the tragedy, I don’t remember any news personality explaining that those kids would have to walk through those doors again. Thinking about it now, I cannot explain why I thought they wouldn’t have to return to school. It just never occurred to me that going back to places of trauma would be expected of anyone. Yet, it is. The people who survived the 9/11 attacks are routinely expected to attend recognition services at the various sites where their lives were in peril. Survivors of Pearl Harbor have been recognized in programs held at Pearl Harbor. Is this healthy, this returning to trauma site mentality? Experts are divided. Dr. Thema Bryant-Davis with Pepperdine’s psychology department says that it is natural not to want to return to locations where bad things happened. “People avoid other people, places, or things that remind them of trauma, which is a result of feeling powerlessness, hopelessness, and terror.” But, avoidance isn’t always healthy long term, especially when the place is part of our normal routine. Refusal to reenter can inhibit a survivor of trauma from leading a full life. I never saw myself in this category, yet I recently conquered a fear I didn’t even realize I held.

B

Anxiety affects millions of people worldwide. The Anxiety & Depression Association of America indicates anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States, affecting 40 million adults age 18 and older every year, which equates to around 19.1 percent of the population.

“I would like to change my bedtime on New Year’s Eve,” says Tyler, 11. “I usually go to bed at 10 p.m., but I would like to stay up all night. I would have a great time because we would first party, second play video games and third eat a lot!”

Nine people were recently honored during STAR Transit’s Quarterly Driver Safety Meetings and Employee Appreciation Week. Rosalyn Bain was announced as the 2022 Employee of the Year, and Brock Vawter received the 2022 Driver of Year award.

Various changes to appearance and health are associated with aging. Issues such as diminished vision, waning muscle strength and gray hairs are among the more common and noticeable side effects of aging. Cognitive decline is another symptom often associated with aging, even if that needn’t be the case.

If so, have you ever visited Cruzitos?

Recycling, mulching, wildlife habitats provide good options

Recipe courtesy of Beef Loving Texans Total time: 45 minutes Servings: 8