“Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside a dog it’s too dark to read.”

— Either Groucho Marx or Jim Brewer

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Books are an intrinsic part of my life: I read them, I write them, I trade them, I steward them (in the Little Free Library in Old Town Coffee & Chocolates), I borrow them (from the library), I refer to them (in the Humboldt Room of the library), I edit them, I get them printed and published, I’m never without one. Or 10.

Books, in some form, have been around for at least four thousand years. For instance, we have an alabaster disc naming Enheduanna as the author of poems written, in cuneiform, on the disc. She was priestess of the moon god Nanna and daughter of Sargon the Great (2340-2285 B.C., founder of the Akkadian Empire. Enheduanna wrote more than poetry: her Ninmeshara, copied on at least 100 clay tablets, is a lengthy account of a revolt against her nephew, for instance.

For the world’s first long book, that is, epic, the earliest of these that’s survived the millennia is that of Gilgamesh, which chronicles the fantastic adventures of the king of Uruk and his pal Endiku, including the Flood Story, plagiarized by the writers of Genesis over a thousand years later. The oldest surviving clay tablets of the Epic of Gilgamesh date to around 1800 B.C., although the most complete versions are more recent copies from Ninevah. Soon to follow were Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.

All of these were hand-copied until about a thousand years ago, with the first attempts at mechanical copying in China and India. Then came the breakthrough year, 1455, with Johannes Gutenberg’s (1398-1468) mechanically-printed 1,200-page Bible. Once the dam was broken, the flood poured out. Within 50 years of Gutenberg’s Bible, over 250 printers were furiously at work all across Europe using his technology. Historians estimate that 15 million books were printed mechanically between 1455 and 1500, more than the sum total of all books copied manually before then.

Today, the business of books — real, paper, dead-tree books — is booming. Each year, almost a billion physical books are sold, bringing in revenues of nearly $10 billion. And no wonder! The magic of it all! To carry around, perhaps as a paperback in one’s pocket, the story of a life, drama, conflict, instructions on how to succeed in life & love, the history of a town or the world or the universe, the wisdom of those who lived long ago, a Bible or Book of Miracles or the Tao, the imaginations of futurists and fantasists … and all for free, from a library; or for peanuts, from a secondhand store; or for the price of a decent meal out if you want the latest hardbound best-seller.

Somewhere in every book there’s a gem to be uncovered, often a tiara’s worth of precious stones. Here’s what I found in the last one I read, Elizabeth McCracken’s The Hero of this Book, a tribute to her late mother, buried in an otherwise unassuming paragraph: “Her memory for unhappiness and misery was terrible.” To have that inscribed on one’s gravestone! Or this speaks to me, a wannabe “good writer”: “I don’t think writing is that hard, as long as you’re comfortable with failure on every single level.” (See Hemingway: “It is easy to write. Just sit in front of your typewriter and bleed.”)

A few years ago, I discovered graphic novels — what I’d previously spurned as “comics” — starting out with arguably the best of the best, Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series. What fun! Great storytelling in words and pictures! Now I never travel without at least one new graphic novel to savor after dark, before sleep, to kickstart my dreams.

So many books, so little time, so my two bits of advice to readers. One: read everything and anything, put nothing off limits. Two: Don’t keep reading a book if you’re not enjoying it. Life’s short. Move on to the next one.

Tomorrow will be the first Sunday in November and in case you forgot, that means that at 2 a.m. daylight saving time will end and clocks and other time-telling devices will need to be turned back one hour, so that we may return to standard time. 

For some of us, this comes as good news because we get an extra hour of sleep. But others do not care for the act of “falling back,” because it means that the sun sets at an earlier time. However you feel about it, it is happening and you will just have to accept the fact that your schedule will feel a little off until you adjust to the change. 

But wait a minute, you might be thinking, didn’t California vote to end this silly practice of changing our clocks twice a year? And it did! In 2018 California voters passed Proposition 7, which proposed to permanently switch the state to daylight saving time. However, all the proposition really did was grant the State Legislature the ability to change the time through a two-thirds vote, which still hasn’t been successful. And even if the the change is approved at the state level, it will still need Congressional approval before it can go into effect. 

So, at least for the time being, Californian’s must continue to “spring forward” to daylight saving time in March and “fall back” to standard time in November. Luckily, most of our devices make the time change automatically these days. But if you have an old-school clock or a wristwatch, then you’ll have to suffer through manually setting it back one hour.

Or, you can just leave them alone for four months, when the time changes again! 

On this week’s EcoNews Report, host Tom Wheeler talks to friends from across California about “rewilding.” What the heck is rewilding? It is a global movement to restore lands and ecosystems to a more complex and “wild” state, often with the reintroduction of keystone species — think large mammals like elk or ecosystem engineers like beavers — that may be absent.

This episode is a crossover collaboration with John Davis of the Rewilding Institute (and host of the Rewildling Earth Podcast) and the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center.

AUDIO:

“The EcoNews Report,” Nov. 5, 2022.

(Sorry, no transcript this week.)

Ignaz Semmelweis, everyone!

It’s time for your monthly COVID column, and Ignaz Semmelweis isn’t a strange Lewis-Lusso holiday greeting (yet), but a true hero of healthcare.

Semmelweis! Photo: Public domain, via Wikimedia.

Whether you are still worried about COVID, over it for myriad reasons, or develop a blank, thousand-yard stare when you have to think about it, I hope you’ll still find value in this quick trip through history.

Ignaz Semmelweis was a Hungarian doctor in the mid-1800s, and he noticed a problem in the two maternity wards at his teaching hospital. Between 1840 and 1846, the maternal mortality rate for the midwives’ ward was 36 per 1000 births, while the mortality rate for the doctors’ ward was 98 per 1000 births.

I’ll resist making the easy doctor joke to continue the tale: Semmelweis found that the doctors sometimes delivered babies after performing autopsies. After instituting a handwashing policy (not in general mind you, just after autopsies) the mortality rate for the doctors dropped to the same level as the midwives.

Medical professionals kicked this idea back and forth for a while before finally deciding that regular hand washing was a good idea, and instituting it as a standard … over a hundred years later, in the 1980s!

This is why I get people who don’t fully embrace COVID protocols like masking, vaccination and ventilation. In fact, if you promise to wash your hands regularly, you will be taking the most important step to not getting sick in most circumstances. Unfortunately, most of us are TERRIBLE about hand hygiene.

A lot of groups have looked at hand hygiene compliance, through surveys and observation. The areas that SHOULD have the highest compliance levels for hand hygiene are “hands down” healthcare and food service. It’s not offensive to ask your healthcare provider if they have washed their hands. How about the dude making your sandwich? If you’d ask that guy, ask your doctor as well.

A wise infection preventionist once told me: “Imagine everything you touch has ketchup on it, and that will keep you washing your hands regularly.”

“But Michelle, WHY do I need to wash my hands???”    Welp, how do you think we get germs?

Why do some people always get a sore throat or a cold in the winter? Is it the cold weather? Going out for a minute without a coat? How about wet hair? Forgot to take your vitamin C?

Nope — colds are caused by viruses, not by being underdressed or “exposed” to the elements with wet hair. The common cold (along with some other unsavory viruses) is transmitted through the business that flies out of the noses and mouths of people who have the frequent and sudden urge to sneeze — like when they have a cold.

Some viruses stay viable (living) for hours to days on surfaces. It has been recommended that we regularly clean or disinfect “high-touch” surfaces. High-touch surfaces are just that — we touch them all of the time — doorknobs, toilet handles, phones, keyboards, refrigerator doors, light switches, countertops, etc.

Viruses land on these surfaces or hang out on the hands of those carrying them. If you wipe your nose, shake the hand of a colleague you haven’t seen in a while, then grab a cup of coffee from the break room, you’re both totally normal and spreading germs.

I challenged some people during Infection Prevention Week (SO much fun!) to “follow the germ” or count how many surfaces they had touched for the first hour of work. Then I asked them to try to count how many times they touched their faces. There were some surprises. Some studies have shown 23 face-touches per hour! Yikes — I’m glad I wear glasses and my mask a lot, because I probably go for the areas of my face I’m likely to deposit a germ in — my eyes, nose or mouth.

You probably won’t be able to train yourself not to touch your face — believe me, I have tried. So, the next best thing you can do is regularly wash your hands. This will not only keep your hands clean, but also keep germs off that quality mask you are breathing through.

So, what are some things that can keep us from getting sick?

• Number 1: HAND HYGIENE! Wash your hands at least 20 seconds with soap and water — or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer — before and after eating, after using the toilet, after caring for or cleaning up after an animal, child or other dependent being or someone who is sick, before, during and after preparing food, before touching your face, after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing, after being in public places, after touching garbage — SO many opportunities!
• Clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces (always read the manufacturer instructions for use on those cleaning products!)
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick

If it’s taken you a while to get on board with preventative health measures, don’t feel bad — it took doctors over a hundred years to finally wash their hands. But now that you know, fall is a great time to start. Stay safe and healthy!

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Michelle Lewis-Lusso (she/her) is an Infection Prevention and Control nurse at United Indian Health Services, serving the 11,000+ clients and staff at their seven area clinics. Michelle hopes you wash your hands AND don’t go out with wet hair.

Edward Hackett Fitzgerald
May 12, 1950 — October 18, 2022

Ed is survived by his wife of 42 years, Lori; his two sisters, Catherine Galligan and Ann Fitzgerald; his nephew, Eugene Galligan; his two cousins, Markie (Margaret) Hartling and Eileen Sweeney; and cousin Michael Hartling (Jill).

Ed grew up in Parkchester, a large housing development owned by Metropolitan Life in the East Bronx. Parkchester consisted of over 100 apartment buildings, each seven or 12-stories high; and, when Ed was growing up, had a population of close to 50,000. Unlike public housing projects, Parkchester had a lot of open space, with plenty of grassy areas, playgrounds, basketball courts, shuffleboard courts, and a large softball field. It was a self-contained community, with numerous supermarkets, restaurants, stationary stores, doctors and dentist offices, delicatessens, drug stores, laundromats, dry cleaners, a bowling alley, a public library, and the first Macy’s after its flagship Herald Square store. The majority of Parkchester residents were Catholic and two parishes served them: St. Helena’s and St. Raymond’s. Ed’s family went to St. Helena’s, so he attended St. Helena’s Grammar School, where he made friends he would keep for the rest of his life. Although they did not realize it at the time, those who grew up with Ed in Parkchester look back with incredible fondness on Parkchester, recognizing how lucky they were to have lived there.

Ed wasn’t one to let grass grow under his feet for very long. He had a few careers before he retired. He made many friends during his careers in real estate, working as an appraiser at the Humboldt County Assessor’s office and finally at the California Department of Transportation as a right-of-way agent. Up to his last day, he was making friends as a volunteer working on trails in what is known as the McKay Tract.

Ed was a true and loyal friend to all he met and a loving husband. He lived life his way, and he passed the same way: at home.

The family thanks Ayres Family Cremation for preparing Ed for his final journey. A Celebration of Life is planned for the spring of 2023.

Jonas Martin Lindblom, 83, of Orleans, passed away October 19, 2022, with loving family at his side.

Jonas was born on March 29, 1939, to Art Lindblom and Agnes Flynn Lindblom in Baudette, Minnesota.

When Jonas was a teenager, the family moved from Oregon to the Bald Hills above Orick, where they built a store and gas station that his mom managed while his dad owned and drove logging trucks.

While attending Arcata High School, at the age of 15 Jonas started driving logging truck, a profession he enjoyed and continued for over 65 years.

In February 1960, Jonas married Betty Oglesby of Orick. They had two children, JoDee Rae and Jonas “Rick” Ricky Lindblom.

In December 1987, he married Susan Hoopes Rickwalt of Orleans, and gained two stepchildren, Wendy and Misty.

Jonas was an animal lover, and never met a stranger. Known for being a very hard worker, having immaculately clean and well-maintained trucks and vehicles, cooking hot-cakes for his grandsons, eating “red-lead” (ketchup) on just about everything, having a quick-witted sense of humor, being fluent in sarcasm and creating nicknames for others; during his trucking career he made many friends all over the region and enjoyed visiting with them whenever possible. Jonas also loved spending time with his family. He will be dearly missed by all.

Jonas was predeceased by his parents, Art and Agnes; brother Ervin; beloved dog Sporty, and many friends. He is survived by his wife of nearly 35 years, Susan of Orleans, California; daughter JoDee Biasca (Darrel) of Sydney, British Columbia; son Rick Lindblom (Tammy) of Cottonwood, California; stepchildren Misty Rickwalt (Davey) and Wendy Rickwalt of Orleans, California; grandchildren Travis Biasca (Laura), Joel Lindblom (Jenni), Jonas Lindblom (Alex), Rilen Rickwalt, Ivan Rickwalt, and numerous step-grandchildren; great-grandchildren Liam, DJ, and Kenzee; brothers Raymond (Elaine), Gary, and sister Doreen; sister-in-law Julie; numerous cousins, nieces and nephews, and many friends, family, and “adopted” family.

There will be a celebration of life held at 20040 Clay Court, Cottonwood, Calif. on Saturday, November 12 between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Bring your favorite stories of Jonas to share with family and friends.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to one of Jonas’ favorite charities, Smile Train or Mercy Ships.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Jonas Lindblom’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

Merlin passed away on October 6 from a battle with cancer. He joined the love of his life, Betty Ann Lake, who passed away in 2007.

Merlin was born to Ammon and Hazel Lake on December 31, 1928 in St. George, Utah. They had a large family Merlin was one of 9 children. Sometime in the late 1930’s the family moved to Buttonwillow, California. It’s there that Merlin met Betty Ann Lake and they were married on December 23, 1948. They were married 59 years. Together they had three children David, Dana and Dennis.

They raised their family in Taft. Merlin worked for Standard Oil and Betty as a nurse. In 1972 they migrated north to Fieldbrook in Humboldt County. Merlin then went to work for Rich’s Well Drilling. During the summer Merlin would commercial salmon fish out of Trinidad Bay on his boat “Mandy.” In 1983 he sold his boat and started his own drilling business, Lake’s Well Drilling, and worked with his son Dennis until he retired in 1993.

Merlin was never one to sit around — he always stayed busy in his shop, yard and garden. Merlin had a passion for the outdoors. He loved to hunt and fish. He would hunt all over California and out of state with his son Dennis, grandson Kyle and his brothers. Every summer his brothers George and Wilford would come to Humboldt and they would ocean fish for weeks. Merlin also really enjoyed fishing at Hat Creek by Mt. Lassen.

Merlin always had a story to tell. When his brothers would visit you would often hear the same stories and each summer the stories would get better and better.

Merlin is preceded in death by his parents Ammon and Hazel Lake, wife Betty Lake, daughter Dana Lake, all his brother and sisters except one.

Merlin is survived by his two sons, David Lake and Dennis Lake; his brother Darryl Lake; grandchildren Todd Lake, Amanda Reed, Janice Lucas, and Kyle Lake, and many great-grandchildren.

Merlin and Betty loved the little town of Fieldbrook they were a member of that small community for 50 years. The family would like to thank the Fieldbrook volunteer Fire Department for all the years of help they have given the family. There help was always appreciated and there kindness never went unnoticed.

There will be a celebration of life. December 29, 2022 at the Dow’s Prairie Grange Mckinleyville at 1 p.m.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Merlin Lake’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.