In Part One I explained how as a teenager I began to develop a pragmatic approach to personal health.  I embraced trial and error, exploring, researching, and refining personal well-being and what works for me.  Often this meant quietly pushing aside peer or societal pressures and medical norms.  Over the decades, I continued seeking out pragmatic health tools that best fit me. Until the past year, I still looked first for help from the U.S. “sick” care system, which repeatedly failed to help me during Covid and Long-Covid.  Read More

Though frequently referred to as “little Chicago” by folks from Illinois, the “Cream City” (so called for the hue of the local brick) has a distinct culture and identity. A case in point, Milwaukee water fountains are called “bubblers”.   And the local NPR radio series answering listener questions in Chicago called “Curious City” (on WBEZ) in Milwaukee entitled “Bubbler Talk” on WUWM.  The origins of this odd term and public radio series offers an interesting dive into Milwauke history. Read More

That’s right, “Milwaukee or Bust”.  So, while not literally driving a beat-up Model-T cross-country for the promise land, echoing back to 1930s Dust Bowl days, the metaphor helps dramatize my move and internal travails to find a new home.  Temporarily living in “God’s Country” (as my cousin’s refer to Wisconsin) shifted my mindset, which has evolved over the past couple months as a post-pandemic, 50s-something. My June blogpost “Exit Chicago” detailed uprooting myself from Chicago to try out Wisconsin while still buzzing back to the city one-day a week for appointments with Back to Natural Health and catch friends.    Read More