Patrick M. Ohana
Bio
A medical writer who reads and writes fiction and some nonfiction, although the latter may appear at times like the former. Most of my pieces (over 2,200) are or will be available on Shakespeare's Shoes.
Stories (531/0)
The Pros and Cons of Infant Daycare
Given the overwhelming importance of infancy in the normal development of most animals, including our species, the issue of infant daycare becomes consequential in many ways. Is infant daycare a positive undertaking, a negative endeavour, or does it swing on a wider spectrum? It is quite evident that we are social animals. However, should infancy be subjected to this fact by way of the daycare system or introduced to it more appropriately following this crucial period in our lives? We seem to be disregarding the possibility of harm being done to our toddlers in favour of complete parental fulfillment. The women-and-children-first principle is turning into the women-first standard. Freud’s insight about early childhood cannot be ignored any longer. If our children constitute our future, let us guarantee them one.
By Patrick M. Ohana3 years ago in Journal
The Truth About Cheese
Did you say cheese? I could have titled the story “The Truth About Dairy: Don’t say anything” but dairy is a loaded word, so I clinched a compromise and cheesed it, and you, of course, and even set out to frustrate and exasperate by cheesing you off. Those hunks of cheese in the picture are only there to illustrate what can happen to a joint, not the one that is smoked but the one that becomes crooked, deformed, grotesque, inflamed, misshapen, painful, unsightly. You may get the picture now. Every joint is attacked, but the pictures are almost exclusively focused on the fingers; all of them, even the thumbs. However, like most diseases, not everyone can discern this outcome. Yet osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, affects millions of people worldwide.
By Patrick M. Ohana3 years ago in Longevity
The Second Boot
Reading a short anecdote by Terry Mansfield about a missing other shoe, I remembered a funny story that I’d heard when I was a teen, over forty years ago. My memory is pristine. I even remember things that never happened to me, as far as I know. I think that the old story you’re about to read is still funny but you’ll be the judge of that. It seems that Terry has been giving me some ideas since December. I guess that he’s like a secondary muse. But wait! A muse can’t be male. So, forget what I said! I have my muse, and this story, she approved. I ask for her approval since I like her taste. I don’t have to ask her, but I do with all my love and I think that she knows it. Do you, Crissey? She’s a timid muse, except with me, sometimes. But wait again! This story is supposed to be about a second boot. I must have digressed. When I think of her, I digress. And I think about her when I’m awake. I did it again. I digressed. I need a short break. You won’t notice it.
By Patrick M. Ohana3 years ago in Journal
The Physics of Shakespeare
Why would anyone wish to defy physics, the truest science of all? It is like asking Einstein to forget everything he ever said and thought. I can easily defy religion and most nutrition guidelines too. When it comes to physics, I am adamantly resisting but I’ll play along.
By Patrick M. Ohana3 years ago in Poets
Eat Me! The Almost Definitive Guide to Nutrition
An apple a day does not keep the doctor away, but an avocado just may, and some coconut is always welcome. Eaters can be divided into four groups: (1) those that eat and would eat anything, even human meat under extraordinary circumstances; (2) those that eat a selection of meats (various animal parts) and plants (grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, etc.); (3) those that only eat plants; and (4) those that only eat meats. There is a fifth group that only lives on water and air but is beyond the scope of this text. All groups consume water; perhaps the only fare in common, notwithstanding its cruciality.
By Patrick M. Ohana3 years ago in Longevity
In Fitness and in Health
Fitness and health, health and fitness, seem to be synonyms at some level. How can one be fit but not healthy or healthy but not fit? Well, dear readers, one can be “healthy” but "not fit" or “fit” but "not healthy". I may belong to the first group, as far as I know. I may be healthy too. Oh, I have the odd pain here and there, the occasional bout of suffering, but these, unfortunately, are part of being alive. There may be individuals out there who are also bereft of these niceties of existence, but they would belong to a class of their own. Most people learn to cope with these two “almost” unavoidable conditions.
By Patrick M. Ohana3 years ago in Longevity
“Babe, I’m Leaving”
“I must be on my way,” since Styx and Stones will break my bones when Alzheimer’s disease (AD) takes over. Even love cannot stop AD, but cutting short your intake of carbohydrates (carbs, sugars) completely, or at least significantly (p < 0.01) could save you from the grips and tribulations of this memorable disease. By the way, another name for AD, the name that should be adopted or added, is diabetes type 3. You read correctly. Diabetes! Of the brain, in the brain, around the brain! The book, Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth About Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar - Your Brain’s Silent Killers, by David Perlmutter (a practicing neurologist and Fellow of the American College of Nutrition) may become your best non-fictional read if you give it a little space and time between your meals.
By Patrick M. Ohana3 years ago in Longevity
Pornman
Morty loved porn. He was Pornman, after all. Pornman? The man who lived in porn. He literally lived in it as if it was a place. It was in his case. I should first tell you about his superpower. While sexual prowess was part of his aptitude, Pornman didn’t fly or anything like that. But I should start from the beginning. Chronology is never a given unless one makes it flow.
By Patrick M. Ohana3 years ago in Filthy
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