The AC Phoenix: More than a Newspaper, a Community Institution -- Issue No. 2015, September 2014

Page 5 September 2014 The AC Phoenix
Good Health is
Everything!
By John Raye
[continued from page 1]
get sick! You don’t worry, for example,
about a cold, until you catch one!
Look at me. I never thought about cancer
until I was diagnosed with it. Never
thought it would catch up with me. But
one day, it did. Eight years ago. And
it is, as some survivors will tell you, an
almost indescribable feeling. It’s the
highest form of supreme anxiety and
focused uncertainty. Going to sleep with
cancer in your body every night is not the
best way to have a good night’s sleep!
We should add that unlike catching a
cold, nobody actually, “catches cancer”,
as it is not a virus. Cancer is a manmade,
self-created disease, brought
on by the victim or patient’s lifestyle,
environment, food choices, thoughts,
feelings, emotions, behavior, etc.
There is no getting around it; “a man
is made or unmade by his thoughts!”
What happens when you put too
much air in a flat tire or balloon? What
happens when too much stress is left
to simmer, unchecked, in the human
mind? Man has set foot on the moon,
but has set zero foot prints on cancer!
All by itself, the word carries the stench
of death. It is the apex or granddaddy
of all fears. Nothing scares people faster
or quicker than a cancer diagnosis.
It is an equal opportunity killer. It
makes no difference whether one is a
billionaire like the late Steve Jobs, or an
ordinary, poverty stricken individual;
cancer is no respecter of persons.
When given a, “BIG C”, diagnosis,
most people instantly see their life
flashing in front of them. Cancer
is a cold-blooded wake-up call!
“I thought I was going to die”, says
Winston-Salem’s Joann Agnew, who, after
being diagnosed, went home, planned
her own funeral… even down to writing
her own obituary. But through prayer,
meditation, change of diet, eating habits,
and other lifestyle changes, Agnew is
now celebrating 16 years free of cancer.
Around our house, my mother used to sing
the blues, most often when things weren’t
going well. One of her favorites was, “you
don’t miss your water till the well runs dry”.
The same applies to our health. We don’t
miss it until it’s gone. An initial cancer
diagnosis, can bring out the worst in
some people…or, in many cases, it can
bring out the best! For me, it brought
out stuff that I didn’t even know I had!
For instance, when you first hear the “C”
word, you are likely to break down in a
cold sweat. A brain freeze. A runny nose.
Trembling hands. Your eyes shutter and pop.
Dry air paralyzes your tongue. Your head
swims. Fear replaces faith. Tears flow but
they are not wet. You feel abandon, lonely
and alone. Almost every waking hour, you
are scared! Death thoughts linger, leave-
-then come back. Cancer is ugly, nasty, evil,
painful, vicious.
The diagnosis brought me to my knees. For
a minute, I felt like a wet dish rag, like salt
that had lost its favor and momentarily, I lost
consciousness. It wasn’t long before I found
myself with a gashing of teeth, weeping
and whaling in a corner darker than the
darkest midnight hour. A cancer diagnosis
is a journey to a place I never intend to visit
again. And you don’t want to go where I’ve
been!
Now, it is a proven, scientific, medically
documented fact, that cigarette smoking
is the chief cause of lung cancer. This
fact alone, however, is hardly enough to
dissuade 45 million smokers to quit. Can 45
million people be wrong, stupid or just that
ignorant? Short answer: Yes!
Centuries ago, the ancient Greek physician,
Hippocrates (400-377 BC), the father of
natural medicine told us exactly what to do
in order to stay healthy. In very simple but
profound terms, he said:
“Let food be thy medicine, and medicine
be thy food” Then, he capped it with
another singular great truth:
“Let walking be thy exercise”
Not much else needs to be said. Other than,
drink the Kosher-certified Aloe and protect
your good health.--John Raye, a life-health
coach, is an eight year cancer survivor
who lives and writes in Kernersville, NC
(rayeandrosie@aol.com) 336-782-8383
Residents of Ferguson
Need to Make a
Change
By Raynard Jackson, NNPA Columnist
I’m Gonna Make A Change,
For Once In My Life
It’s Gonna Feel Real Good,
Gonna Make A Difference
Gonna Make It Right…
I’m Starting With The Man In
The Mirror
I’m Asking Him To Change
His Ways
And No Message Could Have
Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World
A Better Place
Take A Look At Yourself, And
Then Make A Change
(from Michael Jackson’s hit song “Man in
the Mirror”)
This song is very appropriate for the
situation going on in Ferguson, Mo.
Regardless of what happens during all
the legal wrangling, one thing is certain:
the residents of Ferguson have had all
the power they ever needed to make
the change they have been seeking. And
they haven’t used it.
Some have argued that Ferguson is
symbolic of “inner city America.” They
argue that Ferguson is about racism,
hopelessness, structural and systemic
discrimination, and Blacks who feel
helpless.
Well, it’s kind of hard to make these
arguments when Blacks are almost
70 percent of Ferguson’s population.
According to the 2010 U.S. Census, there
are 14,297 Blacks and 6,206 Whites;
22 percent live in poverty; the mayor
is White; there is only one Black on a
6-member city council (.096 percent);
three Blacks out of 53 policemen (5.6
percent); and the St. Louis suburb is the
sixth most segregated city in the U.S.
As a native of St. Louis, I worked closely
with my friend, Freeman R. Bosley, Jr. in
his successful efforts to become the first
Black Circuit Clerk for the 22nd Judicial
Circuit in 1983 and the first Black mayor in
1993 (with 66 percent of the vote). Blacks
were a majority of the city; so I thoroughly
understand the power of the vote.
Juxtapose this with the voting history
of Ferguson. In this year’s elections, only
12.3 percent of eligible voters actually
voted (17 percent White, 6 percent Black);
11.7 percent in 2013; and 8.9 percent in
2012.
How can one argue that Blacks have no
power?
A more accurate statement is that Blacks
have refused to exercise their power. You
can’t blame that on the “White man” or
“racism” or the “system.” In the Wizard of
Oz, the Lion already had courage; the
Tin man already had a heart, and the
Scarecrow already had a brain; but they
had all been so psychologically abused
that they couldn’t see the power they
already had. The Wizard just simply
reminded them of what they already had.
Upon the prompting from the Wizard,
they then began to actually believe
again in themselves and the power lying
dormant inside of them.
Many across the country are asking: What
do the residents of Ferguson want? Thus
far, their response has been “justice;”
meaning they want the White policeman
who killed Michael Brown, Darren Wilson,
indicted, convicted, and sent to jail.
Well, that is out the control of any one
person. The facts of what happened must
be established and then let the justice
system function.
The fact that Blacks have the power of the
vote is undeniable. They have the power
to control the political climate in Ferguson
– that is no fairytale. The question is do
they have the courage to look at the man
in the mirror and make that change?
Do they have the heart to change
their apathetic approach to voting as a
perpetual tribute to Michael Brown? Do
they have the brains to understand the
power dynamics of voting?
Just like the Wizard did nothing to
change the conditions of Dorothy and
her friends, there is nothing America
needs to do for Ferguson that they can’t
do for themselves. They have everything
they need. Maybe the death of Brown will
be the reminder of what has been lying
dormant in the residents of Ferguson all
along.
Maybe after all of the marches are over,
they will be, as Fannie Lou Hamer put it,
“sick and tired of being sick and tired.”
Ferguson has non-partisan elections,
meaning no votes are cast based
on party affiliation, but vote for the
individual. The residents of Ferguson
need to begin to run – and vote for –
candidates who can best represent their
interests. The government can provide
tax credits and other tax incentives for
businesses to locate to Ferguson. Social
service agencies can provide job training
programs. And the federal government
will even help provide much needed
training of their police force.
But in the end, Ferguson will have to look
at the man – and the woman – in the
mirror and make that change.
######
Raynard Jackson is president & CEO of
Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC., a
Washington, D.C.-based public relations/
government affairs firm.