October 11, 2024

REMINDER: YOUR SUBMISSIONS ARE ENCOURAGED

Overview for this week.

1. Back in September, I promised an update on the Tucson Community Tennis Program and this week I have it, along with more information on their pottery sale fundraiser on Sunday, November 16th.

2. Sukkot, the week-long Jewish harvest festival and commemoration of the Exodus from Egypt begins next Wednesday, October 16th. I have a run down from Good Housekeeping that will tell you all about it.

3. Diwali, one of India's most important festivals starts near the end of this month. It is a celebration of light over darkness that is shared by multiple religions around the world.

4. To join in with the celebration of Diwali, Mattel has released special edition Diwali Barbie designed by Indian fashion designer Anita Dongre.

5. In the Next Gen, I have an update on the Flock's favorite roving reporter and data analyst, William George. With the current port workers' strike causing major supply chain delays, journalists from national and regional outlets have been drawing on Williams in-depth knowledge of the shipping industry to assist in their reporting on the effects of the strike on the supply chain.

6. In Museums, I'm giving a shout-out to the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., I have friends touring the Museum this weekend.

7. In Weather this week, I have a striking cloud phenomena, fallstreak holes, that are so otherworldly looking that they often get mistaken to be UFOs or portals to another dimension.

8. I have more witticisms from the Banner Health welcome board to bring some lightness to your weekend.

9. In Wellness, I have a special reader submission from my cousin Dr. Alan Helig, DDS where he shares his insights on maintaining healthy teeth, garnered from over 40 years of practicing dentistry.

10. This week I want to congratulate Tracee Metcalfe for being the first woman from the US to climb all 14 of the world’s 8,000m peaks.

11. In the Pet's Corner we have an encore appearance by the mighty Akita Grim, guardian to little chickens.

Now, to this week's Flock.

Tap to view past issues.

When I last looked in on the Tucson Community Tennis Program in September, I promised that I would have more details on the October Pottery Sale fundraiser, and some updates to the TCTP program in a future issue. Well, that issue is here. I encourage my Tucson Flockers to check out the Pottery Sale next week, and if you are one of the many Flockers who live outside of Tucson, please take a look at the TCTP website for more on this fantastic program.

From: TCTP News

TCTP's 11th Annual Pottery Sale

Save the Date

Date: Saturday, November 16, 2024

Time: 9:00am until 1:00pm

Where: Tucson Racquet & Fitness Club,

4001 N. COUNTRY Club Road

Accomplished potter and TCTP Board Member Susan Grunebaum will be selling her functional and decorative bowls, plates, platters and planters. get your holiday shopping done early and purchase some of these one of a kind items for yourself, too!

TRFC members and non-members welcome!

100% of the pottery sales are donated by Susan to benefit the TCTP Saturday Clinic.

Pueblo High School has a Brand New Hydration Station

We all know how hot it gets in Tucson and the health and well-being of our TCTP kids is of utmost importance. With generous funding from the Angel Charity grant and just in time for our summer camp, the construction of a permanent water station was completed at Pueblo High School (which previously had no outdoor source of Drinking water). "Did you remember your water bottle?" is a concern of the past. " Go get a drink at the water station" is now a reality!

Not only did the TCTP get a new water station, The young athletes now all have their own colorful water bottles to fill up. It's not always hot inTucson, but it is always important for our young athletes to stay hydrated.

Next Wednesday, October 16th is the first day of the week-long Jewish celebration of Sukkot, one of the three biblically based pilgrimage holidays known as the shalosh regalim. Sukkot is a celebration of the fall harvest and commemorates the Israelites 40 years of wandering the desert after fleeing enslavement in Egypt. Chag Sameach!

From: Good Housekeeping, By: Alesandra Dubin, September 26, 2024

Each year, right around the time many Americans are peeping fall foliage, clutching spiced lattes and flocking to pumpkin patches, Jewish people around the world are observing the holiday of Sukkot, the harvest holiday commemorating the protection God provided for the Israelites after the Exodus from Egypt.

"Sukkot, an ancient fall harvest festival that predates the Bible, is the Jewish Thanksgiving," explains Rabbi Dr. Jo David. "It is a time to connect with nature in meaningful ways and to reflect on our responsibility as stewards of the earth."

What Is Sukkot?

Diwali, the five-day Indian festival crelebrating the triumph of light over darkness is coming up at the end of the month. Have a blessed Diwali!

From: PBS, November 10, 2023

Diwali is the most important festival of the year in India — and for Hindus in particular.

It is celebrated across faiths by more than a billion people in the world’s most populous nation and the diaspora. Over five days, people take part in festive gatherings, fireworks displays, feasts and prayer.

Diwali is derived from the word “Deepavali,” which means “a row of lights.” Celebrants light rows of traditional clay oil lamps outside their homes to symbolize the victory of light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance.

What are the Diwali stories from other faiths?

Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs have their own Diwali stories:

• Jains observe Diwali as the day the Lord Mahavira, the last of the great teachers, attained nirvana, which is liberation from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth.
• Sikhs celebrate Bandi Chhor Divas — a day that overlaps with Diwali — to commemorate the release of Guru Hargobind, a revered figure in the faith, who had been imprisoned for 12 years by the Mughal emperor Jahangir.
• Buddhists observe the day as one when the Hindu Emperor Ashoka, who ruled in the third century B.C., converted to Buddhism.

Here’s how we celebrate Diwali in London

Mattel has released a new Barbie to celebrate the Indian holiday Diwali. I featured the eight International Women's Day Barbies in March and the cultural impact of the first black Barbie in June. I think these special releases are fabulous.

From Good Morning America, October 4, 2024

Just in time for the Festival of Lights, celebrating the triumph of light over darkness, Barbie is launching a new Diwali doll.

To make the latest release extra special, Mattel tapped globally recognized Indian fashion designer Anita Dongre to help create it.

"I think it's amazing that I get to do a doll for Diwali, which is the festival of light, hope, love ... and I think that's the message I'd like to give to everybody."

–Anita Dongre

I have an update on the Flock's favorite roving reporter and data researcher, Import Genius' Director of Research William George. William’s research keeps him on top of shipping and port activity throughout the world. Needless to say, William has been very busy with the current port workers' strike causing major supply chain interruptions. William's insight has been in high demand and his research has been relied upon by national press outlets such as PBS, Fox Business, CNBC, and The Wall Street Journal as well as regional and local outlets.

From: CNBC, By: Lori Ann LaRocco, October 1, 2024

As a port strike stretching from New England to Texas halted nearly half of all trade coming into the U.S., customs data shows that critical medical devices and drug components for the booming, expensive weight-loss and diabetes drugs from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly — Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound — are among the trade casualties in the ILA union port work stoppage.

Bills of lading, the digital receipts of freight containers, show that the delivery mechanisms for insulin and weight-loss drugs rely on East Coast ports for incoming trade.

“Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are both heavily reliant on the Port of Norfolk,” said William George, director of research at ImportGenius, which tracks the customs data.

In the past year, Novo Nordisk has imported through Norfolk 419 twenty-foot equivalent unit, or TEU, containers worth of pharmaceuticals and injection devices that contain semaglutide, a compound in its branded weight-loss drugs, according to George. “Novo fine syringes commonly used for insulin injections come into the U.S. by ocean freight as well,” he said.

When I'm in Washington, D.C, I love to visit the many museums, in particular, I like to roam the galleries of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. This is a unique museum in the nation's capital in that it is not part of the Smithsonian and is dedicated top showing the work of women artsts. Click or tap through below to explore the museum's online exhibitions.

From: National Musum of Women in the Arts 

The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) is the first museum in the world solely dedicated to championing women through the arts.

With its collections, exhibitions, programs, and online content, the museum seeks to inspire dynamic exchanges about art and ideas. NMWA advocates for better representation of women artists and serves as a vital center for thought leadership, community engagement, and social change. The museum addresses the gender imbalance in the presentation of art by bringing to light important women artists of the past while promoting great women artists working today.

NMWA Now Museum Tour

Recently I saw a photo of one of these bizarre clouds, called fallstreak holes, that look like some type of portal in the sky posted on a friend's facebook page. I was inspired to do a little online research and learn more about these odd clouds.Here's what I found.

From: Skybrary

Description

A fallstreak hole (also known as a cavum, hole punch cloud, punch hole cloud, skypunch, cloud canal or cloud hole) is a large circular or elliptical gap that can appear in cirrocumulus or altocumulus clouds. It forms when part of the cloud layer forms ice crystals that are large enough to fall as a 'fallstreak'.

Mechanism

The ice crystals form in clouds of supercooled water droplets (water below 0 °C but not yet frozen). These water droplets need a tiny particle, a nucleus, to freeze or to be cooled below -40 °C.

Aircraft, which often have a large reduction in pressure behind the wing- or propeller-tips, punching through this cloud layer can cause air to expand and cool very quickly as it passes over the aircraft wings or propeller. This change in temperature can be enough to encourage the supercooled droplets to freeze and can produce a ribbon of ice crystals trailing in the aircraft's wake. The ice crystals then fall from the cloud layer. When ice crystals do form, a domino effect is set off due to the Bergeron process, causing the water droplets around the crystals to evaporate: this leaves a large, often circular or elliptical, hole in the cloud with streaks of ice crystals below the hole.

Attention educators and students! While I was looking for information on Fallstreak clouds, I came across the Weather Channel's Weather Underground website that offers a large selection of free weather related infographics like the one above.

I was back at the Banner Health clinic recently – no worries, everything is ok. I noticed that they had updated their white board witticisms that I shared in the September 13th issue. I appreciate the levity and hope they lighten your weekend as well.

I really want to buy one of those supermarket checkout dividers, but the cashier keeps putting it back

What is Caspers's favorite Mexican food?

A Boo-rrito

What do you call a pig that practices karate?

A pork chop

What did sushi a say to sushi B?

Wasabi

My wife told me to stop impersonating a flamingo.

I had to put my foot down.

This week I have a special reader submission for my Wellness section. My cousin, Dr. Alan Helig, DDS has submitted an essay compiling his insights on maintaining healthy teeth that he has accumulated after 40years of practicing dentistry. I'm just posting his introductory paragraph her, so I highly recommend that you click or tap through to read the entire essay. I thank Alan for generously sharing his knowledge with the Flock, enjoy.

By Dr. Alan Helig, DDS

As a practicing dentist for over four decades, I've encountered numerous dental problems—most of which could have been easily avoided with proper preventive care. The truth is, the best dentistry isn’t performed in the office but at home. Diligent daily oral care, a balanced diet that supports dental health, and using teeth properly (not as tools!) form the foundation for long-term oral health. Still, like most people, I dread anything beyond a routine cleaning—nobody enjoys having their teeth drilled, scraped, or anesthetized. That's why I emphasize to all my patients that the best dental insurance is prevention.

I want to congratulate Tracee Metcalfe of Vail, CO for being the first US woman to climb all 14 8,000m peaks, an accomplishment that very few climbers worldwide have achieved.

From: ExplorersWeb, By: Angela Benavides, October 7, 2024

On Friday, Tracee Metcalfe became the first U.S. woman to scale all 14 of the world’s 8,000m peaks. She did so by summiting Tibet’s Shisha Pangma. At 8,027m, it is the lowest of the 14.

“It was magical,” Metcalfe told ExplorersWeb. The 50-year-old internal medicine physician from Vail, Colorado, added some details about the summit day.

“Conditions were much different than last year,” Metcalfe said. “We did get a heavy snowfall last week and had over one meter of fresh snow in Base Camp. But this year, the snow was very heavy and wet, which bonded nicely and made avalanche risk much lower than last year.”

Metcalfe noted the last meters before the summit were the most intense.

“We reached a false summit that required traversing a cornice for about 180m,” she said. “Mingma G led the way on that part, [fixing] the rope as he advanced.

We first me Grim, the brother to Flock contributor Cita Scott's Akita Daisy in April. At that time Grim's best friend was a tiny chick named Phoenix. Grim has maintained his affection for chickens and is now their stalwart guardian when they get some outdoor time in the fresh air.

Grim with Phoenix when Phoenix was just 10 days old and only weighed two ounces.

Courtesy of Flockers Elizabeth and Gary Theriault

These Flock regulars are always here for you:

In coming weeks: we'll be sharing more investigative articles from our roving reporter William George, original writing from Flock favorite Dino DeConcini.

Don't Be Shy: Share Your Stories!

I'm looking forward to sharing more of your personal stories - oral, written, or otherwise, as we enter our third year. I'd so love to present them to The Flock, hit a mailbox below to share your story.

Holualoa Ed Fit Wellness & Culture 2

520-818-4433

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