Y'all are so nice to me, and you have been so nice to me for so long. I am deeply grateful. I really appreciated hearing that you have had similar experiences with loved pets and loved people. I would really love to hear more. Please write to me at jimchaney@cableone.net One of my wonderful nieces had the same suggestion of getting a new kitty, and when I arrived back at the house a few days ago, my niece, who has a doorkey, told me to close the front door quickly. I asked why, and she pointed to a doorway, where I saw this little black streak running through the den and then the connecting living room. My niece had called the "pound" in five counties to find a cat that looked like Abigail. She went 50 miles to get my kitty, who is black with white on her throat and part of her belly. I named her Esmerelda and call her "Izzy." Izzy is a nine week old darling ball of black fluff who sleeps on my chest when I am in bed, except when I turn over onto my tummy and then she sleeps on my butt. And purrs. Funny sensation, the sense of whirring in your butt. The last two days I've been studying for an exam-12 hours a day, and Iz sleeps on my tummy except when that cute black furry face looks over the top of my book at me or gnaws on the edge of the book. Iz is what the term "beautiful cat" is all about. I've been at the computer for about an hour and in that time she has managed to turn over the trash can, run through the house many times, has snuggled up to my feet, looked up many time with an "Isn't it time to play?" look, and is driving her 7 year old thirteen pound stepbrother Tupelo to distraction. Tupelo jumps up on the desk to get away from her and then sits on the scanner. He's now licking his left front paw while he stands up. Tupelo is very patient and usually gives me 5 minutes before he throws the papers off the scanner so he can lie down. Cats are hilarious. Please let me hear from you. Jim

Hopeful, I also experienced a fweling of guilt when my father died because I was free to live my life for the first time in seven years, yet I do not regret the time I spent with him or my mother. When my father died (my mother had passed seven years prior) I knew that I had given him everything I could give that was in my power. I have two brothers that are fifteen and seventeen years older than me and they were both married. I am the one who stayed at home with my parents and took care of them. I had little money or a life of my own from birth to age forty-four when my father passed. I devoted my life to taking care of my parents and giving them anything and everything that I could that they wanted. My mother had always wanted to fly so we went to two away football games where she got to fly and she died after one of our driving out of town game trips. She died happy and I know that I did the best I could for her. My father wanted more than anything to take a road trip to Minnesota, but I could not take a month off work to take him nor did I have the money. My brothers are both worth a million dollars and they would not take him. I took him to see relatives and places I could afford to take him. I did the best for him and I spent a month sitting by his side at an extended care faci;ity while he slowly died from cancer. My brothers did not volunteer to be there and came to see him about once a week. Whe both my parents died I had such a sense of peace because I had done for them what I could, but I also felt guilty that I felt so free of worry and stress and pain once they passed. I had a dream shortly after my father died where both he and my mother visited me and told me it was time to think of myself and to live. They told me not to count on my brothers for anything and to make a world for myself and not let what my brothers had to say make me back down. I have attempted to do what they told me and for the most part life has been good. I may never be rich or famous but I enjoy volunteering at Give Kids the World and being with my plants and friends. I think my father guides my hands with my plants and helps me to grow things that usually will not grow. God put me here to be a caregiver and I took care of my parents and now I am taking care of my husband. God is blessing me in so many ways and he sends me reminders of my parents by allowing them to be angels to me and visit from time to time. There is truly an afterlife as there are angels and visits from those passed over to comfort, warn and protect us. Know you did the best and treasure the memories and keep them alive. Celebrate birthdays each year with a cake, etc and have scrapbooks or photoalbums to look at each major holiday. Keep their memories alive and your life will be more enriched as you hold and treasure the love they gave you while still alive and you will be rewarded by frequent visits or hear the soft whisper from your mother of sister when you need it to help comfort you or to tell you things will be okay. Hold those strange and unusual events close to your heart and feel the comfrot they offer. Beth, my heart goes out to you as do my prayers and condolences. Linda

My husband has suffered from Tinnitus for over seven years and has the most severe form of it. It isn't just a buzzing or a ringing, it is a loud screeching, metal on metal. It is non stop 24 hours a day and it is debilitating. There have been times when he hasn't been able to get out of bed. He has seen many doctors and specialists, including ENTs, Dentists, and a neurologist. He has had all kinds of tests including a brain scan. They all tell him the same thing. There is no cure for Tinnitus. The lucky people find out that their tinnitus is triggered by a drug and sometimes stopping that drug will make the tinnitus stop. Moe tried acupuncture for six months which was basically just a waste of money. It didn't provide any relief for him at all. The Chiropractor wasn't helpful either. At one point he was on anti-depressants. He wakes up with it and he goes to sleep with it. We have a white noise machine turned on at night. A friend recently sent me some information on Wobenzyme, a Systemic Enzyme Supplement. A lot of people get relief from arthritic symptoms using this supplement and some from Tinnitus. Since Moe was also suffering from arthritis in a number of joints including his knee and his shoulders we decided to give it a try. He checked with his doctor first. He started taking it the first week of January and within a week was getting relief from the joint pain. He could barely walk around the block and now we are walking three miles a day. Because the joint pain is now gone, it has made the tinnitus easier to deal with. The Tinnitus is still there, but because he isn't hurting as much, he is finding the tinnitus easier to live with. We are hoping that if he continues to take this supplement that he might get further relief from the Tinnitus. Time will tell. Ann

I had a really bad cold (just bad head cold, not influenza) back in 2004. Sense of smell went for a burton and never really came back. Now when the cleaner at work splashes bleach round the kitchen which is near my workstation, I smell nothing. Great! But now when my garden is in full bloom, I try to smell my flowers. I smell nothing. Great.