I can honestly say I am not afraid of ebola.

I am not afraid that I will be blown up by a terrorist.

I am not afraid that I will contract Aids.

I have only had my cholesterol levels checked once.

But, every now and then, when the elevator door opens, I fear I might find a dead body in it.

I had not been afraid of drinking tea, until last Friday’s rerun of Marketplace. My innocence is shattered. I have been informed that most teas have residues of pesticides. Oh my darling Earl, Grey is what my hair is turning over this latest scandal. And I doubt I can take comfort with you any longer. To reassure us, a CBC spokesperson said that “a person would have to consume approximately 75 cups of tea per day over their entire lifetime to elicit an adverse health effect.”

Fear Mongering … Overwhelming information is at our disposal. After I bumped into the owner of the local Tea shop, she challenged me to take a look at apple pesticides, only to discover that apples top the list of the dirty dozen for pesticide residue. If only the organic section looked more appealing.

A trip to Africa is on my horizon, and a friend asked if I was not afraid of travel to the continent of ebola. I asked her if she would stay home from Florida because Alaska was having the flu?

Perspective is hard to maintain with the current information overload.  I think I will go have another cup of tea with apple slices as I re-read a list from 1933.  In a letter to his 11-year-old daughter Scottie, author F. Scott Fitzgerald listed things for her to worry about, not worry about, and to think about. Pesticide-free food for thought:

Things to worry about:

Worry about courage

Worry about cleanliness

Worry about efficiency

Worry about horsemanship (Whew—I can strike that one off the list)

Things not to worry about:

Don’t worry about …

Dolls

The past

The future

Growing up

Anybody getting ahead of you

Don’t worry about triumph

About failure, unless it comes through your own fault

About mosquitoes

About flies       (Did he read the research that claims we ingest a pound or two of bugs in our food per year?)

Don’t worry about insects in general  (The tea pesticide will take care of them)

Don’t worry about parents       

About boys

About disappointments

About pleasures

Don’t worry about satisfactions

Things to think about:

What am I really aiming at?

How good am I in comparison to my contemporaries in regard to:

(a) scholarship

(b) Do I really understand about people and am I able to get along with them.

(c) Am I trying to make my body a useful instrument or am I neglecting it?

With dearest love,

Daddy                     Source: F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Life in Letters

(Some repetitive wording was eliminated)

Canadian Thanksgiving is upon us, I could worry about overeating, but I will  focus on being grateful for the many blessings in my life.