I am moving from New Jersey to Florida, so I decided to go through my long unsearched desk drawers. I found some interesting matter.  For example, in the 1960s,  doctors and the FDA were reluctant to talk to the press.  Today, many doctors have their own press agents, and the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) publishes updates almost every day. You or anyone else can find out what the agency is doing by merely visiting FDA.gov. I sure hope Jan Woodcock MD, acting FDA director today, is permanently appointed (as permanently anyone has been in her job). 

I also found in the same drawer references to USDA (US Department of Agriculture). I criticized the agency in the 1960s for allowing antibiotics and pesticides to get into our food. The contaminants are still there but not by as much. The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) is not quite as open as the FDA but you can still find out  a lot about food and nutrition, farming, loans, and fraud  by clicking on USDA.gov. The Agency is today supporting recombinant DNA technology. These techniques are included in what is often referred to as “biotechnology”.  

Beside the serious stuff in the drawers I found some quotes I used through the years: 

Jean Kerr, playwright  “Please Don’t Eat The Daisies” (1922-1996):“I’m tired of all this nonsense about beauty being only skin-deep. That’s deep enough. What do you want—an adorable pancreas 

Winston, Churchill, Statesman (1874 -1965)  “History)will be kind to me for I intend to write it.”

Rita Mae Brown ( 1944- ) humorist “The statistics on insanity are that one out of every four Americans are suffering from some sort  of mental illness. Think if your three best friends. If  they’re okay, then it’s you.“

Will Rogers, humorist (1878-1935) “The trouble with political jokes is that they very often get elected.“

What else will I find in my untouched drawers?  Brain health advice from my husband, a neurosurgeon, and I in the 1980s:

1. Do a dance, especially a square dance. Square Dancing requires you to move to music while following the announcer’s instructions at the same time.

2. Do play music. Wind instruments bring more oxygen to the brain. Piano and guitar help hand-eye coordination. Playing any type of musical instrument helps the right side of the brain.

3. Do addition, subtraction, and multiplication, without a calculator. Math helps the left side of the brain. 

I have only gotten through three long untouched drawers. Why don’t you find out what’s in your drawers?