Awake!, March 22, 1980

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Awake! — March 22, 1980

Source: jw.org

Contents

Page Two

Will the Rising Cost of Living Ever End?

Face to Face with Death

They Seek to Defeat Death

What Is Death?

Death Does Not End It All!

Pets and People

I Was a Burn Victim

What to Do for Burns

Hawaii’s Musical “Jumping Flea”

They Are Counting On You!—Census ’80 April 1

Motion Economy Saves Money, Energy and Time

Watching the World

Listen!

Your Personal Invitation

Page Two

Does death end it all? Can we really know for sure? There is a satisfying answer, one that has changed the entire outlook on life of persons in all parts of the world. We invite you to examine the facts as set out in this series of articles by our correspondent in Nigeria:

5 FACE TO FACE WITH DEATH

6 THEY SEEK TO DEFEAT DEATH

8 WHAT IS DEATH?

10 DEATH DOES NOT END IT ALL!

Will the Rising Cost of Living Ever End?

Have You Ever Wondered—

Will the Rising Cost of Living Ever End?

IF YOU were asked what you felt was the most important problem facing the country, how would you answer? Well, in a recent poll almost half the people questioned in one Western land said: ‘The high cost of living.’

But concern over rising prices is not limited to just one country. Every nation in the world is affected by the higher cost of things.

HOW DOES IT AFFECT YOU?

Whatever money you have is now buying less and less of the things you need. For instance, consider just four of the many items for which you spend money.

FOOD: In many places prices have skyrocketed to the point that, as one angry shopper said: “It is getting so that we can’t afford to eat.” In some areas it has reached the condition foretold in the Bible: “A whole day’s wage for a loaf of bread.”—Rev. 6:6, Weymouth’s translation.

CLOTHING: As an example, one nation reports a 50-percent increase in prices during the past five years. In other places, it was even higher.

MEDICAL CARE: Many persons face financial disaster if they need hospital care, as some hospitals charge hundreds of dollars per day for a room!

TAXES: ‘I just sat down and cried,’ said one homeowner whose taxes on her home had doubled in a single year! She could no longer afford to own her house, as these taxes alone represented over one fourth of her take-home pay. This woman is not alone. No doubt you have seen an increasing amount of your paycheck go for various taxes. Frequently, the tax bite represents a third or more of what people spend. In Sweden it’s over half!

WHY DO PRICES KEEP RISING?

Some reasons given by experts are: Sharp increases in oil prices. Shortages of supplies. Excess spending through debt on the part of people and governments. The reasons are varied and complex.

However, the Bible clearly identifies one of the basic causes. It says: “When the wicked are in authority [as rulers] the people groan.” (Prov. 29:2, Lamsa) It is obvious that people are ‘groaning’ under heavy financial pressures. But is the Bible right in blaming those in authority?

For one thing, it is widely known that some governments will destroy truckloads of food to keep prices up. Also, in areas where the cost of food is so high that millions are hungry, political strife often prevents the distribution of food abundant elsewhere.

Though some tax money is used for beneficial services, much of it goes for war weapons. Military expenditures are now costing the world almost one million dollars a minute! “The burden of paying for these weapons,” says one authority, “falls to individuals in the form of increasingly heavy taxes.” In some countries arms spending averages out to as much as $468 (U.S.) per person annually. Think what you could do if you were relieved of an expense of $468 for each member of your family every year!

There is also another reason for the rising cost of living. The Bible foretold concerning a period called the “last days”: “People will be selfish, [and] greedy.” (2 Tim. 3:1, 2, Good News Bible) Doesn’t that sound like many people today? Haven’t you seen prices raised due to greed? Of course, some have to raise prices because of increasing costs, but with others, greed is the controlling factor.

HOW CAN WE CUT SOME EXPENSES?

FOOD: Buy fresh fruits and vegetables when they are in season. Eat less meat. Look for advertised food specials in newspapers. Or, better yet, if you have even a few square meters of land, why not grow some of your own food? The savings are worth it.

CLOTHING: Whenever possible, shop at ‘cash and carry’ stores. Experts say this can save 25 percent or more. Also, by learning to sew and making your family’s clothing you can save from 35 to 50 percent of the store price. If you want to learn how, you may find that one of your friends will be happy to teach you. Oftentimes, in the case of children’s clothing, starting a program of swapping hand-me-downs with relatives and neighbors helps.

MEDICAL CARE: Avoiding bad habits such as smoking, heavy drinking of alcoholic beverages, immoderate eating and immoral associations can do wonders for health, and this can help you to avoid major hospital bills. Also, eat wholesome food and get proper sleep and exercise. It’s cheaper than doctor bills!

TAXES: Are you familiar with what the law allows as deductions and exemptions? Often professional help to find out is worth the expense.

However, despite what you do to cope with the rising cost of living, greedy persons and oppressive governments are not likely to change.

WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?

The Bible reveals that God will act, and soon. He will use his heavenly government, his kingdom, to destroy oppressive governments and greedy persons.—Dan. 2:44.

God’s government will truly care for its subjects. Psalm 72 describes the rule of Solomon and uses it as a pattern of the rule of God’s appointed king over all the earth. It says that he will free the poor and needy from oppression and bring righteousness to the earth. This will eliminate nationalistic divisions, which contribute to today’s rising prices. There will then be an abundance of food and no one will lack necessities. With peace earth wide, gone will be the crushing burden of war. Under this rule even sickness will be permanently eliminated. What a relief that will bring!—Ps. 46:8, 9; 72:1, 4, 12-16; Rev. 21:3, 4.

The Bible also tells that such blessings are very near. Jehovah’s Witnesses will be glad to show this to you in your Bible and aid you to build a genuine hope for the future.

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COST OF LIVING

Face to Face with Death

THE youth was grief stricken. Six feet below his feet lay the newly buried remains of his older brother.

“Why did he have to die?” he murmured, his shoulders shaking from his sobbing. “Why does anyone have to die? Where has he gone? My brother . . . Joel, where are you?” he moaned in stifled tones.

Joel, who had just fallen short of his 28th year, was the first of eight children. His parents were simple country folk who made a living by cultivating a small piece of land. They had made great sacrifices to meet the cost of his education; but when he graduated as a medical doctor, they felt a surge of pride. They thought, too: “Now he will be able to help us with the other children. Our life won’t be so difficult anymore.”

But five months after completing his internship at the University Teaching Hospital he was dead!

The youth thought of all these things, and more. Joel had been more than a brother to him. He had been a counselor, workmate, friend. Now he was gone, and so suddenly! It happened on a Sunday. It was a swelteringly hot day. Joel told his friends at the hospital that he intended to “take a dip” in the river after lunch and invited them to come with him. They did not feel inclined to go, so he went alone.

He did not return alive. What grief his relatives and friends felt when his body was brought home later that day!

The youth’s mind struggled to grasp the reality of it all. At the “Christian” funeral the priest had said that Joel was “called to higher service.” The villagers had said that he was returning to his ancestors, to live among them. They were even preparing to hold a “second burial,” to release his spirit into the ancestral spirit world.

“But,” the young man wondered, “is my brother really alive now? Is he sharing my sadness? Is he happy? Where is he? Is his death the end of it all?”

Most people have had similar thoughts in times of grief over the death of a loved one. Think of those who have lost loved ones in tragic accidents, in wars, or due to sudden illness. Think of the mother whose child succumbs to death; of the family who loses a parent. Then think, too, of all those who die from so-called natural causes.

Do you not wonder why and how death has come to be accepted as “natural”? Do you not wonder whether death ends it all? Can death be defeated?

They Seek to Defeat Death

MOST people find it hard to accept that death is the final state. Many prefer to believe that conscious life continues after death.

Many scientists may not believe this. Nevertheless, when faced with the fact of death, they seek “scientific” ways of prolonging man’s life. As the Bible says: “Time indefinite . . . [is] in their heart.”—Eccl. 3:11.

Scientific Goals

Considerable research is carried out to discover the nature of life and the makeup of the living cell. Experiments on living human cells have shown that, under favorable conditions, they could exist indefinitely. Other research has shown that the DNA in almost every cell of any creature contains the data for that individual creature’s entire makeup.

On the basis of this, biologists are experimenting in gene transplants, or “cloning.” Some scientists feel that gene manipulation may be used to cure genetic diseases, to prolong life, and to make significant changes in man himself.

There are other theories that have proposed possibilities for defeating death. Some speak of brain transplants, suspended animation, reanimation. People have considered having their bodies fully preserved by being quick-frozen at death. They hope that scientists may find a way to reanimate them in the future.

Real Achievements

In contrast to theories for prolonging human life, medical research has produced some tangible results. Better hygiene has contributed to a lengthening of the life expectancy of people in general. Infant mortality has been reduced.

Improved methods of treating diseases have been developed, enabling patients to recover from illnesses that, not long ago, would have been fatal. Advances in medical technology, coupled with better understanding of the human organism, also have produced achievements in surgery that might have been thought impossible 40 years ago.

So it is that the life expectancy of millions of individuals has been lengthened. Yet mankind’s overall life-span has not increased. Even in countries with the highest standard of living, life expectancy is about 70 or 80 years. More than 3,000 years ago the Bible stated that “our years are seventy years; and if because of special mightiness they are eighty years, yet their insistence is on trouble.” That is still true today.—Ps. 90:10.

Traditions That Seek to Defeat Death

But people try to soften the impact of that reality in various ways. Many think in terms of a supposed immortality of the human soul, of survival into a spirit world, and of going to heaven.

These beliefs are promoted by most religions. Churches of Christendom consider the doctrine that the soul survives into a spiritual zone as being central to their faith. While in some industrialized nations this belief is losing ground, in Central and South America, Africa and the Orient these beliefs are very strong.

For instance, Brazil is nominally a Roman Catholic country, and people in general have the Catholic ideas about life after death, of heaven, purgatory and hell. However, there is also the influence of African religions and some European spiritism. Images in the churches are identified with “saints” who are thought to have survived into the spirit world. Voodoo mediums are believed to be possessed by the spirits of African gods or ancestors. And throughout Africa there are fetishes, idols and charms that are associated with the spirits of the ancestors.

The Price They Pay

It is noteworthy that all these efforts to defeat death by clinging to traditions exact a price. Sometimes it is monetary. In other instances it is fear.

Christendom’s teaching of the immortality of the soul, for example, is accompanied by fear of hellfire. And those who believe in purgatory are taught that prayers must be offered for the release of the souls of their loved ones. But, of course, money is expected from those who want such services.

When someone in Northern Transvaal (Africa) dies, the relatives consult a witch doctor. Again, some payment is expected. The witch doctor is considered to be a go-between for the living and the dead. The deceased is believed to have gone to the land of the gods and is given honors that he never enjoyed before he died. He is greatly feared, as it is believed that he has the power to harm the living. So he is offered an appeasement in the form of a special feast on the day of his burial.

The Zulus of South Africa believe that dead ones can protect and help the living. Sacrifices are regularly offered to them in order to hold their good favor.

In the past, such beliefs in parts of Africa resulted in the practice of offering human sacrifices. When a king or chief died, some of his servants would be buried with him to serve him in the spirit realm. In Ghana, money, clothing and other items are still buried with some of the dead for a similar reason.

In St. Joseph’s Catholic Oratory in Montreal, devotees spend money to light long-burning candles. They believe that these will aid the souls of those in purgatory.

Yes, they pay a price for their efforts to defeat death—but is it necessary? To get a truly satisfying answer, we must know what the Bible itself says death is.

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The spiral DNA molecule

What Is Death?

“THERE is an eventuality as respects the sons of mankind and an eventuality as respects the beast, and they have the same eventuality. As the one dies, so the other dies.”—Eccl. 3:19.

But it is easier to accept the finality of death in the case of animals than in the case of man. One result of this is that many people believe that man possesses an immortal soul, and for this reason is superior to the animals.

What the Soul Is

However, the Bible does not differentiate man from animal as regards being a “soul.” The same Hebrew and Greek words that are translated as “soul” in many Bibles, or as “creature” or “being” in others, are used for both man and animal. Please read for yourself what is stated at Numbers 31:28, Genesis 1:20-24 and Revelation 16:3, where these original-language terms are found.

Thus, far from being a spirit within the body of creatures, human or animal, “soul” designates the entire creature. It includes the body and the spirit of life.—Eccl. 3:21; 12:7.

This is indicated in the Bible’s description of the creation of man: “Jehovah God proceeded to form the man out of dust from the ground and to blow into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man came to be a living soul.” (Gen. 2:7; “creature,” New English Bible; “being,” Revised Standard Version) Thus the “soul” was not added into man’s body. The “soul” is what man became when his body was activated by the breath of life. No, man does not have a soul. He is a soul. The animals are souls too.

As with animals, the human body is made up of billions of living cells. They are all animated by the “spirit of life.” It is with reference to this “spirit,” or “life force,” that the Bible says that mankind and animalkind “have but one spirit.” (Eccl. 3:19-21) This spirit of life is sustained in the body by breathing, and this breathing activates the entire organism.

If breathing ceases, or if the replenishing and sustaining elements are cut off from body cells, these cells die. This is evident in a lizard’s tail, or a man’s hand, if cut off from the body.

So, really, human souls and animal souls have the same life force from God. But this life force neither has personality nor survives death.

Purpose for Humans Different

Is this to say that there is no difference in God’s purpose for man as contrasted with the beast? Not at all, for there are a number of vital differences.

For one thing, man has a brain with thought processes far superior to those of the animals, giving humans the power of reason together with a superior memory and a concept of time. Man is not guided largely by instinct as are the animals, but is endowed with freedom of choice and decision. Also, man was made in God’s image, so he has a measure of God’s qualities of wisdom, justice, love and power that the animals lack.

There is another vast difference: Man was not created to die! On the contrary, God created man with the capacity to live forever! The record in the first two chapters of Genesis shows that God created man and woman perfect. They were also to have perfect children. They were then to extend their Edenic paradise to the ends of the earth, and to live on it forever.—Gen. 2:8-25.

The animals, though, were not created with any prospect of living forever. They were living and dying before man was created; they continue to do so. Before the flood of Noah’s day, they were being killed to provide clothing for humans, and for sacrifices. (Gen. 3:21; 4:4) After the Flood, God gave man the authority to kill them for food also. (Gen. 9:3) So their life-span has always been limited, with death the final and inevitable end.—2 Pet. 2:12.

True, God created humans from the dust of the ground just as he did animals. But he designed humans to last indefinitely—forever—under the right conditions.

Why Man Dies

If that is the case, then why does man die? Because eternal life depends on obedience to the laws of the Creator. Obedience to those laws on the part of our first parents, Adam and Eve, would have meant continued life. Disobedience meant death: “You will positively die,” were God’s words. (Gen. 2:17) Disobedience cut the lifeline to the Sustainer of life, for with God is “the source of life.” (Ps. 36:9) Had Adam and Eve not disobeyed God, they would not have died.

Sadly, our first parents misused their free will and decided on a course of life independent from God. That set man’s mind and life on a channel that was contrary to God’s will. Now, man was no longer perfect, since rebellion led to missing the mark of perfection. As he used up the tremendous vitality God gave him, he aged and eventually died, ‘returning to the dust of the ground.’ (Gen. 3:1, 19) Since he was now a defective ‘pattern’ himself, he passed on the inheritance of imperfection and death to all his offspring.—Rom. 5:12.

How Man Dies

In death the reverse of what took place at man’s creation occurs. Breathing stops. The spirit, or life force in all the cells, is extinguished. The brain ceases to function and the thoughts perish. “His spirit goes out, he goes back to his ground; in that day his thoughts do perish.”—Ps. 146:4; Ezek. 18:4.

This agrees with what is known scientifically of the death process. When the heart stops beating, the blood ceases to circulate nourishment and oxygen (from breathing) to the cells of the body. Yet the cells do not die immediately. That is why it is possible to revive some people whose breathing and heartbeat have ceased. Absolute death comes with the disappearance of the life force, or spirit of life, from the body cells.—Ps. 104:29.

Death means a state of total inactivity. The dead “are conscious of nothing at all, . . . for there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol [the grave].” This means that the dead cannot be helped by religious or spiritistic efforts or by human scientific means.—Eccl. 9:5, 6, 10.

Spirit Manifestations

But what about the spirit manifestations that are associated with the dead? The Bible explains that spirit creatures were produced before the material universe was created. Some of these angels, including Satan, rebelled against God. They are the ones who impersonate the dead, and this is done to support Satan’s first lie, that man ‘positively would not die’ if he rebelled against God.—Gen. 3:4; John 8:44; Jude 6.

Thus, the consulting of the dead, funeral rites for appeasing or paying homage to them, prayers for them, and all spiritistic practices are based on a deception, a lie. Money paid for such services does not bring God’s favor, nor does it influence the dead. Instead, it plays right into the demons’ hands. That is why God forbids participation in these practices.—Deut. 18:10-12; Isa. 8:19.

Understanding and acting in harmony with the truth about death liberates one from fear and futile practices. It also puts one in position to appreciate and benefit from our Creator’s purpose to provide a real conquest over death.

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Your Soul Is You

Death Does Not End It All!

SCIENCE cannot create human life, nor can it restore the dead to life. But the Creator of humans can! He has absolute knowledge of human life and its functions. He can accomplish acts that biologists cannot even understand, much less do.

Since God created man to begin with, He knows how to sustain him forever, and even to re-create him once he is dead. And now that God has permitted time for all to see the results of disobedience to his laws, the appointed time is fast approaching for him to correct matters on this earth. That includes raising the dead from the graves and guiding mankind to eternal life on earth.

No, death will not end it all! It is God’s purpose to restore earth wide the paradise conditions that once existed in Eden, and to restore mankind to the perfection it once had. This will enable people to live forever on an earth that will be transformed into a delightful paradise. That is why Jesus could tell a man who was about to die: “You will be with me in Paradise.” And it is why the psalmist could write: “The righteous themselves will possess the earth, and they will reside forever upon it.”—Luke 23:43; Ps. 37:29.

But for life in God’s new order to be worth while, humans need more than eternal life. They need more than a resurrection of the dead to take place. What else is sorely needed? The present ungodly, unjust, violent system of things must be removed. And then, too, there needs to be a righteous government over all mankind.

A Perfect Government

When Jesus taught his followers to pray, he associated the fulfillment of God’s will on earth with the coming of God’s heavenly kingdom. (Matt. 6:9, 10) That heavenly kingdom, or government, is the means by which God will administer the restoration of Paradise.

Fittingly, Jesus is the appointed king of that heavenly government. He is the Christ who was promised to come as a savior, a prophet greater than Moses, a king to inherit an everlasting kingdom.—Deut. 18:15; Isa. 9:6, 7; Luke 1:30-33; John 4:42.

To begin with, the kingdom under Christ will totally wipe out the present unsatisfactory system of things on earth. This will remove all governments, social systems and economic systems that have long misruled mankind. (Dan. 2:44) But there will be a “great crowd” of survivors, Bible prophecy foretells. These will be ushered into God’s new order to begin life anew on an earth cleansed of wickedness, with the prospect of endless life before them.—Rev. 7:9, 10, 14.

A Resurrection of the Dead

Not only the survivors of this present system’s end will have such life prospects; so will many of the dead. Jesus spoke of this when he said: “Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out.” The apostle Paul also noted: “There is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.”—John 5:28, 29; Acts 24:15.

This will be a creating anew—a recreation—of those who have died. They will come back from the graves endowed with the personality they had before death, including their memories and mental functions. Since each original body will already have returned to dust, God will construct a body having the DNA pattern in its cells and the brain capacity that the person had before he died. Jesus, while on earth, demonstrated this power of God by resurrecting dead persons, such as Lazarus, the widow of Nain’s son, and an official’s daughter.—John 11:38-44; Luke 7:11-17; 8:49-56.

Also, just as Jesus healed the sick when he was on earth, so he will heal redeemed mankind of the effects of sin, restoring them to perfection of mind and body. Then, “as the last enemy, death is to be brought to nothing.” Never again will inherited death claim another victim!—1 Cor. 15:26; Rev. 21:1, 3, 4.

There will then be nothing to mar the peace and harmony that will exist on earth. Redeemed mankind will extend Paradise to the very ends of the earth. They will forever enjoy the fruits of their joyful work, as the earth will produce abundantly. Everyone will be satisfied with good things, for Jehovah will ‘open his hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.’ (Ps. 145:15, 16) Even the animals will once again come under man’s loving subjection, as they were in Eden.—Gen. 1:28.

What Should You Do?

Do you want to enjoy these blessings in the restored Paradise on earth? Then take in accurate knowledge of the Creator, who has purposed these things. That is what Jesus said to do. (John 17:3) In faith, obediently follow the instructions and direction of the Great Teacher, Jesus Christ. (John 3:36) Many people in all parts of the world are doing this and are reaping real benefits now.

For example, when an Asian woman living in South Africa lost her husband, she decided to starve herself to death so as to be with him. Jehovah’s Witnesses visited her and, free of charge, showed her from God’s Word the truth about the dead. She got to understand that, though her grief was natural, she could overcome it and work toward a truly happy future. Her entire outlook changed. Now she even teaches others about the hope ahead.

No, death does not end it all! Jehovah holds out the marvelous hope of a resurrection, with the prospect of endless life in a restored Paradise. Then there will be unlimited time to pursue worthwhile activities to the full. How good it will be to be able really to get to know the earth and all the wonderful things on it, and to understand the majestic universe with its planets, stars and galaxies.

Above all, it will be deeply satisfying really to know our Grand Creator, Jehovah, and to enjoy an everlasting, happy relationship with him, “because the earth will certainly be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters are covering the very sea.”—Isa. 11:9.

Pets and People

By “Awake!” correspondent in Australia

“I CAN still recall it as if it were yesterday, although it is many years ago now. There would be a shriek of delight and then my little girl would appear and proudly proclaim, ‘There’s another baby pussycat, Mommy.’ Then she would be gone again to await the next arrival.

“Animal life fascinated her. One day she brought along an inch-long creature nestled in her cupped hand. ‘Look, Mommy, I’ve got a really tiny pussycat.’

“‘No, dear, that’s a caterpillar,’ I explained.

“‘No,’ was the emphatic reply, ‘it’s all furry. It’s a tiny pussycat!’

“At one stage we had both a cat and a cocker spaniel dog. It still makes me smile as I remember their playing together. The cat would sometimes put its paws around the dog’s neck and lick its face. The dog would just close its eyes and lie there in ecstasy.”

This mother’s experience bears out the fact that pets certainly are popular. Two out of three households in Australia have at least one. Dogs are the most common, followed by cats, birds and fish. Also, horses and ponies, wallabies (small kangaroos), rabbits, guinea pigs, mice, turtles, lizards and snails are kept, not to mention more exotic pets, such as peacocks, snakes and bats.

You may own a pet. Or maybe you are thinking of obtaining one for yourself, your children or someone else. Even if one just lives near or knows people who have pets, considering the relationship between people and pets can be of benefit.

Why Do People Own Pets?

The Encyclopædia Britannica makes the comment: “Keeping pets satisfies a deep universal human need, and pets are found at every cultural level.”

In a recent Australian survey, people were asked why they owned a pet. The outstanding reason given was for companionship. With dogs, for protection and, in some cases, useful work were also mentioned. Some kept pets for breeding purposes. Others viewed their pets as an aid to relaxation.

Many parents feel that having a pet can be an advantage to children. It can provide pleasure and companionship and give firsthand knowledge of animal life. Viewing mating, pregnancy and the bearing of and caring for offspring can help youngsters to understand the miracle of procreation. On the other hand, facing the sicknesses and even the death of a pet can help prepare a child for harsh realities of the present life.

Pets afford opportunity to impress upon children the fact that another life is dependent on them. All too often, parents buy pets for eager youngsters, only to find that after the novelty has worn off, they have to look after the pet themselves. But the mother whose experience was related at the beginning of this article recalls about her daughter: “When she had silkworms, she regularly had to go down the street for mulberry leaves. Washing, grooming and feeding the dog was also her responsibility, although we used to help her out at times. We taught her never to be cruel to animals and to commend and reward the dog when it was good. When she did, it would look up with its soulful eyes, and its stumpy tail would virtually wag the dog!”

Mentally and physically handicapped children are among those who have benefited from contact with pets. It can help the children to relax and adjust better to their environment.

It is common to find pet owners among couples of all ages who do not have children at home. The challenge involved, along with the playfulness and affection of a pet, sometimes acts as a substitute for having children around. Many of the lonely and the elderly have gotten great pleasure and benefit from the companionship, affection, loyalty and sometimes the protection of their pets.

A sad fact in the breakdown in human relationships is that sometimes older people living alone can become obsessively attached to pets. One social worker reported: “An old gentleman needed medical attention for his infected toe. He put off seeking attention for months because it might mean being without his dog. . . . The man lost his leg because gangrene had set in, but he was happy as long as he could see his dog.” Some older folk have been known to die soon after losing a beloved pet.

But apart from excesses where pets are lavishly coddled and treated as if they were humans, pets in their place can form a happy and useful part in the lives of many families and individuals.

Caring for a Pet

Often pets are acquired suddenly, perhaps through a pet owner’s efforts to pass on unwanted offspring. But as the fluffy little ball of life grows, so do the responsibilities. The Bible, at Proverbs 12:10, comments: “The righteous one is caring for the soul of his domestic animal.” Sometimes that is no small matter.

Expenditures for pets include the cost of food and veterinary treatments. The latter may involve deworming and vaccinations, as well as special services for sickness and accidents.

Time is involved, too. Grooming, washing, feeding, training, exercising and giving care, affection and discipline all take time. Of course, the amount of time varies with the pet and with individuals.

Then there is the responsibility one has to the pet and to other people. For example, dogs desire human companionship and need time spent with them. They also need an enclosure suitable to their size. One authority bemoaned “the number of people in small terrace houses who have Afghans and Great Danes.” If fences are not maintained, dogs can escape, causing destruction of property, dirtying the street and becoming a danger to traffic. At times, noise from pets can annoy neighbors. Exotic pets may be exciting for a while, but often are not suitable to be kept in a house. Both the animal and the owner may suffer.

In modern city life, finding suitable accommodations can be a major problem for pet owners. Also, when a person travels, providing care for his pet can be difficult or expensive.

Stray dogs and cats, often from families where the pet is not cared for, are major problems in many cities. In Australia (population 14 million) about 50,000 stray or unwanted dogs, and far more cats, are put to death each year. Hence, many cat and dog owners have their pets desexed if they do not intend to breed them. This also discourages the animals, particularly the males, from wandering away.

Diseases from Pets to Peoplea

Diseases can occasionally be transmitted from pets to people, sometimes with serious consequences. If reasonable precautions are taken, there is no need to fear. However, it is wise to know something about the more common diseases.

Rabies is a serious problem in some parts of the world. In areas where rabies is prevalent, it is customary to vaccinate pets against it.b

Toxascaris, a parasitic roundworm disease found commonly in dogs and cats, has been receiving increased attention in Australia since a child was recently blinded by it. Pets in city areas are more often infected, with puppies being the worst offenders.

Large numbers of worm eggs are passed in the pets’ feces (droppings). Being sticky, they adhere to the animals’ fur as well as to carpets, lawns or toys. From there they can be transferred to the mouth by way of unwashed hands. If accidentally eaten, immature worms from the eggs migrate to the liver, nervous system and brain.

Even if one does not own a pet, it is important to know of these dangers. The eggs can survive in the ground for years. In a recent British survey, they were found in the soil of many parks and playgrounds.

Tapeworms (hydatid disease) can be passed on similarly. Skin diseases can be transmitted directly (such as ringworms) or by way of mites.

Caged birds, including parrots, pigeons and poultry, may harbor psittacosis (ornithosis). Even when they appear to be healthy, this can cause influenza and pneumonia. It is promoted by overcrowding and artificial conditions and can be transmitted by inhaling dust containing dried bird droppings or by contact with a sick or a dead bird.

By following common-sense hygiene, pets will be kept in their rightful place. They will still be a great source of enjoyment, but not a threat to your family’s health.

Having a Balanced Viewpoint

For many people, caring for a pet is a precious part of their lives. The pet’s affection and loyalty, individual traits and ability to react to its owner bring much pleasure.

Others find that their circumstances, desires or way of life restrict the time or facilities that they could provide, and so they decide against obtaining or keeping a pet.

Yes, pets can certainly bring much joy to man. But it is good to keep a balanced viewpoint of them, because pets can never replace or equal good relationships with other people.

[Footnotes]

See Awake!, November 8, 1971, pages 21 to 23, for additional details.

For a more extensive discussion of rabies, see Awake! of May 22, 1978, pages 25, 26.

I Was a Burn Victim

As told to an “Awake!” staff writer

THAT November morning had the makings for one of those gorgeous New York autumn days. But for me it was to turn into a nightmare.

As usual I left our Long Island home early for work. I operated a small floor-maintenance business, with my brother-in-law as a part-time helper. This day our job was on a summer home near Westhampton; the owners wanted it converted to a year-around residence. Since we would be using a highly volatile solvent to remove a polyurethane coating from the stone floor, we had turned off the heating a few days before. However, unknown to us, just the day before, someone came and hooked up the gas stove and lit the pilot light.

We were well along with the job when, suddenly, I looked up and saw this wall of flame hurtling toward us. It knocked my brother-in-law through a doorway into a bathroom. This prevented him from receiving serious burns. But it turned out much worse for me.

Life-threatening Injuries

The room suddenly became a mass of flames, sealing off all exits. I had the presence of mind to hold my breath, protecting my lungs, and to leap through a glass window. My right biceps was cut severely, which later was to complicate my battle to stay alive. Remarkably, the flames had not set my clothes afire, but the flash of severe heat baked my exposed flesh.

Feeling no pain, I immediately began looking for my brother-in-law. I feared he might still be trapped in the house. But then several neighbors, who had heard the explosion, rushed to the scene. Two of these were nurses who pleaded with me to lie down and rest, but I was concerned for my partner. What a relief it was when I saw him coming around the corner of the house! It wasn’t until then that I realized that part of my lower legs, arms and face were severely burned.

Shortly, another neighbor, who was a doctor, arrived and helped control the bleeding from my arm. An ambulance came and rushed me to the Riverhead hospital. Doctors immediately began efforts to stop the bleeding and succeeded in temporarily halting it. But what could they do for the burns I received? This hospital did not have facilities to treat severe burn cases, so a private ambulance was called. It transferred me to the specially equipped burn care unit at the Nassau County Medical Center, some 50 miles (80 km) away.

During the trip I began to feel a great hunger and an unquenchable thirst. Doctors later explained that this was due to the tremendous loss of body fluids, since much of my skin, which normally holds the fluids in, had been destroyed. On arriving at Nassau County Medical Center I was rushed to the special area set aside for severe burn cases. I was sedated to prevent pain, although up to that time I had felt very little discomfort. At first, a burn victim may not appear seriously injured or feel pain, but this can be deceiving.

Assessing the Damage

Recently, it interested me to read that a certain hospital has been giving severely burned patients “a choice between quiet death and drawn-out treatment.” The doctors there, after assessing the damage, may tell a patient: “To our knowledge, no one in the past of your age and with your size of burn has ever survived this injury.”

Two sisters, aged 68 and 70, who had been burned badly in a car accident, were told this. Yet one of them said: “I feel so good. Wouldn’t I be hurting horribly if I were going to die?” Not necessarily, at least not in the beginning. The sisters accepted the doctor’s assessment of their injuries, and treatment was withheld. The sisters’ beds were put close together and they discussed funeral arrangements and other matters. Both died by the next day.

Many in the medical profession object to this approach, feeling that withholding treatment, no matter how serious the injury, is unethical. They point to recent cases where very severely burned persons have been saved. A 36-year-old woman in Shanghai, China, for example, recovered last year after receiving deep burns over 94 percent of her body. A generation ago rarely did a person survive if he suffered such burns over as much as a third of his body.

My wounds were not quite that extensive. The doctors said that 26 percent of my body had received second- and third-degree burns, and my condition was complicated by the badly cut arm. The American Burn Association defines as severely burned any person with second- and third-degree burns over 20 percent of his body. But what about first-degree burns?

I had always thought that these were the worst. But not so. First-degree burns are less serious, affecting only the outer layers of skin. Yet they can be very painful. Most severe burn cases, including my own, involve all three types.

In second-degree burns the inner layers of skin are damaged and the capillaries are injured. Fluid leaks out, causing blisters, and, if these are broken, the wound weeps. New skin, however, can eventually be formed to repair the damage. But in third-degree burns the full thickness of the skin is destroyed beyond regeneration, including nerve endings that register pain. The only way the body by itself has to close the wound is to draw the adjoining skin together over the gap.

In time, my pain became agonizing. The doctors said this was good, although, as the sufferer, I can say the blessing was well disguised. Their reasoning was that the pain indicated that most of my wounds were deep second-degree burns and not third-degree burns, which ruin the skin beyond repair.

I kept wondering how my body was going to heal. Would I have use of my arms? Would there be huge scars on the burned areas, particularly my face?

Treating My Burns

For a week I was in intensive care, and was kept under sedation. For the first few days my arms were suspended above to prevent my turning over in bed and damaging them further. The skin of my face was burned off. I’m black, but all pigmentation was gone. A friend remarked: “It just proves that color is only skin deep.”

I could tell by the looks on the faces of visiting friends, including my wife, that they were shocked by my appearance. Wisely, there are no mirrors in the patients’ rooms. It’s disheartening enough to look at your charred arms and hands and other body parts.

Infection is a major threat to burn victims. Even today it is the cause of half the fatalities in a burn center. So hospital personnel wear gowns, face masks, hair and shoe covers. And if they leave the area they put on new sterilized coverings when they return. Visitors are screened to make sure that they have no illnesses, not even a simple cold, and similar attire is provided for them. The burn area is slightly pressurized, so when doors are opened the filtered air escapes and no air comes in from other parts of the hospital.

But the particular challenge has been to control the bacteria that are in the burn wound itself. Antibiotics taken internally usually are not effective, since the capillaries that might carry them to the burn site have been destroyed. So, to prevent infection, my arms were wrapped in bandages that were soaked in a dilute solution of silver nitrate, or in a saline solution. Three times a day these bandages were removed as they dried out, and new ones were put on.

Removing the bandages was pure agony. This was especially so after the first week, when I was taken off pain-killing drugs to prevent possible addiction. The scabs and tissue, with which the body automatically covers deep burns, would come off painfully with the bandages. And when the air touched the open wounds, oh, how it would hurt!

Then the nurses would clean the wounds of the remaining eschar, as these scabs and tissue are called. Since bacteria can grow in or beneath the eschar, it was considered important to remove it. When patients are at all able to get up and around, three times a day they go to the shower where their wounds are cleaned with a sponge.

After about three weeks, there was a welcome change in treatment. The nurses began to cover my arms with thin pigskin grafts. There was no pain as damp, cool strips of pigskin were laid on my wounds. Three times a day these grafts were checked and the ones that did not adhere were removed. The wounds were then cleaned again, and another strip of pigskin was put on. When grafts would “take,” they remained intact for a few days. Then they would slough off, as the body rejected them. But in their place the beginnings of new skin growth could at times be seen. This was really encouraging.

This pigskin treatment lasted only about two weeks. They then returned to using bandages soaked in a saline solution. Also, on some wounds they rubbed, with a gloved hand, an antibiotic cream called Silvadene. At times it seemed to me as though they were experimenting to see what treatment would work best. But I was slowly recovering, and didn’t develop any infection.

Treating the Whole Person

When a person loses much of his skin, fluids and essential body ingredients seep out, often in tremendous amounts. Several gallonsa of liquids may have to be infused during the first 24 hours to restore losses. I was encouraged to drink large amounts. Still, during the first week after being burned, I lost some 30 pounds (14 kg).

A few years ago, after a few weeks, many burn victims were dying of pneumonia or some wasting illness. Eventually it was discovered that the basic cause of their death was malnutrition. So, to provide for burn victims’ unique nutritional needs, doctors today may pump a nutritious potion directly into the patient’s stomach. In addition, they are encouraged to eat as much as they can.

Besides being urged to eat huge regular meals, I was told to drink quartsb of a nutritious concoction of thick cream and eggs. As soon as one container was empty, another was provided. The high-protein diet on which I was put included 8,000 to 9,000 food calories a day, nearly four times what the average person eats.

Having been in excellent health at the time of the accident, and only 27 years of age, I was able to recover my weight and strength, thus avoiding any complications. In fact, when I left the hospital on December 19, I weighed 30 pounds (14 kg) more than before my accident on November 8.

Rehabilitation

My face began healing nicely, with full pigmentation eventually returning. The scarring on my face has progressively improved, until now it is hardly noticeable. But my hands and arms, which were burned the worst, have required attention right up to the present.

In a severe burn there is shrinkage of muscle and tissue, and the contractions stiffen the joints. In the morning I couldn’t bend my hands or fingers at all. They needed to be manipulated to work out the stiffness. In the past, failure to provide this therapy for burn patients resulted in permanent disability.

So each day Darcy, the physical therapist, would come around. She was a former lieutenant in the armed forces, whom I judged to be in her mid-20s. She would manipulate each finger knuckle, wrist, elbow or whatever body part needed loosening up. It was excruciating! Especially during the first few weeks when the scabs were forming! As she broke the fingers or wrist free, the scabs bled.

We knew of Darcy’s approach by the screams of the patients as she progressed from room to room. But, really, if it hadn’t been for her, we would have ended up invalids. I decided that if I had to be hurt, I would do it myself. Early in the morning I began manipulating my own joints. When Darcy reached me at about 1 p.m., I was able to perform the movements that she asked for, and she went on. As a result of maintaining this painful therapy, I have almost regained normal use of my fingers, hands and arms.

An important part of rehabilitation is combatting depression. It was the biggest problem for me. The torturous pain of seemingly unending daily treatments can be almost beyond endurance. What makes it so hard is that progress is so slow, taking months, for some patients even years.

The ability to do things physically may be limited. Even sleeping is difficult, as one is often awakened when turning onto an injured part. For the first few days nurses fed me. But then they devised an attachment to the bandages to slip a utensil into so I could feed myself. Often, though, I just put my face in the plate to eat. I couldn’t even turn the pages of a book to read.

Also contributing to depression is concern about scarring—what you’ll look like. I know I was worried. I’ll admit that on occasion I was very low, and cried. Even the strongest patients became depressed. One told me: “I hate to face another day.”

Yet, a positive mental attitude is important to recovery. I am reminded of the case of Judith Byrd. She had been in a rear-end Pinto automobile accident in which the gas tank blew up; the newspapers last year reported that the Byrd family finally won a financial settlement from the rent-a-car and car-manufacturing companies involved. Well, after I had been in the burn center a couple of weeks, Judith was brought in with burns over about 55 percent of her body.

Some days afterward, one of the doctors told me: “All her vital signs are good. She should live, but she doesn’t seem to have the will.” Her face had been badly disfigured, and her hands needed to be amputated. I talked to Judith some, and my family and I got to know her relatives. We were sorry when Judith died three months later. As one prominent doctor said, he had never seen a seriously ill patient recover who lost the will to live.

Understandably, burn patients may be inclined to give up. So their need of encouragement, I believe, cannot be overemphasized. I know that the hundreds of cards and visits I received from my Christian brothers and sisters really helped me. Recognizing the need, the Nassau Burn Center has started a Burn Alumni Supportive Association. Arrangements are made for recovered patients like myself to visit the Center and encourage those going through the same agonizing treatment the visitors had successfully completed.

To Graft or Not

The doctors wanted to give me skin grafts. The pigskin grafts that I had received earlier were actually more like bandages. The only permanent grafts are those from a person’s own body—even grafts from other humans will eventually be rejected.

I noted the problems of other patients with grafts of their own skin. Often there was discouragement when their grafts didn’t take. And there was the pain they experienced in having skin stripped from unburned areas of their bodies, and the time it took for these new wounds to heal. I wanted to see if my body eventually would repair the yet uncovered wounds in my arms. As time progressed, amazingly more and more skin began to grow in my open wounds.

When I refused skin grafts, it was decided to move me to another part of the hospital. I requested to be sent home, where my wife could care for me. She did an outstanding job, all of this in addition to caring for our children and her household chores. For months I still had a lot of pain, but gradually the wounds began to close.

A few weeks after I got out of the hospital, my arms were measured for special form-fitting elastic garments that are worn over burned areas. For a time I wore these elastic sleeves 24 hours a day, and I still wear them at night. They exert constant force on the wounds, and this has smoothed out the skin and eliminated much of the ugly scarring. Eight months after the accident, I was able to get back to work.

Burns are a much greater threat than most persons realize. In the following article you will learn about a very effective treatment for them.

[Footnotes]

One gallon = 3.8 L.

One quart = .9 L.

[Blurb on page 17]

“I looked up and saw this wall of flame hurtling toward us. It knocked my brother-in-law through a doorway.”

[Blurb on page 19]

“We knew of Darcy’s approach by the screams of the patients as she progressed from room to room.”

What to Do for Burns

IT MAY surprise you to know that daily thousands of people suffer burns. In the United States alone an average of some 270 persons each day are burned seriously enough to be hospitalized. Should you or a friend be a burn victim, there are things you can do to minimize and even reverse the damage.

To illustrate: This past summer Anna Helak, a 59-year-old woman in New York city, was preparing dinner for guests. When she opened the door to her oven, there was a blast of heat and fire. Fortunately, she was not seriously hurt, her upper right arm evidently being the only part of her body touched by the fire. Since her guests were soon to arrive, she wrapped her burned arm in a towel and continued her dinner preparations.

When the guests began to arrive, Anna was still visibly shaken—somewhat in shock—and her arm was beginning to pain. When the towel was removed, the flesh was red and starting to blister. One of the guests asked that a bucket be filled with ice water.

Anna was then instructed to place her burned arm in the bucket. She breathed a sigh of relief, the cold almost instantly deadening the pain. But when, after a few minutes, she removed her arm from the bucket, the arm began hurting again. She was instructed to keep her arm in the water and to remove it every 20 minutes or so.

It was not until about three hours later that Anna could keep her arm out of the bucket of cold water without its hurting. The arm healed without scarring or any further complications or pain. Anna was most appreciative that one of her guests knew what to do for burns.

For many years the medical profession almost ignored this simple cold-water treatment. But recent medical literature has pointed out that the immediate cooling of burns is the single most beneficial procedure. During the 1960’s, Dr. Alex G. Shulman took a lead in reviving the cold-water treatment. In an article in the “Journal of the American Medical Association” he reported on the successful treatment of 150 patients who had burns of all degrees, but with less than 20 percent of the body surface affected.

The burned area was immersed in a large basin of cold water to which ice cubes and hexachlorophene were added. If the burned part could not be submerged in water, then ice-cold moist towels were applied to the part. “The time factor between injury and treatment determines the result,” he noted. “This treatment should, therefore, be initiated if possible by the patient or first-aid attendant at once.”

What should be done for burns? Immediately apply cold to them. Prompt action is vital. It can relieve a lot of suffering and prevent scarring.

Hawaii’s Musical “Jumping Flea”

By “Awake” correspondent in Hawaii

A JUMPING flea is something disdainful to both man and beast. But in Hawaii, it takes on a different meaning. It is tied in very closely with the Hawaiian’s natural love for music. Perhaps you have heard of the ukulele. This is Hawaii’s musical “jumping flea”!

This little four-stringed, fretted, guitar-shaped musical instrument is big on tone and sweet in sound. Not only is it beautiful as a solo instrument, particularly with Hawaiian music, but it blends nicely with the regular guitar.

Although dearly loved now by Hawaiians of all ages and walks of life, the ukulele was not always appreciated. It was first ridiculed here as “a hideous Portuguese instrument” and sneered at as a “taro patch fiddle” by so-called respectable people who were used to standard types of musical instruments.

But why the strange name ukulele or “jumping flea”? To understand this name, one must learn first of its origin.

Portuguese sailors and traders first brought this little guitar into Hawaii. Although seen here earlier, it was actually introduced and played publicly the first time by a Portuguese immigrant, Joao Fernandes, in 1879. The ukulele then was called the braginho because the first one had been manufactured in the province of Braga, Portugal. It also was known as cavaquinhos, which means “small piece of wood.”

Origin of Its Unique Name

Fernandes was a real virtuoso. He had entertained fellow passengers on the long voyage from Madeira, Portugal, to Hawaii with the braginho of another traveler who was unable to play it. Originally it was thought that it could be played only with another larger instrument of five strings if there was to be any harmony.

One of the two versions of how the little guitar got its strange name of “jumping flea” centers around this man’s fantastic ability to play it. He could play any song once he heard it, and his nimble, flying fingers plucked the melody and strummed the chords. Quickly the Hawaiian royalty, King Kalakaua, Queen Emma and the future Queen Liliuokalani, commanded performances, and it was no time at all before all Hawaiians were quite taken with this imported musical instrument.

One of the missionary descendants said that when she arrived in Hawaii in 1882, the braginho was just becoming popular with the Hawaiians. Interestingly, she also reported that an adept English musician, Edward Purvis, helped spread the fame of the braginho. He arrived in Hawaii the same year as Joao Fernandes and it was just a matter of time before Purvis mastered the little guitar. He was so popular that he soon was appointed as assistant chamberlain to the court of King Kalakaua.

The second version of how the ukulele got its name centered around Purvis. He was small and quick on his feet. The larger Hawaiians affectionately named him “Ukulele” or “Little thing that jumps,” the Hawaiian term for “flea.” Soon the little guitar that he carried came to be known as the “ukulele.”

Demand for the “Jumping Flea”

It would be difficult to prove which story is the most authentic. Ironically, however, it was in 1910 that the first claim for the “invention” of the ukulele came about. This was 31 years after it had first been played in the islands. As one writer stated: “That’s when the humble little instrument had gained such popularity and was in such demand that it reflected credit on its originators rather than criticism.”

By that time there was such a growing demand for the “uke” that anybody with the skill to manufacture it would find an open market. Hawaii’s first ukulele maker was a furniture manufacturer who scrapped his business to produce ukuleles exclusively. At that time a ukulele sold for about $5 (U.S.).

Three men had the right to claim invention of the ukulele in Hawaii because of their respective contributions to it. However, none of them got rich from making ukuleles. Although prior to 1910 each of them manufactured this instrument, just one claimed to be the inventor, and in that year he was the only active ukulele maker of the original three. His sons also had an aptitude in the ukulele line. By that time, the little instrument was very popular in Hawaii, tourists were buying the “jumping flea” and orders were coming in from the United States. Business boomed as many individuals became “uke” manufacturers to meet the growing demand.

Competition increased as the ukulele craze caught on all over the U.S. mainland. And, as was to be expected, the mainland started mass-producing them and Hawaii began losing money. The mainland companies cashed in on the advertisements long used in Hawaii, linking the ukulele with luaus, moonlit nights and the romance of the islands. When the chairman of the Hawaiian Promotion Committee wrote a note of protest to a music store in San Francisco, California, a nasty letter came back saying that ‘Hawaii shouldn’t complain because Mainland companies were turning out better ukuleles.’ At that time the Honolulu Ad Club patented the ukulele, making it Hawaii’s very own.

During World War I there was a booming business with the ukulele, but by the 1920’s the ukulele craze was dying off. Gradually, Hawaiian “uke” manufacturers gave up, until today only a few remain. These, however, take great pride in their product, often using the most beautifully grained woods and those giving the best resonance and tonal quality to the little instrument. Outstanding is Hawaii’s highly prized koa wood. Interestingly, one manufacturer employs a deaf person to test the resonance vibration of each instrument.

Very little machinery is used in making ukuleles, each one being the work of an artist’s hands. Although there are usually 14 frets for the standard “uke,” one manufacturer also makes an 18-fret instrument for a prominent solo artist. This virtuoso can render anything from hula music to symphony—all solo. And there are several other such talented men. So the little “jumping flea” that originally was dismissed as being worthless as a solo instrument has made its own place in the music world.

…

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Awake!, March 22, 1980