Author Archives: Frances Ellen

Darvocet Is Off The Market!

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Are you asking me to believe that it took the FDA over fifty years to decide Darvon and Darvocet should be taken off the market?!

It appears even the panel of experts couldn’t agree:

The pain medications Darvon and Darvocet should be pulled off the market, according to a recommendation approved on a 14-12 vote by a panel of medical experts assembled by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

For those of us who suffer from chronic pain, this is a catastrophe. Anyone who uses Darvocet or its generic, propoxyphene, which is a mild drug, will attest to its effectiveness, and it doesn’t make you drowsy. In case you’re wondering how many people that is–in 2009, 10 million people depended upon propoxyphene to help make their life livable. Deaths linked to Darvocet annually – .0005%.

What I find so wrong about this is–I would like to be able to make my own choice. Give me the facts and let me decide whether the risk is worth the pain relief.

Here are some comments from Join Together. It appears a lot of people would like to make their own decisions.

According to an article on the link Darvocet should be banned.. 23 million prescriptions per year are issued, (for the last 50 years??) the article also mentions 2,100 deaths from 1981 to 1999 (18 years). This does not seem to be a high risk ratio to me. I can only conclude the people making these waves have never dealt with moderate to severe chronic pain.

Here’s another:

I hope that this medicine is NOT taken off the market. I am deathly allergic to ALL NSAIDS.

And another:

My wife had a stroke and none of the other drugs that she was given gave the relief for the nerve pain that she has. If it is taken off the market then what can she use? The other drugs are either more addictive or so strong that it causes her to sleep 24/7. What quality of life would she have without it? Darvocet seems to be the only drug that actually cuts down the pain to tolerable level.

I’m really, really tired of the government taking such good care of me.

Now, I’m in the process of trying out other drugs that might be able to take the place of Darvocet. If and when I find it, I can be sure it will cost a whole lot more than my 50-year-old medication.

I’m sure the pharmaceutical companies are happy with the FDA’s decision. They must be jumping up and down with joy.

Animal Lover

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For years, I used to carry gardening gloves in the trunk of my car, in case I ever had to rescue an injured animal.

Don’t laugh too hard. I knew a fellow who carried a long, heavy rope in his trunk, in case he ever had to rescue someone from drowning.

See–my gardening gloves don’t seem so strange now, do they?

Anyway, as it happens, I have moved a turtle or two out of the middle of the road to safety wearing those gloves. But this is a story about a bird.

Many years ago, I was driving on a narrow two-lane street when a Mourning Dove swooped down and I hit it with my car. It lie limp in the road. I wasn’t sure if it was dead or not.

With tears pouring down my face, I pulled my gloves out of the trunk and had just slipped them on when a man, driving on the opposite side of the road, stopped his car.

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

“I ran into a bird.”

He laughed hysterically. When he looked at my gloved hands, he sneered, “Are you going to operate?”

Then he drove off.

I couldn’t stop crying. The idea of killing a bird horrified me. I walked over to it. I’m sure it was dead, although people have since informed me that birds go into shock and the dove may have been perfectly okay later. I didn’t believe them then and I don’t believe it now. At any rate, I carried the bird to the side of the road and placed it under a bush.

Over the years, I’ve actually saved a lot of birds who went into shock for one reason or another. They fly through badminton nets and into windows. Birds are simply not always equipped to handle human obstacles.

But no matter how many I’ve rehabilitated, I’ve never been able to forget that poor dove, or that guy’s repulsive, insensitive mocking.

The Good Wife

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Photo from

This is my question. If Kalinda (Archie Panjabi) won an Emmy last season for Best Supporting Actress, why have the powers-that-be given her “half” the screen time this season? Her character was beginning to shape up into a complex, fascinating personality. Getting a glimpse of her private life had kept me interested.

The new character she is sharing time with, Blake (Scott Porter), as another private investigator for the firm has, thus far, been unexciting.

Another thing that has the hour dragging is this sudden interest in the kids–boring.

Dieting vs Halloween Candy

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So, the Halloween candy is hanging around. And you want it! You swear that Snickers bar is calling your name every time you pass the table.

Here’s the skinny on this sticky situation. Eat the darn thing. It’s a 100 calorie snack. It will give you a boost of energy and your sweet tooth won’t feel denied.

If you’re more the Hershey kiss type, feel free to enjoy four of them–another 100 calorie treat.

Dieting doesn’t have to be all bad news.

Easy Creamy Broccoli Cheese Soup

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Last week I cooked a dish that called for broccoli florets. So there I was–stuck with the leftover stems. What to do. What to do. I chopped them up, threw them into a ziploc bag and put them in the frig.

Today I decided to make this soup. It turned out to be a good, delicious decision.

5 cups water
2 (14 oz) packages frozen, chopped broccoli
OR fresh broccoli, if you have it.
3 cups diced potatoes
¾ cup chopped onion
3 chicken bouillon cubes
2 cans cream of celery soup
6 oz sharp cheddar cheese, cubed
6 oz Colby jack cheese, cubed

Cook the first 5 ingredients for 20 minutes (1/2 hour if using fresh broccoli).

Reduce heat and add soup and cheeses.  Simmer until cheese is melted.

Stir often so cheese does not stick.

All My Children

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Alright, All My Children is one of my guilty pleasures.  I’ve become addicted. I tape every episode.

I was so happy to see Michael Nouri (Caleb) join the cast. He’s been a favorite of mine for years. I hope the writers keep him on for a long time.

And it will be interesting to see if Vincent Irizarry (David) can rise from the dead. (As I understand it, this type of thing happens all the time on the soaps.)

What I’ve noticed lately is the ladies on this soap opera are withering away. It’s like watching skeletons walk across the screen.

Susan Lucci has always been petite, but now there seems to be a lot of slimming down going on. Alicia Minshew, who plays Kendall, is tall and painfully thin. Rebecca Budig (Greenlee) (where did they come up with that name?)  and Christina Bennett Lind (Bianca) aren’t far behind.

It was refreshing to see Jamie Luner’s character, Liza, in her underwear recently. She actually has a “real” woman’s body.

I hope the skeletal look doesn’t become a trend.

That said, here’s a little something on Scott Chandler’s character.

When Did Living in the USA Get So Scary?

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I remember when the news was delivered on TV in an unbiased manner. You were free to interpret it whatever way you liked. What a surprise–we were intelligent enough to do that for ourselves.

Enter cable TV and Internet.

Now we have “pundits.” People who give opinions in an authoritative manner through mass media. (That definition is straight from the dictionary) These pundits pose as learned individuals. But it seems to me what they really do is stir up a lot of hate. It’s all about the ratings, folks.

And when did we turn the corner of humanity and find that public humiliation was a fun form of television entertainment?

When did bullying become deadly?

I mean, for Pete’s sake, this awful girl named Vera used to sit in the desk behind mine and pull my ponytail.  She was a bully. So was Jesse. She always grabbed my scooter and wouldn’t give it back unless I begged. (which, for the record, I wouldn’t) What a bully she was!

Here’s a little something to ponder on cyber-bullying. And to think I was worried about Vera and Jessie.

When did we become reticent, if not scared, to engage in political talk with someone who held an opposing point of view?

Of course, there was no Internet or Reality TV or Pundits back then.

But right now, in this time and space, living in a country that is so filled with hatred is becoming burdensome and frightening.

NCIS and Castle Are Back!

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Monday – ABC – “Castle” is back!

Tuesday – CBS – “NCIS” (my favorite) and “NCIS Los Angeles” have returned! And it looks like “NCIS Los Angeles” is giving us a double whammy. Make sure you stay tuned for not only the 9 P.M. slot, but for the 10 P.M., as well.

Thursday – ABC – “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Private Practice” are rumored to swing in with some exciting episodes. I hope so, because they were becoming predictable last season.

Thursday – Fox – Have you discovered “Fringe?” (9 P.M.)

Friday – CBS – I’m planning on giving “Blue Bloods” a try. The story line sounds blah to me, but how can you resist Tom Selleck? Perhaps he can pull this dreariness out of the doldrums.

As far as Saturday is concerned, if it weren’t for the PBS lineups and “Saturday Night Live,” we’d be lost.

I suppose I should mention the season premiere of “The Mentalist” on Thursday on CBS. But think about this–have you noticed the formula for “House”, “Lie To Me” and “The Mentalist” are all the same? The lead character is always right. Each of them treat their colleagues as if they are merely there to kowtow to them. And they each love themselves very much. In spite of that, I seem to have been hypnotized by the Mentalist, because I’ll probably end of watching it from time to time.

Oh, well, there’s lots of new shows. If you discover one you love, let me know.

A 9/11 Tear Drop

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Scupture by Zurab Tsereteli

Did you know a Russian sculptor created a 40-foot steel teardrop, a 175 ton monument, which stands in Bayonne, New Jersey commemorating the deaths of those who lost their lives on 9/11? It’s a gift from the people of Russia. Along with the teardrop is a wall, similar to the Vietnam Wall in Washington D C, listing the names of the victims.

Russia cried for us. Who knew?

To read more see the following links:

Wired New York

Snopes

The New Yorker

Bayonne Redevelopment Authority