My mom was always cooking something when we were kids. She would get up early in the morning to make us a hot breakfast. In the afternoon when we would walk in the door from school, she would always have something for us to eat. I remember the smell of fresh bread or some sort of stew cooking on the stove. I never heard her complain about cooking, it was so much apart of how she expresed her love for us.

She grew up in an Italian immigrant family; a middle child with a twin sister. As a child, my mom had pneumonia which was probably caused by a combination of poor eating and less then optimal living conditions. She never recovered from it, so as an adult she suffered with bronchiectis, a chronic pseudomonas infection of her lungs. It eventually took her life.

Like myself and my older brother my mother was blood type A. I now suspect that she may have been a nonsecretor (nonnie), as is my brother. It would explain to me why she never recovered from that infection and why she spent her whole life trying to find a cure for herself. She long ago had given up on doctors and knew that she had to help herself. I remember her always trying something, from castor oil packs to macrobiotic diets, and exploring the teachings of Edgar Casey. We owned a juicer, had a cabinet just for vitamins, and ate things that my friends thought were gross.

Her illness directly effected me as a child because of how it changed her personality. I remember my mother being moody, angry at times, and depressed. As a child I had a hard time understanding what was wrong with her but now in retrospect I see a women who just didn't feel good and as such unable to behave any differently.

I forgive her.

While at the conference:

I had a curious conversation with Larry Nesbit. If there is one thing you should know about Larry, it's that he sees the world through "blood type glasses". Larry has a unique perspective on the blood type diet, he sees it from many angles but keeps it very simply. And after years of living and teaching it he has made quite a few interesting observations about people.

These reflections Larry is always willing to share, all you have to do is stand close enough to him and listen. I had occassion to do this while at the conference. Larry began by telling me to look at Dr. D. Then he stated that Dr. D is not like the rest of us. He has never had the irritation inside his body like the rest of us have experienced from eating the wrong foods, living poorly and being sick. That is why he is so calm and focused. I looked over at Dr. D, watched him a few moments and realized how right Larry was. Even when a crowd of people formed around him to ask him questions he exhibited a calm, gentle grace towards them.

Larry went on to make an analogy about having a posion ivy rash on the outside of your body. You can feel it and see it, so it's obvious as to what is wrong and it makes you upset. But if you have an irritation on the inside, you don't know what is wrong. Both directly effect your behavior. One you know about, the other you don't. This is how the world is, people are all twisted up inside and don't even know it.

My mom was one of those people, irritated on the inside.

ir⋅ri⋅tat⋅ed
   /ˈɪrɪˌteɪtɪd/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [ir-i-tey-tid] Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective
1. angered, provoked, or annoyed.
2. inflamed or made raw, as a part of the body