Journal 10 for Holding On: By Jami Riegel

             My active reading is going well. I tend to high light a lot of things. I actually think this book is very interesting. I love reading about real people, and real situations. I like how Isay and Wang went all over the country and stopped at any place they thought looked interesting, no matter how small it was. The only thing I think they could have done is write a little more about some of the people. For example, Mackey E. Brown. He only got maybe a quarter of a page.
             I really liked Tommie Bass and Donald Bean. They both wanted to help people but in completely different ways. Bass helped people get better and Bean helped kids learn about dinosaurs.
            Bass was born in 1908. For over 70 years of his life he treated his community with his herbs. Bass was one of the best known local herbalists in the U.S. He was even profiled in the Wall Street Journal 1985 and was interviewed on national t.v. He had over 300 local plants. Throughout the 1960's and 70's, Bass received visitors seeking cures and knowledge from the south, and eventually from across the U.S. One in particular, is this 3 year old little girl that had colitis and was given 3 days to live from this doctor. Aunt Molly Kirby told the father to go see Bass and called him the "herb boy". Bass gave him red root and told him to make a tea with it and have her drink it 3 times a day. Well, it worked. She was able to eat again and it made him feel really good. " I don't tell anybody to take the herbs but if they wish to,well, there's no harm in it- not a bit of harm in the world".  He did what he loved until he died in 1996. 
             Donald Bean is the Proprietor of Dinosaur Gardens. He came up with the idea in the late 1950's but it took him 20 years of planning to build his theme park. He had to spend his life savings, nearly $100,000 to build it. But people did not really share his love for dinosaurs. No one came. As of 1993 it has been open for 12 years but the business was extremely slow. He just wanted to help kids learn about dinosaurs.
             I found Bass very interesting because I am all for herbal medicine. I myself  have proven that natural herbs helped me over medicine that my doctor gave me. Medicine from the pharmacy just makes me so much worse.  With Bean I would really like to go his Dinosaur Garden if it's still open. I love dinosaurs and I think it would be cool to see what he has accomplished.