By Kevin Chiri

There’s another opportunity to find out more about homeschooling when CHEF of the River Region holds its annual kickoff event for the new school year, set for this Sunday, August 31 at the Airline Athletic Center in LaPlace.

The event will be from 4 to 6 p.m., and is open to the public for people who would like to know more about homeschooling, or for those who already do teach their kids at home.

For those current homeschoolers, the meeting will tell you what the local homeschool group does, and how much they offer you in the way of support for your “school.”

Got a rather amazing little e-mail from a woman in the office, which I think must have followed my comments a while back about how great bananas are for you to eat.

This e-mail had some interesting “food facts,” but really made a point about God putting His stamp on certain foods to make a point, when you compare the way they look, and what they can do for your body.

** A sliced carrot looks like the human eye, and yes, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

** A tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are pure heart and blood food.

** Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

** A walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three dozen neuro-transmitters for brain function.

** Celery, bok choy and rhubarb and many more look just like bones. Bones are 23 percent sodium and these foods are 23 percent sodium. If you don’t have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replentish the skeletal needs of the body.

** Avocadoes, eggplant and pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female, and they look just like these organs. Today’s research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. It also takes exactly nine months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit.

** Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of sperm as well to overcome male sterility.

** Sweet potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

** Oranges, grapefruits and other citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the involvement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

** Onions look like the body’s cells. Today’s research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells, and even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

How about all that?

If you’re hoping to save gas money by flying on your next vacation, you might want to think again. Word from an MSNBC story says the airlines have added various more ways to compensate for their own increased fuel charges.

So be aware of these new charges, and try these solutions if you are going to fly.

More airlines are starting to charge for soft drinks and water, so toss an empty water bottle in your carry-on, and fill it in the terminal once you clear security.

Another airline fee: To check your luggage. One remedy for that is to bring only a carry-on! Or if you have to pack two bags, use an airline that still allows one free checked bag.

Another fee airlines charge: To  redeem frequent-flyer miles. To get around that, ask the airlines where else you can use your miles.  Many frequent flyer programs exchange miles for retail gift cards, college savings, and hotel stays. Remember: award miles lose value over time. So, hoarding your points isn’t a plus.

One final airline fee: Sending your kid alone to visit grandma will cost you. Some airlines are raising the fees for unaccompanied minors, to as much as $75. The only solution on this is to fly with your kid! If you’re sending two kids to visit relatives, it could cost you less to join them and you’d get a vacation too!

Kevin Chiri is Publisher of L’Observateur and can be reached at (985) 652-9545 or at kchiri@bellsouth.net