Last night I went to the wake for Mr. Harold Wilsey. His passing was a very sad event. The loss of a loved one is tough, as the Wilsey family knows all too well. Losing their family patriarch I am sure is very difficult. My heart goes out to them. For us, the loss of this community leader is also very tough to bear.

I don’t have to say this because it is so well known, but Mr. Wilsey was one of the pillars of our town. Not just an active community member or business owner, but the one of the people who are the explicit reason Saugerties is so great.

Besides raising a wonderful large family with his wife Peg, he was involved in everything – sports, politics, charity – just too much to be mentioned. His involvement moved us a step or three ahead, helping shape the beautiful town we all enjoy now.

It was all done with astounding consistency. He and his family have been the “rocks” of Saugerties for decades.

One time I got a “great idea” to offer a loan closet for medical equipment. I knew the Wilsey family did this but I did not understand the extent. Jack, Mr. Wilsey’s son, told me that the service of loaning hospital beds, walkers, wheelchairs, and more to members of the Saugerties community was done for over 50 years. I did some quick math… that’s longer than my parents have been alive!

It showed me what commitment Mr. Wilsey and his family had made to this community. They make no money from this service; I’d wager it probably cost them money at times. They cared for people, not just in death, but in life when needed most.  They’ve been doing it forever and probably will be doing it forever.

And this was just one small thing. His obituary gives a glance into his history and just how instrumental he was in helping Saugerties. “Involved”, perhaps, isn’t the right word… “Immersed” is probably better suited for Mr. Wilsey.

It should have not been a surprise for me, then, to see all of Saugerties in line to pay their respect to him and his family. Two hour viewings turned into 3 or 4 hours each. His son Mark said it best, “It’s amazing when you drop a pebble in a pond to see the reach of the ripples.”

My fellow village merchants take note: if you are ever stressed, frustrated, unsure of the direction you want to go in life, or confused on what impact you can make, look to Mr. Wilsey and his family as evidence of all that can be done.

I write this out of sheer admiration and thanks. Thank you, Mr. Wilsey, for all you have given us. Thank you, for being one of the families our town can turn to when we need it most. Thank you, for showing young community members like myself the impact we can make with a little time and a lot of love.

P.S.  As I went to copy Mr. Wilsey’s picture from his listing, I noticed the image was called “grampy”.  Keep your head up Wilsey family!

We’ve reported via Facebook of a spreading Zombie infection.  It is expected to reach the Saugerties region THIS SATURDAY.  Expect Zombies to flood the streets of Saugerties!

Here is a list of side effects from the CDC:

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This is great timing, as Village Apothecary and Woodstock Apothecary will be accredited  Diabetes Education Centers in 2012.

Enjoy the read.

Over the counter “Asthma” inhalers are now an endangered species, soon to be extinct.

The FDA will halt the sales of OTC inhalers as of Dec 31st, 2011. This is part of the FDA’s latest efforts to remove CFC producing substances from the marketplace.

Which, in all honesty, is partly true. OTC inhalers contain epinephrine. While they work similarly to prescription inhalers by opening up the airways, they also can increase the heart rate and put other stress on your cardiovascular system. In absolute emergencies they were considered fine, but many people used them routinely.

We never sold them in either drug store because of the safety concerns.

Patients using these products must seek medical advice and get the prescription alternatives.

This year there are 4 different ways for you to get a flu “shot”. Three of them are injections, the last is a nasal spray.

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Many infectious diseases are spread in the air from person to person.

The flu, cold, and other respiratory illnesses are transmitted through droplets, or tiny bits of water and mucous that we release when we sneeze, cough, or even talk. These droplets can travel as far as 6 feet away.

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You may remember that in early 2009 a compounding pharmacy accidentally overdosed polo horses.  This medication error caused the death of 21 horses.

As a result, the pharmacy was visited by many outside agencies.  One was the state board of pharmacy, which is responsible for the regulation of compounding practice.  Another was the FDA.

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If you shop with us, you already know all of the data in the article to be true.

It’s been a mantra of ours for time:  The supplement industry is not regulated.  The few rules that are on the books are poorly enforced.

Sketchy companies who are fleshed out via independent testing or articles such as these RARELY initiate a recall.  Those products sit on the shelves of stores with no one the wiser.  The companies we deal with take quality seriously.  They are industry leaders.  If mistakes happen, they correct them and are forthright with information.  No fibbing allowed!

Please, enjoy this article from the NY Times, and remember:  When you shop at the Apothecary you are getting brands that you can trust.  We’re jerks to the manufacturers in this industry to ENSURE you are getting pure, potent, and consistent products.

We get a tremendous amount of requests for litmus paper to test one’s pH.

The goal is to be more “alkaline” than “acidic”.

This misinformation is perpetuated by the natural industry to peddle their products. Google “body pH”. First page all supplement companies. They may not look like it, but they’re pushing products.

You’re being lied to.

The Truth? You body doesn’t have a pH. It has MANY pHs. All regulated by tightly controlled systems.

For example, your blood pH is slightly alkaline, kept between 7.35 and 7.45. Anywhere outside that range (if you could influence it) would put you in a hospital bed.

Salivary pH is about 6, urinary pH is between 6-7.4. These numbers can change on a dime. Eat a tomato; take an aspirin.

Your gut, for example varies based on location. Your stomach is between 3-5 in rest times (to prevent bacterial and mold growth, among other things) and goes as low as 1-2 while you are eating. Your small intestine is approximately 8.

Enteric coated aspirin exploits these two differences. The enteric coating only dissolves at alkaline pH, bypassing the stomach and decreasing the chance for developing gastric ulcers.

Not so quacky advice

The other, less exploitative side of this coin includes groups that encourage people to make their diet more “alkaline”.

This is good, but not why they are telling you. Let me explain.

If I put the most alkaline food in the presence of an acid bag of pH of 1, it’s going to become not so alkaline anymore.

But, the foods on this list do constitute leaner, healthier foods (especially proteins), so we encourage people to use this list as a “Eat this, not this” guide.

Vegetables:

• Alfalfa
• Barley Grass
• Beet Greens
• Beets
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Carrot
• Cauliflower

Fruits:

• Apple
• Apricot
• Avocado
• Banana (high glycemic)
• Berries
• Blackberries
• Cantaloupe

Meats:

• Venison
• Lamb

The reason people feel better following these guides is not because they are changing their body pH. That is impossible. They are eating healthier!

So, in conclusion, save your money! We’ll design a healthful diet for you, for free!