Elephant Feathers

I’m just going to acknowledge how many things in my life are elephant feathers. You know like the magic feather that Timothy Mouse gives Dumbo so that he believes he can fly? The feather does nothing, really. But it does let Dumbo get along with the business of flying. I’ve got feathers that logically I know aren’t really going to get me up in the air. But they let me ignore the anxiety of everyday living enough that I can get through this thing we call life.

Like my CoQ10 pill. I was kind of hit or miss on taking it. The science isn’t really all that convincing on antioxidants as a whole, or CoQ10 in particular. But it kind of sounded like a good idea, so I’d pop one every now and then. Then I read an article on a scientist who is developing an antioxidant protocol for people getting radiation from CT scans. The logic behind it is that people who are getting radiation treatments for things like breast cancer are told not to take antioxidants because they interfere with the effectiveness of the radiation. Bad when you’re tyring to kill a tumor. But, hey wait! Could be good if you’re trying to dampen radiation you don’t want. So my little anxiety ridden brain jumps a step further to “Where else might I be getting radiation from that I don’t want? Japan.”

Okay, I know that sitting in the middle of Texas, radiation contamination from Japan isn’t an immediate concern. All sorts of science dudes have assured me of this. I’m fine. Well, no, I’m not fine because it has freaked my contamination anxieties right off the charts. I know I’m not supposed to be spinning about Japan radiation. But I am. Probably the result of too many Godzilla movies in my childhood.

But then I read about the antioxidants. And now taking my little CoQ10 pill at lunch everyday makes me feel safe and happy. Like my own little feather. Is it the right kind of antioxidant? Probably not. Is it a magic pill that will prevent me from growing scales and attacking Tokyo? Also probably not. It’s a bit of magical thinking that won’t kill me. I’m fine with that.