It's in the water...

Quick bit of errata from a previous post - Seems that I have another David tucked in there... my new father-in-law is David McGee.

One of my new brothers-in-law has a blog I have been following for the past couple of months: www.bigmyrtle.blogspot.com where he passes out observations and advice based on his experiences as a micro chicken farmer down in College Station, Texas. One of his more recent blogs has to do with drinking water. He has made the claim (and I have little reason to doubt him), that distilling the water he and his family drink has been a healthy choice - given the what's left behind at the tail end of the distilling process. The mere hint that there may be heavy metals present in that which we call "the elixer of life" scares the bejeebers out of any sane person.

Perhaps that's why there are so many bottled waters out there. We don't have the confidence in our public water supplies that we should. The water I get piped into my house is sourced at a nearby lake. The city of Allen sends me an annual report telling me that they've checked the water to government standards and that it is A-1 okey dokey to drink. On the other hand, the water here tastes absolutely awful a couple of times a year when the lake "turns", something having to do with the flora becoming too warm due to the Texas weather. It's for that reason I have relied on a Brita pitcher and the filter inside my refrigerator to protect me from the evil ever since I moved here.

Having reached the tender age of 39 (plus a few more) years, I have had an opportunity to sample water out of the faucet from a number of locations, some good, some not as good. Take that found in the municipal supply in Norfolk, Virginia. I shudder to think about having to drink that city's water again. It had a metallic taste. Ecch! I loved my grandparents who lived in Norfolk, hated the water. The other set of grandparents lived in the little town of Fairview, West Virginia, and the water there was delightful. It was well water, had a good balance of minerals and sure tasted good, especially out of the refrigerator on a hot summer day.

When living in the Cleveland, Ohio area, where one got one's water depended on where one lived. We had city water, drawn from Lake Erie. Waterlike, yes, but there came a realization in later years that there was a time when it was joked that a person couldn't drown in Lake Erie. It was impossible. One would die of some horrible water bourne disease, first! On the other hand, there were people in the area who had well water so chock full of minerals that you could smell a glass of water across the room which was fine with William Carter Sr. "Never had to take a laxative drinking this water!" he exclaimed in front of a room full of befuddled Cub Scouts. Boy was I glad that I didn't have to drink that water except at Cub Scout meetings. Later realization? No city water = no sewers. We relied on septic tanks for the -ahem- overflow from our lives.

Then there was city water from Chillicothe, Ohio. Well water, drawn from an aquafer running deep beneath the Scioto River. Either we got used to it, or it was relatively decent water. I'd like to think that it was the latter. It was the same water drawn from the city of Columbus and the Orchid Society there declared that there was just the right balance of minerals to ensure the avid orchid grower of excellent results. Chillicothe water still tastes the same, at least it did last summer. The only concern has to do with the levels of PCBs which may have seeped into the groundwater due to decades of PCBs being left over from the papermaking process... or the effects of the Uranium Enrichment plant down the road in Piketon. There have been rumors of a "Cancer Alley" in Southern Ohio for years, perhaps due to the water.

My brother-in-law in College Station may not be as far off plumb as could be thought. Distilling drinking water may be one of the better things we may be able to do for ourselves - Helps us keep our Purity Of Essence as General Jack D. Ripper pointed out in Dr. Strangelove. Just gotta remember that we bathe in what we drink!

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