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STAY TUNED 4 OUR BROADCASTS NEXT WEEK...
HIGH & I WILL SHARE...
HIGHJOY RECIPE FORMULAS 4...
RELISHES, CHUTNEYS & SALSAS!
I will miss Roy -- "The Intellectual Plumber," I call him --
as I so enjoyed our many talks on so many subjects.
"DEER HEALTH SEEKERS," I am writing my story during my last few days at Our Hygiene Homestead in The Woods, handing off little pieces of paper to Victoria in installments as the memories of my 6 weeks here flood back to me. I am finding myself a little sad at leaving all this peace and quiet and nature beauty and song birds as I savor my last few days here. Soon, I will meet my wife here in The Great Pacific Northwest and go sight-seeing while I continue breaking my fast on all the wonderful foods in season so plentiful here in the stores and at the fruit stands.
My story starts with me at about 36 years of age. I was going through a divorce: my lawyer ended up in jail, my best friend died, and my father died from complications with diabetes. This all happened in one year. After the divorce was done, I went on a 2-year party. The first 36 years, I was in good shape with no weight problems whatsoever, but I ate the SAD diet. I ballooned from 170 pounds up to 220 when I wasn't paying attention.
Getting dressed one morning, I tried to tie my shoes. I could not reach them! BIG WAKE UP CALL! That day, I went out and bought a new pair of running shoes, shorts, and other gear and started walking and running as best I could. Several months later, I lost some weight and made it up to 2 miles a day of nonstop running. In one year, I was down to 188 and running longer distances. Changing my diet some but realizing I needed to make some major changes in my eating habits, I was suffering with hypoglycemia. I had many weak and tired moments throughout each day. So I tried every diet, with little success. Then I decided to slowly start removing meats from my diet to only fish for my concentrated protein. My weight slowly came down to 175, and I was happy with that part. But I still had the weak and tired spells. It still didn't click in that the large amount of refined sugar I was enjoying was the culprit for feeling poorly. I ran longer distances and started running races from 5 kilometers to half-marathons. Around 48 years old, I decided to go vegetarian: no meat and only fish once a week. At 50, I decided to run a full marathon. With the heavy training, I came down to 168 and felt pretty good energy-wise. After several years of running half and full marathons, I decided to give up social drinking. I stopped completely within several months and have not had a taste since. This all had made a big difference in my energy, but I did not realize that working 2 jobs a lot of the time put a lot of stress on my body. It did not seem to bother me. But with what I have learned from Victoria's "IT'S ALL ABOUT ENERGY!" lessons -- I can see now that I was still running on several of The Energy Robbers then, even though I had made great strides since the morning I could not bend down to tie my shoes! In 2001, I qualified to run the Boston Marathon and did it in 2002. After this, I decided to stop marathons and started running shorter races, for several more years.
In 2005, I met my new wife. At that time, we took up doing triathalons and really enjoyed them. Over time, I gave up doing extra jobs and decided to take an early retirement from my government career and started working at my trade of plumbing and pipe fitting. Before my retirement, I decided to try the raw food diet. I had done a lot of research and bought and read Dr. Doug Graham's books on this diet and was sold on it. I tried it for over a year but started to develop dental problems and severe nervous disorders, so I went back to eating a little fish and some cooked foods. The problems seemed to go away, so I kept eating in this manner. During this time, however, I started having health issues, lung congestion, and developed pneumonia that came and went over a 5 year period. Then, I stopped running in the extreme Canadian cold and got no more pneumonia. I had been practicing Energy Robber #6 -- Wrong Temperatures! BIG MISTAKE! And I had damaged my lungs. They were constantly inflamed. I tired every natural doctor and remedy, but nothing helped. But in my heart of hearts, I wanted to be 100% raw. So I started searching The Internet and discovered Natural Hygiene. MY NEW NATURAL HYGIENE QUEST HAD BEGUN!
At one point, I injured the calf of my leg and had to take 2 months off running but still biked and swam. This was in late 2009. When I started running again, I developed digestive system issues. These got worse, and I would have to stop running. Around this time, I tried 3 days of fasting on water only, but it did not help the burning feeling typically called "acid reflux." Then I decided to see my doctor. He did blood tests and said I was deficient in iron, so I corrected that. My next blood test showed good for iron, but my blood pressure and cholesterol were up slightly above the normal. Cutting back on the intensity of my running did not relieve the burning problem. My doctor decided to send me for tests on my heart. After a dye test, they discovered an 80% blockage in one of my heart's main arteries. THIS CAME AS A BIG SURPRISE! They wanted to put me on drugs and put a stent in. I refused. Rarely do I take drugs because I know their side effects are really poisoning-effects. I took some time to think about it and started to study more about fasting on water only and in detail. I made the decision to do a 28-day fast with 2 weeks of refeeding. Before this, I had done a 10-day fast and realized I could fast but that doing it at home was neither a realistic nor a pleasant option -- too many distractions. You can't totally relax the way you need to for your body to really re-energize and heal with distractions of all kinds going on all day long and into the night at home. While checking out several fasting retreats, I called Dr. Scott in Cleveland, Ohio, and spoke with him. I decided that $1,000 a week for a total of $6,000 was just too costly and that the Cleveland, Ohio, location was not for me.
Then I discovered Victoria BidWell's website: www.naturecurerawfoodhealthretreat.com. I called her rather late at night. And we had a rather long call. She seemed nice but a little tough and quite personal in her ways of talking to me -- a complete stranger! Come to find out, she has a way of talking to everyone like they are old friends. She explained: "I like to dispense with formalities and get up close and personal from the get-go: that way, I can best understand what you need and how I can help you. We will soon be good friends, anyway, if you spend time here at The Guesthouse and go through your fast correctly. Your experience will be wonderful -- if you just come to get a job done and learn as much as possible. So why not just cut to the chase now?" I had caught her at a rough time as she was finding it impossible to make 2 city slickers happy in her wilderness setting and let me know before we wasted much of our time on the phone that... "WE ARE BACK TO NATURE HERE! You won't have cable T.V. blaring away all day to distract you from yourself! And a pedicurist will not come in at your command! And I will not be running you around to and from town so you can keep up on the newest movies. And if you call this adorable, little Concrete town I have moved up into 'a loser town' when you see it, well then, you do not even need to unpack your bags!" We laughed throughout the phone call. I assured her that I was something of a "nature guy" myself and that I run barefoot marathons, absolutely love the water, and go on long bike rides when I can. Then, she warned me that a mother and a 3-year old would be at The Guesthouse, transitioning into the live-food diet and learning about Natural Hygiene. I assured her that I was used to being around children and that the mother and child would be no problem at all, as long as I had my private Eagle's Nest for digs. She then offered me her brand-new bedroom building that was off facing the woods in one corner of the 1/2 acre: she called it "The Bear Cave." And I told her about my times in Alaskan wilderness and off-shore drilling. I assured her I was not as far gone as the 2 city-slickered guests, that I even did "barefoot runs," and that I would really enjoy the wilderness setting of Our Hygiene Homestead in The Woods.
As we talked, I got a clear feeling that my first impression of Victoria being "a little tough" was really her momentary frustration at the occasional city-slickerfied Health Seekers who see only the "as low as $333 a week" on her website and do not bother to take the 2 "tells-all" picture tours or to read all "Our Guests' Best Stories" before making their reservations. Victoria has a dream-come-true for Health Seekers: she provides Correct Natural Hygiene in a true back-to-nature setting. I went back to her website. I read absolutely everything on it. I DECIDED I WAS GOING TO GO FOR IT! The reason I decided on her place was not just the price, not just the nature setting. It was the location near Vancouver, British Columbia, where my brother lived. I would fit a visit in with him before and after the fast. I called Victoria back the very next day. We had another good conversation. But I was still a little nervous about giving a total stranger a $2,500 without knowing her. She explained: "Part of the low rates is paying in full and in advance so that I no longer waste endless hours of talking with occasional shoppers never really intending to come or those wanting to put down just $100 to hold a spot they really are not sure they will keep. That saves me so much time and frees me up to do my other work at GetWell*StayWell, America!" So, I trusted Victoria and all she has done to give "MERCIFUL RATES" and a back-to-nature setting! We made arrangements for my arrival. Time flew. After a few weeks, Victoria rolled "Black Beauty," her PT Cruiser all black and chrome-shiny, into the Mt. Vernon, Washington, train station and greeted me. My fast had begun.
Putting my bags into the car, we were off to The HighJoy Headquarters. After some stops and some errands, we arrived at her 1/2 acre where she and her horse live and all the computers and inventory and business are housed and where The Dr. Vetrano Library had come to rest. It was a big, humble trailer as the pictures on the website show, all done up Western style. Then, we went to Our Hygiene Homestead in The Woods. It all looked just like the pictures -- only the trees and bushes have 3 more years of growth in height and have filled out more. The Guesthouse is located on 1/2 acre in an unpretentious community of modest vacation homes used a few weeks or months a year and year-round residents' homes. The impressions I was given about people in the surrounding area from other fasters was that it was "a welfare area." I waited to find out for myself. After several walks through the community and speaking with several who lived there year round or on vacation, I found out this was just not the case. The community is not full of million dollar homes, true, but it is not a welfare area, either -- it is just middle of the road. A fellow Canadian had even bought a property not far from us who told us of his happy adventures in Concrete! Regardless of neighbors on either side of the 1/2 acre, Victoria's extreme fencing and landscaping that go up 6 to 8 feet and the trees that go up to 60 feet give you the secluded feel. The property is private and secluded in the woods, as neighboring buildings to the right and left are cleverly camouflaged. A true woods of tall maples and cedars protect the back yard. The open green lawn area in the back allows for sunbathing throughout the day. So you really do feel like you are in the woods on all 4 sides. You can go to www.naturecurerawfoodhealthretreat.com to see the tall trees in the front, the woodsy fence where 50 gallon barrels are used for giant planters that make a living fence between us and the neighbors. I REALLY HAD GONE -- "BACK-TO-NATURE" -- AND FOR 6 LIFE-CHANGING WEEKS!
Also, topping off many of the barrels are rock collections of all shapes and sizes and colors to which Victoria adds whenever she comes across a good find! Crystals, quartz, thunder eggs, fool's gold, coal, even pieces of fossilized tress -- just taking a tour of the barrels reminds us of the beauties of nature. After checking out the property, I decided on my digs: The Bear Cave. Although brand-new and nicely furnished, it was not as grand as The Eagle's Nest. Since I was not just there for a few days or a week, since 6 weeks is a long time, I moved into The Eagle's Nest and extreme comfort and privacy. I set up this large room to suit me just fine. It was perfect. The Library and The Eagle's Nest are the 2 rooms that make up the smaller building next to the main house in the wesite picture. It was very quiet and so secluded that I even set up a private spot for sunbathing right outside my private entrance!
My fasting had started the day I arrived, so I set myself up with water and kept on fasting. After settling into my new room, I spent time with the other 2 fasters and the little 3-year old who was with her mother. The high energy little girl was a distraction, as Victoria had warned, and a little more of a distraction that I had anticipated, although she was an unusually happy child who never cried. But I was spending most of my time in my Eagle's Nest, anyway. The 3 guests and I got to be good friends and had many good talks. They were just finishing their fasts and were breaking. So I tried to avoid the kitchen when they were eating. Victoria did even not want me in the main house when she was doing her food demonstrations: "Your time will come soon enough," she explained. "Just being around food and seeing it and smelling it will activate your entire digestive system. You will start having thoughts of eating, if not cravings to eat. Just ask High! When I start getting out his food, he starts salivating and getting all excited!" So, I did as she directed. I left the kitchen and dining area to the girls and retired to my library and Eagle's Nest whenever it was "women in the kitchen."
After several days, I let go of many anxieties. That is when I could really relax and really enjoy my fast. I believe that the most important thing about fasting is to mentally prepare yourself before you even arrive. Victoria had taken my goals very, very seriously -- as had I, of course. I was well prepared. I am a highly disciplined person, and I applied this discipline to doing what Victoria delineates in her teachings as "The Correct Natural Hygiene Fast." I had not read either 2 BOOKS IN 1: The Health Seekers' YearBook with The Best of Common Health Sense or The Live Food Factor. Victoria held them for me til I got to The Guesthouse. So, the first thing I did was to read both of them -- cover to cover. Then, I took it one day at a time. I listened carefully to the daily instructions during my talks with Victoria. She kept stressing: "The body makes its own cholesterol. Under extreme stress, it makes an extreme amount of cholesterol that gets stored in the arteries, just as if you were on a high-cholesterol diet of animal products. That is how a complete vegan can get high cholesterol. That is what happened to you. So, while this fast will result in reducing those 80% blockages in your arteries in the direction of normal arteries and a healthy blood pressure, unless you learn to let what used to stress you out become like water off a duck's back, you will be in trouble again after this fast. I promise you! I have a wonderful Energy Enhancers #9 & #10 Library here for you. The books will cover everything you need to know to turn the stresses of your life into water off a duck's back."
And she was right. A day seldom went by but we talked about this biggest factor in my cardiovascular quest for wellness. Off my room is The Homestead Library. It houses more info than you could possibly dream of: books, magazines, CDs, tapes, videos, and DVDs. I personally read over 20 books of special interest and watched all of the dozens of videos teaching Natural Hygiene or near-Natural Hygiene. I listened to Dr. Shelton himself deliver impassioned messages to live audiences. A GetWell Friend had just down-sized her library while I was here and sent Victoria 2 big boxes of books and videos halfway through my visit. Just when I was exhausting the books that held high interest for me and all of the videos, in came this wonderful stash for me to devour! Toward the end, I took to watching some of the videos from the Hollywood collection, carefully chosen because of their messages that complemented one or more of The 10 Energy Enhancers. WHAT I LEARNED DURING THIS 6 WEEKS HAS INCREASED MY KNOWLEDGE BASE MORE THAN I COULD HAVE EVER IMAGINED! Victoria's almost daily talks (She does take one day a week off for errands if all is going well with all of us.) have cemented in this knowledge base -- into the concrete! It made me realize the importance of The 10 Energy Enhancers. In order to be healthy, you need to have all 3 things in proper balance: mental and emotional, spiritual, and physical. What I learned from talks with The Wilderness Woman and all the new information from reading and watching and listening was that it was the stress I put myself under that was casing me my health issues. Victoria kept repeating until it hit home: "A situation will only be stressful to you -- your mind, your emotions, your body, your 75,000,000,000,000 cells -- if you interpret the situation as stressful! IT'S ALL ABOUT INTERPRETATION! NO STRESSFUL INTERPRETATION, NO STRESS PUT INTO YOUR EMOTIONAL MAKE-UP, NO STRESS BUILT INTO YOUR PHYSIOLOGY! THAT LEAVES ROOM FOR NATURAL JOY -- EVEN FOR HIGH JOY!" Easier said than done. But just understanding this at really deep levels was the start. I can see now why Victoria would not succumb to the city-slickers' demands for cable to be installed and why she just let them leave! "To get well," Victoria revealed, "we need these moments of quiet introspection and awareness and understanding -- not a nonstop television babysitter to distract us." Using the techniques I learned here, I started working on my own interpretation issues early in and throughout my visit. And I will keep expanding my knowledge base and techniques when I get home.
Here are a few more suggestions for when you get here: Keeping track of each day in a journal can be very helpful. You may want to bring your own blood pressure monitor. Having one was great for me. I would write down my readings several times each day, so I knew how I was progressing. My blood pressure was as high as 160/90+ when I started. It came down after 3 weeks from 130/80 to 110/80, depending on the time of day and the thoughts I was entertaining. One important thing to remember is to take your time and sit up for at least 2 minutes before standing up to avoid getting up too quickly. The blood can rush from the head if you stand up too quickly. On the 25-day of my fast, I fainted! I hit my face and cut it. Putting ice on it for some days and treating the cut with a gel, I was completely healed in just 9 days. My immune system was working the best I had ever seen it. The healing speed was amazing!
BREAKING THE FAST AND ENJOYING THE FOOD WAS HARD TO DESCRIBE, IT WAS SO INCREDIBLE! I can't stress enough that my previous knowledge of Natural Hygiene and fasting "before Victoria" compared to "after Victoria" shocked me. Having done several shorter fasts on my own, I thought I knew the ropes. But these were nothing like this long fast at Our Hygiene Homestead. After this 28-day fast, done correctly and paying attention to instructions the entire time, I broke the fast by drinking Victoria's juices and beverages spread out every 2 hours across each day as instructed. Breaking correctly and sipping the "yummy as promised" drinks slow and easy, the experience was so enjoyable! Victoria joked: "IT SHOULD BE! YOU HAVEN'T EATEN A THING FOR 28 DAYS!"
The food demonstrations turned out to be more than I thought they would be. And I am sorry now that I waited until the last few days to get them. I prepare many raw food drinks at home and prepare a lot of raw recipes in my own kitchen. So, after my days of breaking the fast on melons and juices served by Victoria, I assured her that I preferred to fix my own meals. "FINE!" was her reaction. This I did pretty much of the time. Even took a few jaunts into Mt. Vernon on the local SKAT bus to dine at the Whole Foods and pick out my own foods, just for the fun of going out. The many DVDs I had watched on raw food preparation and the many recipe books from the library made me feel, added to my own extensive experience in food preparation, that there was not a lot more I could possibly learn from Victoria's food prep demos, anyway. BIG MISTAKE! The afternoon before I left, we feasted on an extravaganza: a Beverage-Tasting Party... appetizers... several soup flavors both corn-based and tomato based. We couldn't eat it all, just tasted here and there. So the horse got a big send-off package from us! It was fabulous! And I wish we had put it all on video! We got out the fancy glasses and dishes, and we ate with wild wilderness enthusiasm! Victoria took me and my taste buds to a new level with her Veggie Volt! and the other 4 seasonings. The corn chowders and tomato soups she prepared were without a doubt the best soups -- cooked or raw -- I have ever eaten! The different fruit drinks and smoothies were marvelous and could be served in any restaurant along with the soups. It left me wishing I had allowed her to do many more meals. Thank you so much for yet another wonderful experience, Victoria!
MY OVERALL EXPERIENCE WAS FAR MORE THAN I HAD IMAGINED IT WOULD BE, FAR MORE THAN I HOPED IT WOULD BE, AND FAR, FAR MORE THAN I HAD EXPECTED FOR THE $2,500 I SPENT! Victoria would explain, when I would keep repeating this in appreciation: "Well, of course! You were 'A GUEST FROM HEAVEN!' You took the entire experience seriously from our first phone call to making your reservation immediately. All the way through every one of your 42 days and nights, you did everything right! I provided you with The Conditions for Health here. We removed The Causes of Disease. You are the model example of 'THE BEST GUEST POSSIBLE!' You came with a job to do and kept focused on it the entire time... You made the best use of The Homestead Library of anyone yet to move yourself forward as fast as you could... You did a Correct Natural Hygiene Fast with all the extra rest and sleep needed for revitalization and repair... You got into the spirit of the place and reveled in the fresh air and songbirds and all... You did not sit in one position by the hour taking notes while watching videos and throw your shoulder out and then be miserable the whole time you were here... You did not bring puzzles to waste your Nerve Energy on... You did not letter-write compulsively, wasting away your Nerve Energy... You were not on the phone or a computer throughout your entire visit... You did not bring a deck of cards to suck other guests into playing cards and thereby wasting their Nerve Energy as well as your own... You decided to take a liking to me and get as much from me as you could instead of coming with a sour attitude... You did not sneak off to town on the SKAT bus for margaritas and fajitas in town... You did not demand to be taken into town for shopping the 3rd day of breaking a 21-day fast and then get mad at me for taking you because you got soooo tired... You did not have pizza delivered at the gate while I was away and set up a makeshift oven out of your heater in your room and gorge on pizza and bring home wine to have with it... You did not demand to smoke "at least 3 cigarettes a day' and then threaten to get your money back if I did not let you smoke, smoke, smoke that cigarette... You did not arrive at my doorstep with 2 gallons of vinegar, 2 bottles of rubbing alcohol, 2 boxes of Borax, and a box of rubber gloves to feed your germaphobia at my exceedingly clean, clean Homestead! Are you getting the picture here, Roy? Need I go on? All the clever and creative ways that about 1 in 4 guests finds to ruin their potentially wonderful, moving forward fast experiences here -- you did not do! NO WONDER IT WAS SO MUCH MORE THAN YOU HAD IMAGINED, HOPED FOR, OR EXPECTED!"
MY PERSONAL GROWTH HAS BEEN FANTASTIC! How positive and good I feel about myself now and what goals I had set for myself that were far exceeded -- all has proven to be far more than I had planned for or could have believed possible the night of my first call with Victoria. The peace I feel, how relaxed I feel, and having reached new goals that I didn't know I even needed -- all has amazed me! If you are outside resting during the day, you will be delighted by the number of birds and small animals that you will see! Some nights, when I needed little sleep, I would just go sit outside. I could hear owls calling to each other and other nocturnal nature sounds. In July, the birds start singing about 4:30 A.M. And their songs get louder as it gets brighter. Victoria, Thank You for the much fun, the long talks, the gift books, and the just wonderful experience!
When I first met Victoria, I was really unsure of how to take her. All the info that I read about her on the website cannot be absorbed and remembered. But one thing that helped me make the decision to come was she came across on the phone calls as someone who was a truth seeker like myself. You can read all the books and info on someone; but until you meet that person in the flesh and spend time with that person, that is when you get to know him or her. When I first arrived at The HighJoy Homestead, my first impression was "What a mess! She was showing off The Health for The Billions Room that looked totally disorganized! I had not realized that all the books piled everywhere represented the end of a 3-year project to categorize The Dr. Vetrano Library! Then, she showed me around and did some tricks with the horse. I thought to myself, "I hope she doesn't ask me to pat him or so something with him." Some people have no problem being around animals, but I am not one of them. Leaving her place, we headed for the retreat. The more I talked to her, the more I relaxed and really listened to what she was saying. After settling in and reading her books and handouts and after lots of conversations, I realized the person I was with... she was BRILLIANT WITH KNOWLEDGE, ENTHUSIASM, IDEAS, AND CREATIVITY!
VICTORIA -- THE WILDERNESS WOMAN! Over 10 years, she has made this place what she first envisioned it to be upon first sight. And after spending time getting to know her, I have a tremendous amount of respect for her. Victoria loves animals and nature. She shared many stories of her horseback riding throughout The Olympic Peninsula National Park and The Cascade Mountains, The Canadian Rockies, The Sierra Nevadas, and the beaches in Mexico. She told of swimming eye-level with the ducks and baby chicks and of howling with the coyotes. Also, tales of HighJoy being spooked by the smell of a cougar. This is her life. And she loves it. She has worked nature back into Natural Hygiene. And she invites and begs all of us to do the same. I had never heard of Emerson or Thoreau. So, a few nights ago while still at Our Homestead, I got to read the works of these American equivalents to our Canadian Grey Owl 1800s' environmentalist. Most city people don't understand how someone would want to live away from the city and the night life and all the shopping malls and what-not. Personally, I was a little skeptical at first. But I have adjusted very easily and now, feel a little sadness to leave.
The first day going up to The Headquarters, we stopped in a vacant, wild meadow. Victoria gets out a big bucket and big sharp knife and tells me she will be back in a few minutes. Then she tromps into the meadow to cut special grasses and flowers and weeds for the horse -- not a normal, everyday thing for a 66-year old woman who is leading The Natural Hygiene Health Revolution to be doing when first picking up someone who is spending $2,500 with her! But that's Victoria. After cutting the greens, she showed me the 40-pound, big bucket with the bounty of the lush summer shooting up 2 feet high. She urged me to look: "See all the purple and white clover flowers and 3-leaf clovers? See the dandelion greens and bright yellow flowers? See all these wonderful grasses? Alfalfa, wild grains, horsetail, plantains, and thistles? They are all live-food, fresh-picked, organically grown! They will all go into High's belly for his evening meal! He will devour all of it in just 30 minutes! He jumps all 4 feet off the ground when he sees me bring up his dinner bucket! OH, THAT WE COULD GET THIS WELL-FED AND THAT WELL-SATISFIED ON LIVE-FOODS! WHAT HIGH JOY WE WOULD THEN LIVE IN, TOO!" Victoria has successfully worked her first passion of horses and nature into her calling to share her knowledge of Natural Hygiene, fasting, and live-foods with us. She likes to stay away from politics and religion pretty much. But her knowledge of so many other subjects is incredible. The person I first met and the person I got to know has blown me away! Victoria, I really like people like you who have learned so much from life's ups and downs. They are the best people to learn from. Keep working hard and look after yourself. I personally want you to be around for a long time. You have so much more work to do to and people to help.
My story stops here at age 61. I hope you have enjoyed
your "virtual visit" to Our Hygiene Homestead in The Woods.
Maybe you will pass it on.
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SENT 'ROUND OUR WONDERFUL WORLD ON SEPTEMBER 9th, 2011!
