Houston & Alexander, PLLC - June/July 2021

Houston & Alexander, PLLC - June/July 2021

HOUSTONALEXANDER.COM

JUNE/JULY 2021

CALL US: 423-267-6715

Meet the Animal Lovers of Fukushima 2 MEN CARE FOR AN ABANDONED CITY'S PETS

A few weeks ago, I came across a story about two animal-loving men, a Japanese town, a nuclear disaster, and hundreds of abandoned pets. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since, so I finally gave in and decided to share it with you. The story starts in 2011 when a combination earthquake and tsunami damaged the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant spanning the towns of Okuma and Futaba in the Fukushima Prefecture of Japan. The fuel rods in three of the plant’s reactors overheated and began to melt down, releasing radiation and setting off a series of explosions. The whole thing became known as the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster. You probably remember seeing the nuclear fallout on the news, and you might recall that 160,000 people had to evacuate the area to avoid the radiation. But at the time, you probably didn’t hear about Sakae Kato, the 57-year-old man who stayed behind. Kato lived in the exclusion zone around the damaged plant, which is still abandoned today. Back in 2011, he refused to leave his home. Instead, he made it his mission to stay and care for the pets the evacuees of Fukushima left behind. According to Good News Network, Kato is still in Fukushima caring for the animals, including a whopping 41 stray cats, a dog named Pochi, and the local population of wild boars. As crazy as it sounds, Kato isn’t the only one risking deadly radiation and a shortened lifespan to help these animals in Fukushima. A 62-year-old man named Naoto Matsumura, who

left during the initial evacuation, also returned to the danger zone to provide for the animals. Ten years later, he’s still there looking after dogs, cats, pigs, ostriches, cows, and ponies that wander freely through the streets. Matsumura works independently from Kato, funds his pet food through donations, and is known as the “Guardian of Fukushima’s Animals.” The Japanese police have asked both men to leave, but neither will budge. As Good News Network puts it, “Evidently, the city possessed not one, but two men whose love of animals cracked through their innate sense of self-preservation; men who would give up everything rather than consigning other beings to starvation.” Isn’t that a beautiful sentiment? I’ve never met Naoto Matsumura or Sakae Kato, but I would love to shake their hands. It’s amazing how big the human heart can be and how much kindness we can learn from animals and each other if we’re willing to take the time to learn. In a way, the city of Fukushima reminds me of the entire world post-COVID-19. We’ve been dealing with a global disaster for the last year and a half. We’ve lost a lot of people, and for a while, things got very, very bad. But now, it’s time for those of us who are still here to rebuild and give back. To do that, we need to help each other just like Matsumura and Kato are helping the abandoned animals of Fukushima. If we go forward with generosity, I know something beautiful can come out of this disaster, just like it did in Japan. 1 423-267-6715 | HoustonAlexander.com

THE TOP 3 WEEKEND REMODEL PROJECTS FOR SUMMER 2021

Light it up. It’s easy to overlook outdoor lighting. You might have a floodlight or maybe some simple overhead lighting if you have a covered porch or patio, but why not take it up a notch? String lights are hot this year, and they come in outdoor varieties. You can make your favorite outdoor space — whether a porch, patio, or deck — more inviting with string lights. Drape them in creative ways to enhance the space and design. It’ll be Instagram-ready in no time! Create a fabulous front entrance. Every home should have a welcoming front entrance — it’s usually the first impression people have of your residence! Spruce up your home with a freshly painted door (or if you’re feeling really bold, an entirely new door ). Don’t forget about the foliage — it might be a good time to trim or sculpt the foliage around the front entrance. Or, if it’s looking particularly drab, find some interesting pots and plant some new flowers or shrubs to enliven the space. One more thing: Don’t forget the lighting, either. Installing new lighting fixtures can go a long way in giving your front entrance a fresh, welcoming look.

Want to add a little pizazz to your home without spending a lot of time on it? Then this article is for you! There are several small projects you can easily do over a weekend that can refresh the look and feel of your home, inside and out. Take a look! Go with the flow. When was the last time you changed out your kitchen faucet? What about your showerheads? Refreshing the faucets around the home, whether in the kitchen or bathroom, can make a big difference. Not only do newer faucets look great, but you may also find one that improves upon the functionality of your old one. The same

with showerheads — improve the flow of water and improve your next shower. What about touch-sensitive faucets? That’s a thing! You have lots of options to consider.

Explosive Balls (at Least in Massachusetts) Are Not Explosive Swings Are Allowed on the Golf Course

With the U.S. Open coming up in June (barring any major COVID-19-related developments), the participants are sure to leave audiences in awe of their explosive drives. While “explosive” in this context doesn’t mean anything is actually exploding, there is a precedent for golf balls that literally explode. In fact, that precedent led to the creation of a pretty interesting state law in Massachusetts: No one is allowed to sell exploding golf balls. According to Chapter 148, Section 55 of the General Laws of Massachusetts, “Anyone who sells or knowingly uses … a golf ball containing any acid, fluid, gas, or other substance tending to cause the ball to explode” can be fined $500 for the

to avoid. The first clue is that prior to the late 1960s and early 1970s, golf balls were actually manufactured with a caustic liquid at the center. This led to the unforeseen injury of a boy named William J. in 1912, who, while “dissecting” a golf ball, ruptured the rubber fluid sack at the center. Some of the liquid got in his eye and caused permanent damage to his sight, despite multiple visits to the doctor. Even though golf ball manufacturers stopped using caustic liquids in the centers of their golf balls in the 1920s, the liquid centers of golf balls made in the following decades could still cause harm. If someone

first offense and up to $1,000 or imprisoned for a year for any offense after that. You would think that the existence of this law means that at some point, people were just smacking exploding golf balls around the Bay State before the lawmen kiboshed it. However, the truth is a little more nuanced. While it’s unknown what exactly prompted the legislation, there are a few clues as to what sorts of incidents Massachusetts governments were trying

dissected a golf ball and ruptured the fluid sack of one of these later balls, the

crystalline material within could still cause injuries. Fortunately, solid core golf balls became common during the 1970s, removing liquid core golf balls from the course for good.

However, even though they’re gone, their legacy lives on in this strange Massachusetts law.

2

423-267-6715 | HoustonAlexander.com

POOR SAFETY MEETS MOLTEN ENAMEL NOTHING COLD ABOUT THESE REFRIGERATORS

If you don’t know what enamel is, you’ve probably seen it around: It’s the colorful, protective coating that covers tiles and all kinds of fancy cookware. But how does it get on to things? For that, you need heat — enough to melt enamel into a workable, molten-hot liquid. It’s dangerous stuff to work with, which means facilities need to provide extensive training, personal protective equipment, and proper maintenance. The Grand Rapids Refrigerator Company of Grand Rapids, Michigan, had not met its duty in any of those three areas when Harry Adams, an employee, was working for them in the early 1900s. The company used enamel to line the inside of its refrigerators in a process that involved introducing molten enamel to water, a hardening reaction that had a high potential for disaster.

duties, the holding tank full of molten enamel exploded while he operated it at close distance — at the instruction of his foreman who was overseeing the operation. It’s a miracle that Adams wasn’t killed, although he lived in severe pain for the rest of his life. His employer attempted to dodge all responsibility, and Adams was forced into the courts to get some kind of justice. As you can imagine, the judicial system took note of the incident and, after examining everything in detail, came to some groundbreaking conclusions, at least for the day. The chief one was that Adams’ injury could not have been foreseen by an average person, because although he had experience, he lacked understanding of the materials he was working with — an understanding that his employer had not provided.

Molten enamel has similar properties to lava, and an exploding tank full of the stuff is not a hazard anyone should have to deal with in the workplace. The shockwaves of Adams’ near-fatal injury have reverberated for over a century now and provide valuable precedence when it comes to the duty employers have to their employees, whether that person has experience or not, which is why even today, when we attend ongoing, yearly safety training, we benefit from the hard lessons learned in Adams v. Grand Rapids Refrigerator .

And disaster struck in November 1906 when, in the course of Adams’ normal

our clients say it best ‘Look No Further’

Dexter and Rita Update! Dexter and Rita are proud to announce that their human cousins, Sophie and Houston, have moved to Chattanooga from Utah! That’s Rita trying very hard to sit in Sophie’s lap. As you can see, Rita’s a big girl! The picture on the right is Dexter and Rita on their daily walk, looking toward our neighbor’s barn that is usually full of cats!

“Johnny, Bret, and their associates are

highly professional and knowledgeable. I would look no further for a reliable law firm. Thank you, Bret and Johnny!”

3

423-267-6715 | HoustonAlexander.com

PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411

HoustonAlexander.com CALL US: 423-267-6715

3417 Dayton Boulevard Chattanooga, TN 37415

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Meet the Animal Lovers of Fukushima PAGE 1

Short Weekend Home Projects Perfect for Summer! Why It’s Illegal to Sell Exploding Golf Balls in Massachusetts

PAGE 2

PAGE 2

Poor Safety Meets Molten Enamel

PAGE 3

Dexter and Rita Update!

PAGE 3

Client Testimonial

PAGE 3

Superfoods Are Not So New ...

PAGE 4

Kale, Seaweed, and Other Not-So-New Superfoods

There’s nothing so trendy as a new superfood or diet, and the “in vogue” ones change constantly. Older readers may remember the Atkins diets and other fads of the early 2000s, but younger ones may not even remember a time before the paleo diet was a thing — and it’s already almost a thing of the past. Many things we associate with these trends, though, are anything but new. We see this most clearly with the grains we turn to in the name of health. Westerners generally wouldn’t be familiar with quinoa, amaranth, teff, or kamut if it weren’t for their presence in the hippest healthy-eating Instagram feeds. Many of these foods hail from Africa or the Far East, so it’s understandable we don’t know them all — but there’s nothing really new about them. People in the Americas and the Old World have eaten quinoa for 3,000–5,000 years. Teff, which is

technically a grass seed, was one of the first domesticated plants, emerging thousands of years ago in what is now Ethiopia. Alternate sources of protein and fiber show a similar trend. Seaweed — the perennial favorite of Twitter dieters everywhere — has been consumed in China, Korea, and Japan since before recorded history. If you know anything about recorded history in those regions, then you know that’s a long time! And kale, whose reputation precedes itself, has been cultivated since at least 2,000 B.C. in Greece, Asia Minor, and other parts of the Mediterranean. So, the next time you dig into your favorite health food, take a moment to Google what you are eating. You might be part of a long line of human beings who have turned to that food for sustenance over the millennia!

4

423-267-6715 | HoustonAlexander.com