Poison

   I really shouldn't have slept under that ledge. The resident black widow didn't like men and let me know it. Then the scorpion stung me as I was packing up to move. Heading towards the crapper I stepped on a buzzworm and got nailed pretty good. "That about does it," I thought. This just isn't looking like my day. Time to get out of here. So I stumbled to the boat, pulled out the radio and called for a chopper. Meanwhile I grabbed a handful of Ibuprofen and washed it down with a pint of Jack to dull the pain.

   When I got to the clinic on the South Rim, the doc called the Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center (APDIC) in Tucson to figure out what to do with what was left of me.

   Things like this can happen in the Canyon. Without APDIC they wouldn't have a happy ending. The bad news is that without our help APDIC will shut down in January unless the state legislature votes to fund it.

   APDIC is a free statewide service with a toll free number for emergency access: 1-800-362-0101. It has been helping Arizonans since 1980, and handled over 70,000 calls in 1992. By treating people at home, it saves us millions of dollars every year.

   How to help? Contact the Alliance to Save the Poison Information Center (ASPIC) at 1-800-599-8684. It can provide you with petitions, names and addresses of your legislators, and other information.

Kenton Grua