The

Undeniable

Ruth

®

…and the Ruth shall set you free!

  • SALK Day 2 – Darvin DeShazer – Mushroom Master

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    Ruth Carter

    Darvin DeShazer is the fungi fun guy, the lord of the yeasty beasties, the master of the mushrooms.

    Seriously, he is.

    Amancita muscaria – photo by Darvin DeShazer

    By day, DeShazer is the chairman of the Science Department at St. Vincent High School where he teaches Biology and Advanced Placement Biology.  One look at his classroom walls will reveal his passion for mushrooms and fungus.  On his own time, he is a co-founder of the Sonoma County Mycological Association (SOMA) and the group’s science advisor.  The group’s goals are to appreciate and learn about local mushrooms and to educate the public about the vast world of fungi.  DeShazer has over 30 years of experience in this field and a library of over 1,000 books on mushrooms!!!  He has co-authored many publications about fungi, including 100 Edible Mushrooms.

    Just get him started on mushroom hunting (oh yes – there’s such thing as mushroom hunting), and he lights up like a Christmas tree and will tell you stories for hours about his adventures with mushrooms.  (Note: that’s “with” mushrooms not “on” mushrooms.)  He maintains a blog of beautiful photography from his mushroom hunts where he says, “The fun(gi) is in the hunt, but the thrill is not to kill.  The foray is the fun and it leads to learning by observing.  And to think, the incredible journey starts from a tiny spore.”  His website on gilled mushrooms states that every visible feature of these mushrooms has a microscopic reason – and he’ll tell you all about them.  At first this may seem boring, but it’s Neat Stuff!!

    And mushrooms are not just good for eating, one species is known for containing one of the only known chemicals that can help fight off small pox.  If the bioterrorism threats ever come to fruition, it will be handy to have a friend who is a fungus expert.

    Along with sponsoring nationally-recognized speakers, an annual mushroom fair, and local mushroom hunts, SOMA offers a valuable service to hospitals, veterinarians, and the community: free mushroom identification.  DeShazer is often the person that the hospital calls when someone shows up at the emergency room with a mushroom in their hand and says, “I ate one of these and now I don’t feel so good.”  When I was in his Advanced Placement Biology class, if there had been a story in the news about a local person being treated at the hospital for a eating wild mushrooms, DeShazer often had a story about going to the emergency room to identify it for the doctors.

    Mushroom hunting is a wonderful hobby, but as SOMA cautions, never eat a wild mushroom unless you’re absolutely certain of its identity. For me that means, I don’t eat it unless DeShazer picked it.

    Sponsor A Law Kid is my endeavor to pay for my last semester of law school. Today’s sponsors are Darvin and Jane DeShazer.   For more information about Sponsor A Law Kid or to see what days are still available for sponsorship, visit my Sponsor A Law Kid page.

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  • SALK Day 1 – What Am I Doing??

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    Ruth Carter

    Welcome to  2011 and the beginning of Sponsor A Law Kid!

    This is my endeavor to pay for my last semester of law school at Arizona State University.  People are sponsoring various days between January 1st and July 27th in exchange for having blogs written about them, their business, or the topic of their choice.  Today’s sponsor asked me to use my first day to give a little background information about myself.

    I went to St. Vincent High School in Petaluma, California where I took every honors and advanced placement class in math and science.  By the time I graduated, I was convinced that I was destined to get a Ph.D. in chemistry and win the Nobel Prize.  I liked working on problems and being able to find a concrete conclusion at the end.  I had amazing teachers who nurtured me along the way.  After high school, I went to Oregon State University and majored in chemistry for two years.  There I learned that I didn’t like being trapped in a lab all day.  I was also a Resident Assistant I learned that I liked working with people in a problem solving role.  Much to the shock of my classmates and mentors, I changed my major to psychology.  After graduation, I went on to get a masters degree in counseling, moved to Phoenix, and became a therapist working with adults living with HIV.

    Being a therapist was often rewarding, but at times it was frustrating because I was in a role where I was working at my clients’ pace, not mine.  I could diagnose clients with the best of them and I could make suggestions about what they might want to do to improve their lives, but there was nothing I could do to make them actually put these ideas into actions.  My hands were tied, and I often felt like I was trapped in my office.  I wanted a more active role in the problem solving process.

    I came to law school hoping to find the best of two worlds – helping people with their problems and being an active member of the problem solving team.  I am glad I chose Arizona State for school because of its Center for Law, Science, and Innovation.  My plan is to practice intellectual property and internet law.

    During law school, I have become involved in the social media and to a lesser degree, the podcasting communities.  These are the type of people I want to have as clients some day.  In November 2010, I was out for a run and catching up on my podcasts.  I heard an interview with Jason Sadler, founder of I Wear Your Shirt.  He makes a living producing content and advertising companies by wearing their shirts.  I thought he was a genius.  He inspired me to tweak his idea and instead of selling days in exchange for wearing people’s shirts, I could sell days in exchange for writing blogs for my sponsors.  I checked with one of my social media friends and he said to run with the idea.

    To date, I’ve sold 33 days with other potential sponsors considering which days they want to buy.  This program has paid for ~20% of my tuition.  One potential sponsor opted to give me a $1000 scholarship in lieu of sponsoring a day.  I will be selling days until the program is over or until I run out of days.  I want to thank all my sponsors in advance for participating in this program and contributing to my education.

    Sponsor A Law Kid is my endeavor to pay for my last semester of law school.  Today’s sponsors are Darvin and Jane DeShazer.  For more information about Sponsor A Law Kid or to see what days are still available for sponsorship, visit my Sponsor A Law Kid page.

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  • This Week’s Non-post Post

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    Ruth Carter

    The purpose of this week’s blog is to tell you that there’s going to be a real blog next week.

    I’m sorry kids, but I’ve had no inspiration this week, and what few ideas I have are being brutally bashed by my overtaxed mind.  My friend gave me a slew of great law-related ideas to write about.  I tucked them away for future use.  Today it feels like everything I do is law related – working at my internship, applying for judicial clerkships, and contemplating my future in the legal profession.  I know that not everything I do is law related, but it feels that way today.  I need a mental break from writing about the law.

    Captain Kirk said, “The more complex the mind, the greater the need for the simplicity of play.”  He is absolutely right.  I am, therefore, giving myself the week off from blogging.   I’ll be back next week.  Instead I’m going to go sit in my backyard, with my feet dangling in my pool, and relax while watching the stars.

    So I don’t feel like I’m not completely neglecting my readers, I’m sharing the lyrics of my law school theme song:  The Beauty of Your Dreams.  The music was written by Joan Szymko and the lyrics were adapted from the writings of Eleanor Roosevelt.  My choir performed this song years ago.  It helps calm me down when the world gets stressful.

    I will make a prayer to ask what I can do,

    I will make a prayer to ask for courage to follow the light

    as it is given to me.

    You gain courage and strength and confidence

    every time you look fear in the face.

    You must do the thing you think you cannot do.

    Life must be lived!

    Cast out fear and face the unknown.

    Face the unknown with courage

    and integrity and a high heart.

    Believe in your dreams,

    believe in the beauty of your dreams.

    The future belongs to those who do believe

    in the beauty of their dreams.

    See you next week.

    – Ruthie