Getting to the Root of It All.

Down and Dirty: As in, after scratching the surface, then digging in the dirt, down to whatever depths you need to go to finally, get to the source...the source of the problem, of course. The true cause(s). In medical and psychological terms, in our attempts to best understand the underlying cause to a condition or disease process, we refer to this as "levels of diagnosis", with the "etiological" (sometimes also called the "cause and effect") level representing the deepest level, which allows for the most effective intervention, and also make an "educated" prognostic statement (such as what to expect, given a particular strain of virus). In the medical field and psychology, we call investigating into the true causes, "discovery" (a term familiar to lawyers as well) among other terms, all which refer to the accumulation of evidence through digging, testing in various ways. Depending on the situation, this can go rapidly or take a protracted, 'agonizing' amount of time and effort (especially if the person in my office is either resistant, or in a state of confusion).The alternate definition listed in the dictionary, apropos to the situation we are all agonizing to explain, in the Ukraine, the state of mind of a particular individual and a few "henchmen", is "serving to explain something by giving a cause or reason for it, often in historical or mythical terms". In other 'professions' such as the FBI, CIA, and the KGB cum FSB (new abbreviation for Russian Federal Security force) gather 'intel' as the primary source for evaluating "what's really going on over there", that can affect us all everywhere. In Winston Churchill's "World War II" he recounts the circumstances at the end of WWI that set the stage, eventuated in WWII, including the incipient, then insidious rise of Adolf Hitler and his eventual demise. We have been audience to some credible analysts who have in turn traced the earlier glimpses of what, how, and who is primarily responsible for the tragedy that has unfolded in Ukraine. Beginning with the fall of the berlin Wall, the break-up of the Soviet Union, at which time the KGB was also dissolved, an organization with which Vladimir Putin had his early 'professional' roots...whose rationale for invading Ukraine make the term "mythical" operational...

Rooting Out Root Rot: Whether you are a veteran gardener or a newbie, you know the perils of "root rot", a condition that can easily occur in your home, with your house plants, or even outside, when you accidentally overwater. A condition that is frequently lethal and which may require, like what I had to do with a few tomato plants last summer, uprooting them and starting over. Sometimes that's the only cure.