!My Vest!

Yeah!! It was actually in the 30's when I got up at 5 am this morning! I was going to wear a sweater or sports coat to work this morning, but they were so wrinkled (hadn't been unpacked yet) that I decided to wear my beloved down vest. It is black, so it goes with anything, even a shirt and tie. I really like this time of year, mainly because the cool, dry fall weather is such a refreshing break from the humid hot 'dog days' of late summer in the south. The leaves are changing and falling in the breeze and as I walked around our lake yesterday for exercise, I thought about how lucky I was to have my health, a home (too expensive though) a truck that runs (knock on wood) and a healthy family (mostly). My son and daughter are healthy, as is my wife and me, but my mom has been diagnosed with cancer and she has been in bad health for several years before that. I really think her lifestyle caused many of her problems, like excessive smoking, no exercise to speak of, a poor diet and extreme stress in her life. Of course, her own mom died at a very young age, so that plays a roll also. I just learned this morning that my ex-wife was in the hospital and they found blood clots in her lungs, so that is not good. Way too often, those of us whom God has blessed with good health take if for granted. I know that from my Dad's side, I have a fairly healthy genome. Up until I hit 35 or so and got divorced, I was in great physical health, exerice, diet and all. I moved out, quit exercising some much, went to a fast-food, unhealthy type of diet and gained 25lbs. I was lucky to be able to lose that when I started a new job, but over the past 3-4 years, I have slowly but surely put most of that back on. I gained weight when I spent 5 months in the Caribbean (another story) and just haven't been able to get it back off. Now that I am settled into another full-time position and my life has become more of a model of what I had invisioned, I am excerising more, eating better, but it is hard to overcome the raveges of AGE. I am staring 50 down the barrel and have many more aches and pains than I thought possible. But, you learn to adapt, do what you can to ease the pains and ride them out. I hate to take medicine or go to a doctor (MD), so I pretty much diagnose myself and use holistic methods to heal. I know that diet, rest, fluids and exercise are the primary mechanisms that God gave up to stay healthy, so I focus on those. Most folks overlook the value of sufficient and proper fluid and food intake, which, when combined with sufficient rest, can make a lot of difference in our health.

Anway, hope my Mom finds some peace in her life as she deals w/ the cancer and that my son's mother gets healthy again and is around for him for a long time (he is 14 now)

Else, same ol' same ol' --> Cowboys find a way to lose; Yet another hurricane may unleash the mess we call FEMA and NBA ballplayers are claiming it is racism to ask them to dress appropriately for work related activities (go figure that one!) and sirens are blaring in Midtown Memphis. Just another day, eh? (more on the NBA later)

Good day!