So you might have deduced that I probably couldn’t ride fast enough to keep up with this (again) younger group. But on the day that we were offered the chance to ride up Mount Ventoux, I took the challenge. This is one of the famous Tour De France mountains that is often the finish of a tour stage. Twenty one kilometers of an up-hill climb that offers no respite. There isn’t a single flat section, even for a few yards. Up to 12% grade all the way.

In this age of transparency and the negative news about sports drugs, I have to admit that I resorted to stimulants. Seven kilometers from the top, there is a restaurant. I stopped and had a Pastis. This aperitif is the best for a bike rider. First, it is the cheapest drink, less than a Coke. And comes with a pitcher of water.

But I was one of five of our group that made it to the top. And we were rewarded with a down-hill run almost all the way back to our hotel, about thirty kilometers. This is the only time that we can ride as fast as the world-class bike riders in the Tour. That is, if you have the nerves to open up on a down-hill.

But my restrictive diet did not limit my physical performance. In fact, I felt better, with no after affects.

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This diet to prevent heart disease and many other diseases is described in Dr. Esselstyn’s book, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease. His wife has included many recipes in the book.

I have found that there are dozens of delicious recipes made from the plant food list. It takes some effort to find all the ingredients and a real dedication to follow this diet.

I decided that my diet had to change when I heard that a classmate from Yale, Rusty Wailes had died of a heart attack while rowing with a four-man crew on Lake Washington in Seattle. Rusty was on the Yale crew that won the gold medal in the 1956 Olympics. How could such a fit person die of a heart attack? The answer is that fitness doesn’t protect you from a heart attack.

All my male relatives died of heart related problems. Last year I had chest pains while sprinting up a long hill with my bicycle riding companions. This group is ten years younger than I, (I’m 75) so this scared me. One of these “fit” individuals, Johnny Hughes, had chest pains and three months ago had to have a triple by-pass to save his life.

All these factors motivated me to embark on this restrictive diet. It was almost a disaster from the beginning. Just three weeks after I decided to eat differently, Marlene and I went to France for a two-week bicycle ride. (Go to Blog, Diet Wars 3)

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Distinguished doctors and scientists have worked for over twenty years to prove that what a person eats can kill him.
They have shown that the secret to avoiding deadly disease is not a single pill or pills, or eating a single item in a diet. Most other studies are done to show that a pill or a specific food will help prevent a particular disease, but these studies are flawed for two reasons. They don’t take all of the factors into account in what a person puts in his mouth. And, even more insidious, all animal based food industries and our government are committed to sell these products. The secret is to avoid ALL animal based products.
Two of the books that show these studies are: Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease and The China Study.

I am recommending that you read these two books, not because I am an animal lover or a vegan fanatic, but because it may save your life. At least help you avoid a long and painful existence before your death.

The cigarette industry went through years of fighting to show that cigarettes were not harmful. We now know that tobacco can cause cancer. But profits from nicotine sales funded a fight against a deadly product.

I am certain that 100 years (maybe more) from now, animal food and refined food products will be viewed in the same light as tobacco is today.

In Fort Worth it will be an uphill battle. We will no longer be called “Cow Town.” Maybe “Tofu Town?” Our annual “Fat Stock Show” is now just “The Stock Show” and in the future will be something like “The Sprouts Show.”

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Some people go shopping as a form of entertainment or amusement. Haven’t they got something better to do?
When I go shopping I always have in my mind exactly what I want to buy. It is something I need. I in my mind there is the exact product I am looking for. When I see it, I grab it and go.
I am also what some people call cheap. But I like to phrase that as being a ‘minimalist.’ This means that I conserve resources. Even though I can afford to waste water, I take very short showers. This probably only saves a few pennies a year, but it does conserve water. And a cheaper product that does the job is probably exactly what I want, although not always. I am a very smart shopper.
The problem is that these days in stores, especially food markets, there are so many different choices on display, that it is difficult to find the exact product you need.
Let’s say you are at the super market and you have on your list ‘cereal.’ I want a low sugar cereal of maybe granola or raisin bran.
The cereal shelves extend the complete length of the 200 foot long aisle. Where I shop, the price label for each product includes, in smaller numbers, the unit cost. It will indicate that this product costs so many cents per ounce, in the case of cereal.
I have been told by reliable witnesses that what I always suspected is true. The lowest priced product (in the case of grocery store products) is the exact same product but in a different box. As the assembly line progresses in the factory, only the box changes. But many people think that if it is more expensive, it must be better.
A minor problem for me in shopping is that the cheaper products are usually on the bottom shelf, with a price label at floor level, so I have to get down on my knees to read the unit price. Since I am near-sighted and don’t wear bifocals, my face has to be about five inches away to see the price.
With so many choices, I am up and down, up and down. I try to ignore the other shoppers behind me. Last week a white haired woman with a cane glared down at me. Maybe I mistook her look and she only needed someone to pass along the unit prices. I ignored her.
I usually don’t look up at other shoppers from my position kneeling on the floor. They are always smiling with sort of a smirk. I don’t want to give them the pleasure.
Marketers want you to pick out a box of cereal that has some flashy name, something that a kid would choose. You could pay forty-five cents an ounce for something loaded in sugar! This is three times too much! And probably be the worst for your health.
Another example is at the toothpaste stand. Hundreds of choices! I can never remember what kind of toothpaste I like to use! It’s been six months since I last bought some. So it was always a gamble. That is until I found out that what I like (and not only because it is the cheapest) costs only one dollar a tube! The ones that will give you a whiter smile or better smelling breath are four times as much. I am surprised that they don’t promise to make you smarter—for a dollar more. As I was down on my knee at the bottom shelf getting the dollar-a-tube toothpaste, I looked up at the woman with the cane glaring down at me. I flinched and almost put my arm up ready for a blow from the cane. But she was just entertained and finally smiled.
As usual, look on the bottom shelf for the bargain.
How about the toilet paper shelves! Same problem. Two hundred feet of aisle taken up by paper to wipe your butt. Here I am with toilet paper on my list. Up to now, Marlene has always picked out the brand. She included TP on my last shopping list and told me what brand. But I forgot. So I had to take a chance. This is something we couldn’t get by without for a few days.
She said “Be sure to buy such- and-such paper. Don’t buy the cheapest.”
She knows me. I think she likes the soft feel. I never noticed any difference. It’s a macho thing. You have to at least pretend to be tough.
By now you realize that people maybe should call me ‘cheap.’ But I prefer the term ‘minimalist.’ This more accurately describes my shopping choices. Get exactly what you need, no more. That is usually the healthiest, most useful and least expensive. You are getting value for your money.

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Three years later, Obama is on his knees in front of his desk in the Oval Office. “God, it pains me to have to ask another favor.”
She stuck Her brown face through the window in the white wall. “What you want now. You promised no more favors.”
“I know, Ma’am, but only if all three wishes were granted.”
“Two out of three ain’t bad.”
“I agree. But you need to get me elected this second go-round.”
“With the way the economy is going, its going to take an even bigger miracle this time. It’s still a year to go. A lot can happen. But I can try.”

GUIDE TO PRAYER (PART II)

Governor Rick Perry sat at the dinner table across from Anita. He stuck a fork full of red meat of the famous Nolan Ryan Grass Fed Beef into his mouth.
“Anita,” he paused to chew and moved the steak bite into his cheek so he could talk, “You think this campaign is going to be tough?”
“Yes, Ricky, it will be treacherous. That is why I think you should go directly to God this time.”
“Well, Hon, you may be right. With all this prayer stuff that I have gotten into, that’s a good suggestion. I have always delegated tasks but this is important. I will go directly to Him myself.”
That night, Rick knelt down on his knees next to his bed, folded his hands, and closed his eyes. In his minds eye he could see a 12” X 12” square door in a white wall.
“God, I know you have heard from my many minions in the requests made on my behalf up to now. And you have answered our prayers. But this is important so I am coming direct to you.”
The door slid open and She stuck her head out, her brown cheeks shining in the celestial light.
“Is dat you, Ricky?”
“Oh my God.”
“Yes, I is your God.”
“Oh my God.”
“I said, I is your God. God of all Christendom.”
“Oh my God.” Rick Perry’s eyes and mouth opened wide like he’d seen a ghost.
“Out with it boy. What you want now?”
Rick cleared his throat. “Ah. . . You must know I have declared my candidacy for President of the Most Powerful Country in the World.”
“I heard rumors.”
“Can you make it happen?”
“I do have a conflict of interest. You understand?”
“Now I do understand. Yes.”
“Why would I listen to you above all those other seriously Christian candidates?”
“If you were paying attention, my group of thousands of Christians had a rally in Houston. The prayers were loud and serious.”
“Don’t dis me boy. I hear all the prayers of all the Christians. It is a massive job. So sometimes I don’t get around to some. Like the prayers for rain. They will be answered. You know they will.
“But you do represent a rabid group of voters who care about nothing else but my son, Jesus Christ. That may tip the balance in my eyes.”
“Yes, God. I and Anita have always stated our positions that you know are way to the left in the Christianity field.”
“Well, you just keep that up. I won’t promise anything, but I will watch you in the next year and make my decision just before November.”
“Thank you . . . Ah, Lord . . .Ah God. And we do ask this favor in the name of your son Jesus Christ.”
“Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Keep it up Ricky.”

The next day, Anita asked, “How did it go, Ricky?”
“All fine, woman. Now for dinner tonight I want hog jowls, chitlins, and collard greens. You got dat?”

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Texting is just more dangerous than most, and it can be proven by the authorities. But an accident caused by fiddling with the radio, putting on lipstick, eating a sandwich, picking your nose, slapping your seven-year old, reading a novel, listening to your mother-in-law, lighting a cigarette, adjusting the air conditioning, etc. are more difficult to prove.

A distraction doesn’t have to be a distraction that takes a driver’s eyes off the road. A driver may be thinking about a problem, or angry over a fight, or just sleepy.

How many accidents are caused by DWD? Even driving with another person in the car has been proven to increase the chance of an accident. In some states, a newly licensed young driver isn’t allowed to drive with a teenage friend passenger for a few months.

During driver training heavy attention should be paid to the problem of DWD, not just texting, but all other activities.

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