Leapin into Better Health with Jesse James

My legs burn...a feeling of being lightheaded, and the sensation of still moving....Yep, I actually had my first workout this morning! As I wrote in my last post, ol' Doc C is really riding me about my health, and this week I got the grim news. Do or die time, so to speak. So I joined the local health club yesterday and pumped myself up for a change in habits.

Kathy is supportive, in her own way. At 5am this morning, looking at me from her comfy chair with both hands cupped around her coffee, the look in her eyes one of sympathy and concern, with a touch of amusement all rolled into one..."Don't over do it dear." I was just thinking about that myself, which is why I took my own personal trainer to the workout with me. Nick, my 16 year old, goes through this kind of training for football, and I knew he could guide me proper.

Did just over 1.6 miles on the treadmill in 30 minutes, the first five of which was spent with a touch of panic trying to figure out the fastest way to slow that damn thing down. The rest of the time was comparing Nicks workout to mine, envying him as he doubled my speed and didn't seem to break a sweat...Ahhh, to be in my teens again. Once I was on it for a while it actually felt good, and I can honestly see why other people enjoy working out. Now, let's see if I'm one of those people. It was a great way to start Leap Day!

Meanwhile, Kathy says she's having another banner month on Legends Of America. Over 400 thousand unique visitors, with 32 Million hits in February, as of last night, and she still has today. The biggest drive to her site has been Jesse James. Evidentially there were a lot of people like us who decided to wait for the DVD to see "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford". Brad Pitt did a respectable job playing Jesse, and based on everything I've read about the James clan, I really think this movie probably had more truth than we'll ever know. It didn't portray Jesse as some kind of hero..more like a paranoid killer on the run, and one who finally decides he's done hiding. Kathy's Jesse James page, along with Robert Ford, were both in the top ten on Legends Of America all month. Jesse James page has been number one on her site for the past couple of weeks.

Kathy and I are headed back to Warsaw this weekend, spending some time at the lake house. Despite the fact I come home Monday, Kathy is sure to stay a couple of weeks and enjoy the peace and quiet. It's funny how much history you can find in your own back yard. Kathy had a small story on Warsaw, but just this week decided to really dig into the town's past. She's busy in her office now wrapping up on probably 5 pages of wild times during the 1800's, that included the town being burned by Union Soldiers. She'll load em up today I suspect, and I'll come back into the blog and link it here.

For now, I'm finally settling back into the old normal routine, heart rate has slowed and the dizzy spell is gone. Gotta say, that first cigarette when I got home just wasn't as good, so I guess that's probably my next task....that'll be a while though...gonna eat this elephant one bite at a time.

Did they Worry about Cholesterol?

I've been trying to convince myself since late last year that 2008 is a turning point. I have to make a change for my health if I want to enjoy this life more. So, here I am smoking my cigarette, ready to go down stairs and rustle up some bacon and fried eggs (maybe some biscuits and home made sausage gravy on the side...mmmmm), pondering what it is that I can do different.

The points really being driven home at work. Two of my co-workers ride their bikes to the office, and one of them, Warren, rides his bike every chance he gets. Even has a daily blog where he sets the pace for others, writing about his ride through the slush and sub zero temperatures. Jim, the other co-worker, eats healthy foods for lunch and doesn't take part in greasy menu's. It keeps the issue in front of me constantly, and with my doctor getting more and more worried about my Cholesterol, weight, smoking, etc, my mind is a flurry of ways I can justify not changing anything at all.

Really, if you look at how people lived in the Old West, did they have to worry about all this health crap? For instance, a quick search on Legends Of America reveals plenty of insight on the diet of a Cowboy. Under Frontier Recipes I find "Fried Camp Apples". The list of ingredients is simple and delicious. Apples, Sugar, Cinnamon, and Lard or Meat Droppings (yum yum!). And then theres other Old West Recipes like BBQ Biscuit Pie, Buffalo Steaks with Chipoltle-Coffee Rub, and oh, one of my favorites, Cowboy Sausage and Sweet Taters. All with good ol fashion wholesome ingredients. Didn't seem to raise any alarms over Cholesterol back then, why do we care so much now?


And if they did get sickly, there were plenty of easy remedies to cure it. Got the Croup? Pack sheep droppings into a tobacco sack and soak in warm water. Then just apply the sack to your neck and wear it until the choking spell is over. Worried about Cancer? Eat three almonds a day. Have a Boil? Catch a Road Runner early in the morning, kill it, boil it and eat it...the boil will go away. Eat an onion sandwich and wash your hair to prevent a cold, and for a cough, boil cow dung in water and gargle with it three times a day. They even had a cure for stuttering, just hit the person in the mouth with a chicken gizzard.

Seems to me if those living in the old west could eat the way they did, and cure things so easily, why are we so obsessed with our health these days? Of course, I'm sure someone's going to point out that the life expectancy of someone born in the US in 1900 was only 47 years. Guess that means I have to look deeper for more excuses.

I'll leave you with some old west wisdom. "Life is not about how fast you run, or how high you climb, but how well you bounce". In the meantime, I smell bacon!