Category: worries

TODAY’S WORRY

Today there was an article from AP-Health titled, “CDC Links Extra Pounds, Lower Death Risk.” It seems that perhaps earlier studies were incorrect in telling us that if we carried some extra weight we might as well start picking out our coffins. There is instead a benefit in weighing more than the guidelines say. In fact, skinny old people have an increased risk of dying! Of course, they are not talking about really obese people. Obese people are still at an increased risk due to high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes. But for all you people who are obsessing about that extra 10-20 pounds? Relax. It’s okay now. And I just want to thank all the people who did the earlier studies who made us feel desperately awful about ourselves.

TODAY’S COMMENT

What is it about ritual we enjoy so much? In our family, we have three big rituals a year – Christmas, Thanksgiving and Passover. We usually try to do them on the actual day of the holiday but sometimes that just doesn’t work with everybody’s schedule. So Christmas might be a day or two late or Thanksgiving , a week early. Last night, five nights early, we celebrated Passover. No one in our family is religious but we still like this holiday (ditto for Christmas.) We eat the same large dinner with the same components, we sing the same songs and make the same stupid jokes every year. Just like the clues at Christmas or the menu of “must have” food at Thanksgiving, the ritual is what binds us together, defines our little family “club” and actually makes us, us.

TODAY’S WORRY

Yesterday, we left Barstow, California around 7 AM. It might have been a little later because we filled an extra cup of coffee for the road. We had to make a couple of four-way stops before we got on the highway. Since Route 58 isn’t all freeway, we had to slow down for the light at Lenwood Road but after that averaged between 65 and 70 miles an hour all the way to Kramer’s Junction which is about 33 miles from Barstow. As I slowed down because I wasn’t sure whether the light would stay green, a large truck pulled out causing me to slow further, then someone crossed the street , and one of those double semis took the opportunity to pull in ahead of me. We went quite slowly since it took such a big truck a while to pick up speed. About two miles up the road traffic came to a halt. There had been a head-on collision between a materials tanker truck and a Saturn. The accident, which was a fatality, happened at 7:35 AM. The distance from our starting point was about 35 miles. All the little things that we did, saying an extra word to the hotel receptionist, filling an extra cup of coffee, slowing down for trucks and pedestrians, kept us about 5 minutes behind the time of the accident.

In the classic example of Chaos Theory, “the flapping of a single butterfly’s wing today produces a tiny change in the state of the atmosphere. Over a period of time, what the atmosphere actually does diverges from what it would have done. So, in a month’s time, a tornado that would have devastated the Indonesian coast doesn’t happen. Or maybe one that wasn’t going to happen, does. (Ian Stewart, Does God Play Dice? The Mathematics of Chaos, pg. 141)”

So all the little things we did seem to have kept us out of harm’s way but perhaps if we hadn’t done them, the results of that morning might have been completely different for everyone involved.

Eat, drink and be merry…

TODAY’S CONGRATULATIONS

I have been corresponding with Patrick who is Ryan’s sister’s boyfriend. Professionally, he is an actor and on the side he creates crossword puzzles. Patrick and I realized we had a naturally affinity for one another when we bandied about such words as amah, nene and ani. These are words that every puzzler needs to know. From time to time he has sent me a puzzle that he is developing. I have fun solving them and making suggestions. He has been submitting his puzzles to the New York Times Crossword puzzle editor, Will Shortz. This week he sent me the exciting news that one of his puzzles has been accepted and will appear in a Thursday paper. For those of you who don’t do these puzzles, Monday puzzles are the easiest and the escalate in difficulty through Saturday. A Sunday puzzle is about the level of a Thursday. So this is a great success for Patrick. Congratulations!

TODAY’S WORRY

Why do we lose touch with people? Or why don’t we work harder at staying in touch? It is so easy to communicate these days. There’s instant messaging, email, telephone and letters. My cost per minute to make a long distance phone call is less than $.03. That means I could talk to a friend every week for a half an hour and it would only cost $.90. Is it just that we are lazy? Or do we sometimes let too much time go by and then it seems either monumental to catch up on all the details or too embarrassing because it’s been so long? I just spent a week with my dear friend Sophie. We really haven’t had much time to visit over the past few years. It was so lovely to be with her again. We spent time with our other good friend, Eileen. It makes me truly value these friends who know me so well and with whom I have so much shared history. From now on, I will do better at keeping in touch.

TODAY’S WORRY

About 75% of Americans are Christians. About 25% of Americans are either non-Christians, agnostics or atheists. Part of the greatness of America is that these groups can live together in harmony. Throughout history, various religious groups have been at each others throats for different beliefs. There is even bloody mayhem today within major religious groups – Catholics and Protestants (both Christian) in Northern Ireland; Sunnis and Shi’ites (both Islamic) in Iraq. Our Founding Fathers did a great job in framing our Constitution and Bill of Rights to make sure that there is no interference by religion in the affairs of state. So I found President Bush’s comments after attending the Pope’s funeral disturbing. According to an AP article, Bush is quoted as saying, “No doubt in my mind the Lord Christ was sent by the Almighty,” Bush said. “No doubt.” This type of remark might be appropriate in his church, or to his minister or to his family but not to reporters on Air Force One in his official capacity.

TODAY’S WORRY

I was alerted to the following story on salon.com by Sarah, the Braisin’ Hussy. The Vatican had apparently limited the size of the official U.S. delegation to five. I had heard on the radio that President Bush and his wife and former presidents Bush and Clinton were going. I wondered about President Carter. He was not so great a president but he is a great humanitarian. However, according to the aritcle “former President Carter had hoped to go as well, but backed off when told the Vatican had limited the official delegation to five “and there were also others who were eager to attend,” said Jon Moore, a spokesman for the Carter Center in Atlanta.” And who was this person more important to have attend than President Carter? Condoleezza Rice.

TODAY’S WORRY

I don’t like heights. More specifically, I don’t like driving in high places. Over bridges and overpasses. On cliffs. It is a mind numbing, palm sweating, getting the shakes experience for me. I don’t know why. But, ta-da, on Friday I took a small step towards getting over my phobia. I had to pick up my dear friend, Sophie, at the airport. This meant I had to drive through the Virgin River Gorge. It was so much more important to me to see my friend than to give into the fear. So I put on Original Spin really loudly, sang at the top of my lungs, went slowly, and did it. Much later that night, I drove through another spot that makes me uncomfortable, but, in the dark, you can’t see what you are afraid of. Hmmmm. I need to think some more about this.

www.marymom.com will be on vacation until Tuesday, April 5, 2005. I hope you’ll come back then. Have a happy weekend. Marymom