I am so happy and fortunate to be living in the digital age. Yesterday was Mother’s Day and I had a wonderful day interacting with messages on email, Twitter, Facebook, Skype and the telephone.
Our son Thom is like his father. He has a wealth of information, but does not share it until it comes up in conversation. So many times I say to Steve, “did you know blah blah blah?” Steve always replies yes, and usually fills in details about the story I didn’t know.
Our son Chris is more like me. When he learns something, he shares it with the world. I have learned a lot from Chris, especially from his Sunday newsletter. If you are not receiving it, I suggest you sign up for it, here. You just never know what you are going to get.
Action
For instance, this week Chris talked about HIIT (high intensity interval training). That happens to be the same training his brother Thom has been talking about for years.
Chris pointed out the fact that “You and I can read all we want. We can “collect ideas” all we want. Until we give it a go, we won’t know how it “really” works.”
Reading
Chris says read. Read everything. You never know when that information will come in handy. That is a true statement. Let me give you two examples.
Steve an I are big fans of Michael Connelly. He writes murder mysteries. His main hero, Harry Bosh, spent time in Vietnam. In more than one book, Harry talks about being a tunnel rat and relives his experiences in Vietnam. I could never really wrap my head around it. I envisioned a short tunnel.
In Satori, by Don Winslow, he explains the tunnel system in Vietnam. When it was fully functional, it was more like an underground city. Satori was a great book with lots of action and I highly recommend it. It gets a double recommendation for explaining the tunnel system. That was an “ah ha” moment for Steve and me.
Plant Based Eating
Steve and I are trying to be more mindful of what we eat. We are eating more plant based food. We feel better. Not only that, we are having a fun time in the kitchen experiencing new foods and food combinations.
TMAO has shown up in my reading a lot recently. It is found in red meat. Now for the most recent shocker, to me, TMAO is also found in egg yolks. According to Wikipedia: TMAO alters cholesterol metabolism in the intestines, in the liver, and in artery wall. In the presence of TMAO, cholesterol is increased deposition of cholesterol in, and decreased removal of cholesterol from, peripheral cells such as those in the artery wall. Vegan and vegetarian diets appear to select against gut flora that metabolize carnitine (in favor of other gut flora more coordinated with their food supply).
The good news is that “the gut” can process TMAO in small amounts. That means I can have steak every few weeks or eggs every few weeks. That is important to me because I have excessively high cholesterol.
Hooters
We recently visited our godchild, Kathleen Cassidy and her husband Tom, in Phoenix, AZ. She will be attending the Phoenix School of Law there in September. For lunch we decided to go to Hooters. Steve and I had never been there.
I was quite surprised. I honestly believed that the waitresses were topless and that it was a bar for rowdy men. That is not true. They are fully clothed. You can just look at the picture above and make your own evaluation of their clothing. The clientele were mostly business people.
Our waitress, Britney, was the most adorable young lady. She has personality plus. She and Kathleen, who had been there before, chatted it up like they were long lost buddies. Service was great. The food was good.
I later learned, from an article in USA Today, Hooters is 30 years old. They plan several updates including a more robust menu. More dinner salads will be included too.
When we were ending our meal, Kathleen asked, Britney, if she would ask “the girls” to have their picture taken with Steve and me. I have to tell you, Steve gets quite a bit of mileage out of that white beard.
There was soon a flurry of activity as everyone hurried to get in place for the picture. Everyone was kind, friendly and generous of spirit. I am so happy we went to Hooters.
Recommendation
Just keep on learning – all that you can learn. Google can be your best friend.
What can you add to this list?
Mom Pop Pow – Where You Can Do It If You Try
Diane Brogan
