50 Bucks - Change a Life with a Wheelchair

All my life I've been blessed with good health. I've broken some bones and had some stitches and caught the normal colds and viruses that are part of life but I've always come back to good health. I get to be very active. I play golf. I ski. I hike. I used to run before my knees said that's enough and now I spend a lot of time on a bicycle. I cannot imagine not being able to do those things. I think that's why a conversation I had with a man I met at church the other day is still on my mind. He is connected to an organization called Free Wheelchair Mission. They are providing wheelchairs to people all over the world - for 50 bucks. Think about it. He's on a mission. 1,000 wheelchairs from 1,000 churches. 1,000,000 wheelchairs. A simple and durable design that could have an incredible impact on a life. Check it out.

The Boys of Pointe Du Hoc

"These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs.These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war" - Ronald Reagan on the fortieth anniversary of the Normandy Invasion. You will find these words and much more in The Boys of Pointe Du Hoc where Douglas Brinkley tells us about the Rangers who attacked the cliffs and about the President who paid them homage and the speech he gave. The eyes got misty again rereading this story. I recommend it. 

Cruisin the Conejo

Went "Cruisin the Conejo" this past Saturday along with about 1300 of my best friends. We had great weather on this silver Anniversary Edition of a great ride which in part benefits Boy Scout Troop 753. They are a big reason for this ride's well earned reputation like the Eagle Scout pictured here who was one of several at the ably staffed rest stops who would patiently hold on to your bike while you refueled. I elected the "metric century" option at 68 miles with about 3000 feet of climbing. You never know what to expect in these events. The morning started cool and overcast. First guy I talked to graduated from the same high school I did just a few years before me. One fellow was riding with his 16 year old twin boys. One of them was up ahead of us because "that's the way he is" and the other was behind, struggling some with the hills. Motorpaced behind a farm tractor for a while. He was too wide to pass on the left and nearly sweeping riders into the ditch on the right. Felt strong the whole way. Attacked the hills and maintained good pace on the flat. Refueled smartly at the rest stops and lingered only briefly. Kept the waterbottle charged with electrolyte drink. Passed far more than passed me and no one went by on the climbs. One young gal latched on to my wheel for the last third of the event. Said she liked drafting behind me. She's an ocean swimmer (as in the Alcatraz swim) that wants to race criteriums. She crashed with about 5 miles to go and finished the rest of the ride without a front brake. The post ride BBQ was top notch. An excellent day overall. Great job Troop 753!       

U.S. Senators want to expel Junk Food from School

Here it comes. This is what you get from a wildly out of control Federal Government. This is how we lose our liberty. We did not elect these people to tell us what to eat at lunch. They will invite themselves into every detail of our lives as long as we continue to allow government to expand. There may be wisdom in making better choices at lunch but that is not an appropriate function of the Federal Government. In my own experience, you could not buy a candy bar from a vending machine even in high school. You could get a crisp apple which were big sellers. I have no idea when school policies changed but student nutrition is a matter best left between parents and their respective school districts. What is most serious is that it is not a stretch to get from from federal dictates on menu items at lunch to federal dictates on healthcare choices and procedures and ultimately who will be able to have those procedures. If we stay on this path, no one will like the destination.  

Covered Bridge Bicycle Classic

Hats off to my Son-in-Law, Jeff. He recruited me to ride with him in this event out of the unlikely town of Snelling, California, 30 miles east of the 99 Hwy and deep in almond and grape growing country. It was a little cool and breezy but the rest stop's chicken soup (never had this on a ride before) provided some warmth as we refueled. You might be able to tell from Jeff's attire that he is not exactly a bicycling enthusiast. But he is game for a good cause and part of a generation that is distinguishing itself for efforts devoted to something larger than themselves. Perhaps my experience is unique since my youngest son is also in the non-profit sector but I don't think so and I'm challenged by it. Check out Lifewind and Invisible Children.

Healthcare Reform?

Any discussion about healthcare in the U.S. ought to begin with a recognition of two undeniable facts - the U.S. has the finest healthcare system in the world and the vast majority of U.S. citizens are pleased with their healthcare. This does not suggest that improvements are not needed but people come from all over the world to get care in the U.S. and that alone ought to draw our focused attention when public debate turns to fixing a "healthcare crisis" and politicians seek to make "bold change". Just what are they wanting to fix and more importantly, what is the real root cause they are seeking to address? I submit that the vast majority of our elected representatives have little real understanding of the former and are mostly ignorant about the latter. We should expect more and they should be doing better. 

Today Dr. Z runs a radiation clinic. He is responsible for the cost of his state of the art linear accelerator in his office, the lease on his building and the wages of his support staff.  It is in the economic interest of Dr. Z to treat you. There are also other Dr.'s out there like Dr. Z and you have some choice about which Dr. to go to so the market tends to control the cost of treatment. You have a high probability of getting treated. If that same remedy is now controlled by the government, then the only point of cost control is in how many radiation treatments the government can afford. This could mean several things - a longer wait to get into a treatment program, maybe 3 radiation visits when you really need 6, maybe no radiation treatments because you are over the age of 70 or perhaps as in another type of medical care, a 10 month waiting list for prenatal care. The only point of cost control is you. It is in the economic interest of the government not to treat you. Healthcare isn't reformed. It's rationed - rationed like it is in every other country in the world where healthcare is run by the government. Be aware of any government representative that says their program will lower the cost of healthcare. Be very aware.

    

My Wife's Oatmeal

It's easy to find your top ten reasons for eating oatmeal. It may help lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. It can help you control your weight. It might reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and it's a good source of proteins, vitamins, minerals and antioxidents. Soy beans are supposed to be good for you too. Today at the grocery store I happened to catch a glimpse of a lady's shopping cart. There were nine, yes 9 tubs of tofu (organic tofu no less). That's a little too much tofu for me. She didn't seem too excited about it either. My wife uses this old fashioned oatmeal. Mix in some dried cranberries in the final two minutes. Serve with a scoop of yogurt in the center. Sprinkle with some toasted pecans and dust with a brown suger/cinnamon mixture (make a batch with 1/4 cup brown sugar, about 3/4 tsp of cinnamon, 1 packet of "Sugar in the Raw") and add berries liberally. Dynamite. If I see that lady from the grocery check out again I'll tell her about my wife's oatmeal.  

Health Care Reformers Ignore the Facts

The great philosopher Groucho Marx noted that politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong solutions. This seems to be especially true in the case of health care reform. History is littered with examples of good intentioned government programs. In virtually every case those same programs under deliver, cost far more than expected and create unintended consequences that require yet more spending and more regulation. We need to give serious thought and discussion to any health care reform. I vote no to giving it to the same people that brought us the mortgage meltdown, control social security, manage immigration policy, or run the railroad.