Food A Salt...

I’ve been making a noble attempt at checking
food labels before I buy anything.
Paul and Tom are also careful about what they eat.
They have cut way down on things they used to have
more often, like deli meat sandwiches.
Sodium is the big decision breaker--and the first
thing I look at on a food label.

Why is there so much sodium in food?
The shelf life must be 100 years…
If salt could prolong human longevity, by now,
I figure I 've got a good shot at living until I’m 300.

Soup always tips the sodium scale.
I ‘X’ it off my list.
Occasionally, a TV dinner comes in handy, but TV
dinners are loaded with sodium--even those which
are supposedly healthier for you.
One dinner had 2300 mg.-- good grief,
can you imagine the size of the salt shakers?
Some little lady at the food company must use a
hose to spray all the salt on the dinners…


Grocery shopping takes me longer, but I figure
I’m saving quite a bit since my cart is mostly empty
except for salad fixings, Tilapia, fruit, soymilk,
unsalted butter, fruit juice jam and unsalted sprouted
wheat bread; also, trans-fat free Voortman dark chocolate
chip cookies, Shredded Wheat and Uncle Sam cereals.

Sounds like an exciting cart round up.
As I wait in the Express line, there’s a bulging
cart that’s been allowed, waiting in front of me.
Everything known in the artificial food world is in that cart.
By the time I reach the cashier, she smiles and says,
” You and your husband don’t buy much…”
I’m thinking, thank God…

Adaptation...

I watched my teacher friend,"Mark", have a heart attack
yesterday. He texted me Help. Very sick. Library.
When I arrived, Mark was sweating profusely.
He was wired up to an EKG machine.
Mark was promptly wheeled out by EMS and taken
to the hospital. I assured him that I'd meet him in
Emergency and not to worry.

I took his cell phone and called his son.
Without a car recently, I told Mark's son that I'd
get his dad admitted to the hospital.

Mark's in ICU after heart surgery.
He was looking forward to three job interviews this week
for new teaching positions in Tampa, Tarpon Springs
and St. Petersberg.
Each university is highly interested in Mark.

Seeing my friend fall ill is a wake up call to
modify one's lifestyle.
Mark played tennis occasionally with his son,
that being his only exercise.
I doubt if his eating habits were very good.

Events like this motivate a person to make positive
changes in health and relationships with family and God.

By The Sea, By The Sea...

New visitors to Florida often forget or
don't realize about the unkindly welcome that may
be waiting for them as they dash out into
the sparkling blue waters...stingrays.

Stingrays are prevalent during the months of May-Oct.
Swimmers are reminded to do the “Stingray Shuffle”
when entering the water. The shuffling feet create a
disturbance that causes stingrays to move away.
If a sting does occur, a hot pack treatment is recommended.

A few summers ago, my family and I went to
Marco Island's Tigertail Beach.
It's a beautiful, long, narrow stretch of sand.
One must cross a wide passage of water to get to
Tigertail from the mainland--which is best
accomplished during low tide.
Once across, your feet sink into warm talcum powder sand.
Tigertail is inhabited by shorebirds of all varieties.
It's a beachcomber's and photographer's delight.

Once we crossed over to Tigertail we spent no more
than 20 minutes before threatening dark clouds began
developing; lightning was suddenly flashing all around the island.
Some fishermen dove into the beach foliage, trying
to hide.

Grabbing our gear, we walked quickly across
the waterway, then ran as the lightning was
nearly overhead.
I suddenly screamed.
My bare foot had grazed across the fork of a stingray,
slicing the length of my foot.
We finally made it to a service hut on the beach,
just in time, before the weathervane atop
the hut was hit twice by lightning.

This adventure was not forgotten.
The need to plan for an outdoor outing is necessary,
especially during Florida's summer months.

And don't forget The Stingray Shuffle!

**Photo courtesy of Capt.Paul