A perspective on time

My Dad is the smartest man I know. He taught me early, when trying to comprehend something, to test the extremes. What he meant was to pose the problem at each end of its extreme limits. For instance, in trying to understand the impact of taxes on the economy, first imagine zero taxation, and then 100% taxation. If you can hypothesize the effects at each end, then anything in between is bounded and easier to figure out.

So recently I have been considering the coming of my seventh decade. It is November and I suddenly realized that I have a finite number of Novembers. When I was young, the supply of Novembers seemed endless – but no longer. How shall I deal with this realization?

Say that there were an infinite number of Novembers. If that were the case, then they would have no value. This November, and the next, and the 50th, and the 100th would all be of equal value because there is an endless supply. I would be tempted to squander them – making no recognition, taking no notice, they would pass unremarked.

At the other extreme, what if this were my very last November – how would I treat it? Certainly, it would bring my priorities and values into sharp relief. What makes me happy? What makes me feel fulfilled? What can I do in these last 30 days to maximize my contentment and minimize my melancholy?

The thought experiment leads to a very personal list. Yours will be different, but here is mine, in no particular order:
• Reach out to all of my loved ones and express that love.
• Enjoy my dog welded to my thigh as he sleeps beside me.
• Pass on some wisdom to kids and nieces and nephews and anyone who will listen.
• Enjoy traveling and good food and drink with dear friends (my wife is one such).
• Create a fine meal or a fun drum rhythm or a poignant short story and leave it for someone dear.
• Plant a fruit tree to provide sustenance and pleasure to assorted strangers.

But in the event, I have 10, or more likely 20, but probably not 30 more Novembers. So I will do a bit of the above but also squander some. Squandering can be pleasant too.

Taxpayer Largess

During his State of the Union address, President Obama excoriated the Supreme Court for finding that associations of investors had equal free speech rights to associations of workers. He and the Democrats have been carrying that battle flag all year, accusing the Chamber of Commerce of channeling foreign funds and warning that Republicans were raising huge amounts of secret cash.

In spite of the pervasive myth that Republicans are the party of big money, who do you think is now the single largest source of campaign funds? Why, dear reader, it is you.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is now “the biggest outside spender of the 2010 elections.” The AFSCME does not disagree. Larry Scanlon, their head of political operations, brags “We’re the big dog.”

The AFSCME, a public employee union with 1.6 million members, has entered the fray in a big way by donating $87.5 million in an effort to maintain the Democratic hold on Congress. Those funds came from member dues, member dues are collected from wages and you, dear reader, pay those wages by shelling out sales and property and income taxes.

So put down the book of fairy tales and forget the myths. The Republican cash machine is running a distant second to our own taxpayer-funded largess to the Democrats.

Another crack at youth

Nearly four years ago, as my mother lay on her deathbed, she gave me a great gift. “Irwin,” she said, “you are far too young to let yourself go like that.” A mother’s advice is never to be ignored, and on honest introspection, I had to agree with her.


At the time, being 56 years of age, I was packing 187 pounds on a 5’ 7 ½” frame. My face was puffy, my breathing labored, and resting pulse rate hovered around 85. A far cry from the farm boy and young Marine that she remembered. “Mom, you are right. I promise to change.” And I kept my word to her.

Today, quickly approaching my 60th year, I am a slim 142 pounds and have been so for over three years. I can run 5 kilometers in 23:30 – not award winning, but not shabby for an imminent senior citizen. I can bound up a flight of stairs with barely a blip in my heart rate which now rests at 56. My doctor is delighted with my blood pressure – 118 over 68. What is the source of this marvelous outcome?

Very simple – a lifestyle change involving diet and exercise. My diet is not radical. It is satisfying, varied, and allows generous portion sizes. My exercise regime is simple and sustainable. These behaviors are not forced nor consciously practiced – they are simply who I am now. Can you duplicate this result? I believe that you can.

First, the exercise program, for it was the simpler change. I started running daily – rain, shine, snow, travel, no excuse was acceptable. I always found a way to run. At first I had trouble with a mile, but slowly increased my pace and distance until I settled on 3 miles daily. I continue to this day and have no plans to change. It is now a joy and I wouldn’t give it up for anything. I fervently believe that you need to work your body to the point of heaving breath and perspiration – it is a machine that must be worked to maintain its peak condition. If you don’t like to run, then bike or swim or jazzercise, but you must huff and puff and sweat for 20-30 minutes every day. If you are out of shape, then certainly consult your doctor to devise a graduated exercise program.

Diet is a bit problematic, because you need to adopt some general rules and strategies that provide you with excellent nutrition but not excessive calories and still satisfy your hunger. I have elected a semi-vegetarian diet. Don’t get me wrong – I love meat and still eat it. But meat is no longer featured in my daily diet – it is an occasional treat. I now eat beef once a week and chicken or fish several times. But many meals are simply fruit, vegetables, pasta, legumes, rice, etc., with no compulsion to include red meat. Cheeses, olive oil, mushrooms, eggplant, etc., give me the satisfaction that I previously sought in meat.

My only oil is extra virgin olive. My breakfast is typically yogurt and a banana, but often cereal with skim milk and sometimes eggs and hash browns with toast. I love to make marinara sauce from scratch using fresh or canned tomatoes based on a recipe fondly gifted by a Sicilian relative and served, garnished with a fresh basil leaf and freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, over al dente pasta. Freshly made garlic toast from a coarse ciabatta loaf and a nice bottle of red wine complete the meal. Those Sicilian peasants surely knew how to eat!

If during the day you have an insatiable urge to snack, that’s OK. Just don’t give in to potato chips. Instead, have an apple or ripe pear or a handful of unsalted walnuts or almonds or peanuts. Snacks are good, but sugar and salt and fat should not be the theme.

Eating in restaurants is a huge challenge – some offer no healthy options at all. In general, avoid fat and salt and rich sauces. Grilled shrimp is a far better choice than shrimp scampi drowned in a white butter sauce. Salads are usually a good choice but not if drowned in a rich dressing. Get the dressing served on the side or better yet, use unadorned olive oil. Order grilled or baked fish without sauce, steamed veggies, and forget about the French fries. A baked potato is fine – but dress it with olive oil and pepper – leave the butter and salt for your fat, out of shape dining companions. Do you really need meatballs with your pasta? How about a vegetable lasagna instead. Yes you can have a small dessert – but watch the portion size or share it with your friends.

Probably the closest formal diet to mine is the low glycemic index (GI) diet. Low GI diets don’t exclude any foods, but simply ask you to balance out high GI (bad) choices with some low GI (good) foods. For instance, if you want to eat mashed potatoes (bad), that’s OK if you also eat some steamed or sautéed vegetables (good). This makes it a very easy diet to follow and proves very satisfying while still being healthy and allows you to lose weight and maintain that weight loss. It becomes a natural part of your lifestyle and you will in time find yourself planning healthy menus or selecting restaurant choices with little conscious effort and much aplomb.

There are excellent sources of information on the web regarding the low GI diet (e.g., http://www.the-gi-diet.org/lowgifoods/) and many good books. My favorite is “The Low GI Handbook: The New Glucose Revolution Guide to the Long-Term Health Benefits of Low GI Eating”, Brand-Miller and Wolever, Da Capo Lifelong Books, 4th edition, 2010.

If you are interested in regaining your youth and energy, dropping and maintaining weight, gaining energy, and looking 15 years younger, you have nothing to lose. My own journey has been successful and rewarding. Thanks, Mom.

Myths and misunderstandings

Myths and misunderstandings abound in this election season. Nearly every day, a casual reading of the newspaper reveals a flawed conclusion worthy of scrutiny.

Rep. James McGovern, D-MA, perpetuates the myth that the Republicans are the party of big money. In comments published on 10/12/2010, McGovern states that “Republicans have the money but we have the people.”

The Federal Election Commission tells a different story. For the 2010 campaign so far, the Republicans have raised nearly the same as the Democrats ($604 million vs. $592 million). That amounts to $1.02 to the Republicans for every dollar to the Democrats – hardly a landslide. But in the 2008 election cycle, the Democrats raised $1.9 billion to the Republicans paltry $1.3 billion ($1.47 to the Dems for every dollar to the GOP). I don’t recall Mr. McGovern (or Obama or NPR or the NY Times) decrying that enormous inequity. In any case, over the past three election cycles, the Democrats have raised far more cash than the Republicans.

In a recent blog (“Supply and Demand, not taxes, drive job growth"), Amy O’Brien, a very nice person I’m sure, exhibits a common misunderstanding of how capitalism works. In opining on the effects of international companies expanding operations overseas, Ms. O’Brien asks and answer: “Where does (sic) the cost savings go? To the executive team. It certainly doesn’t ‘trickle down’ like they’d have us believe.” The facts tell a different story.

When Carly Fiorina, then at the helm of Hewlett Packard, expanded HP’s overseas operations, she did so out of her fiduciary duty to her bosses – the stockholders. As a result, HP was successful and profits increased. Fiorina and the executive team were rewarded for their success. The stockholders were also rewarded by an increase in their dividends and equity.

Just who are these fat-cat stockholders? One good example is California school teachers, police, and fire fighters who, as beneficiaries of CALPERS (the California Public Employees' Retirement System), very much care that CALPERS holds over 7.5 million shares of HP and fervently hope that HP continues to be profitable.

The internet is a powerful tool. I strongly urge you to do your own research and don’t take what you hear for granted. But be careful – there are many slanted opinions on the web – right wing and left wing blogs are plentiful. Stick to objective sources such as the Federal Election Commission and CALPERS.

Media antics

As November 2nd approaches, the media are going nuts. NPR did a hit piece on Fox News this weekend excoriating Fox's presumptive bias. There were no alternate views given. NPR, CNN, ABC, and the New York Times, etc., are just the tip of the iceberg. A phalanx of Obama's media supporters are rallying to his defense, with alarming lack of balance. The phenomenon has descended even to our local, 100,000 circulation community newspaper.

It must be extremely difficult for a partisan political columnist to control his baser instincts when attempting to write a straight news story. Jim Hand proves this theory in his thinly veiled attack on Marty Lamb ("At city event, Lamb takes a poke at pork").

Lamb is a candidate for the Massachusetts 3rd District, running against longtime incumbent James McGovern. Mr. Hand rightly informs us that Lamb has proposed a plan for reducing spending and the deficit, but then gives us only a silly example sourced from McGovern. Luckily, in the internet age, we don’t need to depend on the media and can find information on our own.

A visit to Lamb’s website easily reveals his “Lamb Chop” plan. His plan is actually quite extensive, with 19 items including a balanced budget amendment, providing the President with line-item veto power, and ending off-budget expenditures. These proposals may not all be desirable or possible, but they are all worthy of debate. It is a shame that Mr. Hand was unable to research and report on Lamb’s plan, but instead relied on Congressman McGovern’s office for an “unbiased” analysis.

In the run-up to November 2, we must all take personal responsibility for informing ourselves. We aren’t going to get the straight scoop from the press.