Standing on one leg is a sign of good health – a reprise

I wrote this post a year ago but have repeated it here as it has surprised me as one of my most liked posts. It is short and sweet and apolitical.

Whether it is the Yoga tree pose, a one leg lift pose or something similar, standing on one leg has been shown to improve one’s health. In an article from last fall, called “Standing on one leg is a sign of good health – and practising is good for you too” by Dawn Skelton of Glasgow Caledonia University, a few data based observations are noted. Here a few paragraphs:

“Research shows that people’s ability to stand on one leg is an indicator of health and that getting better at standing on one leg can add to fitness and potentially lifespan.

Being able to stand on one leg is linked to increased levels of physical activity and decreased risk of falls and is associated with both quality and length of life. Around 37.3 million falls per year worldwide are severe enough to require medical attention.

The inability to balance on one leg for 20 seconds or longer is linked in otherwise healthy people to an increased risk of small blood vessel damage in the brain and reduced ability to understand ideas. You are less likely to be able to stand on one leg without a wobble if you have a multitude of medical conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, stroke or Alzheimer’s disease). 

Pregnancy, menopause, the diagnosis of diseaseand retirement can also alter our strength and balance and ability to stay upright, mostly because of the way these affect our ability and motivation to engage in regular physical activity.

Sitting or reclining while awake is associated with lower muscle strength, risk of falls and physical function, sometimes irrespective of the amount of moderate or vigorous intensity physical activity you do. People who sit for prolonged periods are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, higher waist circumference and obesity.”

I have noted before a gerontologist said there are two key points in the life of older people that hasten their demise. One is the inability to drive, while the other is the inability to walk. If we can continue to walk on our own, the better off our health will be. The ability to maintain your weight on one leg will help in this regard. I would also argue the ability to push yourself off the floor will help when you do fall.

Standing on one leg for twenty seconds won’t occur immediately as there are balancing issues. So, start with a few seconds and stand near a wall or imbedded bookshelf where you can rebalance if you teeter a little. Even though I can stand for a count of thirty with various arm stretches in a tree pose per each leg, I still stand next to a set of shelves if I start to teeter. But, I built up to that number of counts.

So, best wishes on the one leg standing exercises. If you want to see options just google “one leg standing exercise” and see what pops up. There are a number of sites to choose from. One bit of caution on the Yoga tree pose, make sure you don’t place your foot to the side of your other knee as it will cause some undue pressure on the knee. Either go above or below the knee or cross the leg over the other.

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Wednesday wanderings heading into June

Hopefully the rain will stay away permitting a walkabout. Of course, one of our blogging friends Linda passed through town and I am still recovering from a long hike. It was great to meet her in person and my wife and I both enjoyed her company.

Speaking of aerobic activities, I was recently reminded of a charity run in Raleigh led by the NC State University students. Annually, they do a Krispy Kreme donut race. The mission is you must run a few miles to the Krispy Kreme, eat a dozen donuts and run back. My guess is the return run is more lethargic.

Staying with the aerobic theme, I was once goaded into a 10K race by my boss who was trying to get me lose a few extra pounds I had added. So, after training, I was ahead late in the race, when I heard from behind “Keith, I am going to catch you.” Not knowing he was actually spent, I sped up the rest of the race making my finish uphill even more exhausting. I was so tired, I did not care about winning at that point.

At my age, I walk and hike now as I can keep it up. When I ran various races over the years, my running revolved around preparation for each race. I would be good at running for about a month afterward, then fall off the running wagon. I did have a huge collection of T-shirts, though, both long sleeve and short-sleeve with the races.

A couple of years ago, I weaned myself of many of these shirts keeping those I liked best or were in the best shape. It was quite the memory lane as I sorted through them. The longest race I ran was a 15K, which was at the beach. I recall the last turn headed us into the wind. It felt like I was running in place, as slowly as I ran.

Even if slowly, I would encourage people to walk, hike, run or do anything aerobically on a routine basis. Preferably, doing so sans donuts and with or without the goal of a T-shirt. You will be better for it.

Stars among stars do not beget a great movie

My wife and I watched a couple of movies this weekend that had an abundance of stars. They even had relatively high Rotten Tomatoes’ scores. But, they were far from being great movies.

Last night, we watched a thriller/ comedy starring seven headline stars called “Burn after Reading.” George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Francis McDormand, John Malkovich, Brad Pitt, Richard Jenkins and JK Simmons could not make this movie great. It was at best OK, maybe earning a C- letter grade. Yet, it was disappointing given our expectations.

Earlier we watched a movie with three stars called “Certain Women” about three determined (actually four) women who are trying to make a go in Wyoming. It starred Laura Dern, Kristen Stewart and Michelle Williams. It also starred a Native American actress named Lily Gladstone who has appeared in a number of movies and had equal screen time in this movie to the three stars.

Sadly, the movie was very tedious and longer than it needed to be. It was very undeserving of its high ratings. My wife and I debated turning it off on a couple of occasions, but had invested time in it by the second decision point, so we wanted to see the finish.

We were also surprised in a good way with a couple of movies this weekend. “Head full of Honey” starring Nick Nolte and his daughter Sophia Lane Nolte is very enjoyable and charming. In a movie of stars, the younger actor steals the movie playing the older Nolte’s granddaughter as she takes care of her Alzheimer’s ridden grandfather. The other is “Stronger” about a Boston Marathon bomb survivor and double leg amputee starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Tatiana Maslany as his on and off again girlfriend who was running in the race. The story moves beyond the heroic stage of his survival and deals with the real life angst of learning to live with his setback.

It seems we are better served in our search for movies in liking the story, an actor or two, and seeing reasonably high ratings using different measures. We do not mind foreign language films with subtitles and we do not limit English speaking movies to those made in the US. These sentiments open us up to a lot of great movies. For example, with a French mother, Kristen Scott Thomas has been in several excellent French speaking movies.

So, happy hunting. And, beware of too many stars. Note, the above are merely our opinions, so that and $3 will get you a cup of coffee.

A legend has passed – Tina Turner, may she RIP

Anna Mae Bullock, aka Tina Turner, has passed away at age 83. Someone whose active lifestyle and stage performance made her consistently look younger than she was has died after a long illness. When I have been asked who gave the best concert I have ever been to, the answer is Tina Turner, hands down.

She is one of the finest entertainers who gave it her all every minute of her performance and through numerous outfit changes. She made sure we were entertained. She was often accompanied by two or three younger dancers with whom she easily kept up with while singing! She had a long list of hits she could draw from. Yet, the song that always got the crowd going was saved for her encore, “What’s love got to do with it?” When she sang this one, she would ask the women, then men sing the chorus telling the men “it should be easy, you’ve been saying this all of your lives.”

Her story is well known and portrayed in the biopic movie starring Angela Bassett as Turner. She had a physically and mentally abusive husband (and manager) in Ike Turner staying with him longer than she should have because of their Ike and Tina Turner Revue. After leaving, she went out on her own and had even bigger success, but still had to contend with Ike who made threats.

Several songs stand out in addition to the above – “Private Dancer,” “The Best,” “You better be good to me,” “I can’t stand the rain,” “We don’t need another hero,” et al made after she went on her own, and the relentless “Proud Mary” and “Nutbush City Limits” made before. In fact, her version of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Proud Mary” was her magnum opus until she went on her own. She even did a song with Phil Specter without Ike called “River deep, mountain high,” which brought her acclaim.

She was an icon, but she became a legend. And, she will be missed.

Cheap bosses

I have written several posts about some of the good bosses I have been fortunate to have. Unfortunately, the ones who I did not write about are more in number. I have also had several bosses who were beyond thrifty – they tended to be cheap in a comical and sad sort of way.

The first one I will call Carl, not his real name. Carl had a well-earned reputation of not being one who grabbed the check at a restaurant. His colleagues would use an age old term called “Short arms” or “Alligator arms” to define his bent to avoid reaching for the check. There are other examples, but one that is indicative. When I joined the company, I asked one of my colleagues why he had a water service in his office (those large replaceable jugs). Others were able to enter his office to get water. He said he paid for this because Carl was too cheap to buy water for the office.

The second boss I will call Jim. Jim was thrifty with the company money, but had no problem using it for his benefit. The best example is Jim’s hosting the annual holiday party. He would order twice the amount of liquor, beer and wine to restock his liquor cabinet. On a more daily basis, he would order wine at lunch and ask the wait person to “not skimp and fill it to the brim.” My guess is he would expense lunch with the staff.

The third one I will call Brett. Brett loved using vendor (insurance brokers, consultants, et al) money to pay for events – golf outings, dinners, sporting events, lunches, etc. The most embarrassing situation occurred when a vendor was going to fly him to an event they were sponsoring. Brett said yes, but then asked “What if I drove?” meaning would you reimburse me for the difference. It was truly a crawl under the table moment.

The fourth boss I will call Leroy. Leroy was big on doing little things at the company expense. Mailing personal correspondence on the metered mail system used for company mail is a good example. But, my favorite story is his expensing a speeding ticket he got as he was late for a meeting and driving way too fast.

Finally, I have shared the story before where my grandmother, who worked in retail, spoke up when the CEO of the company was touring their store with her boss, the store manager. The CEO asked to borrow her pen and then put it in his pocket and started to walk away. My grandmother said Mr. Brown that is my pen. My boss is too cheap to provide us pens to make orders, so I have to bring in my own pen. Think about that. Before the age of computers, orders had to be written down, so to do her job she had to provide her own pen.

These stories are sad and comical as well as illustrative. It should be noted that none of the spendthrifts would be confused with being a good boss, at least in my view. To me, it is important more to respect your boss than actually like him or her. When you see bosses like the above, there is not much respect that is elicited by their actions.

Sand castle virtues – a repeat of an important theme

I was listening closely to an old song called “Thick as a Brick” by Jethro Tull, when a phrase struck me more so than before. Jethro Tull is renowned for interesting and unusual lyrics mixed in with equal parts flute, guitars and piano making a unique sound. Yet, amidst the lyrics is a reference to “sand castle virtues.” Here is the stanza which includes the term, penned by Ian Anderson:

“And the sand castle virtues are all swept away
In the tidal destruction, the moral melee
The elastic retreat rings the close of play
As the last wave uncovers the newfangled way”

I found this reference profoundly insightful, as many of our so-called virtues are not as concrete as we would like them to be. In other words, they are easily washed away by the waves and replaced by a modified version meeting a new paradigm. This is one reason people can support a candidate or politician who changes posture on a topic. Or, when the candidate was against an issue earlier when the opposing party supported it, but now favors it as it suits his interests today, we followers can overlook the previous stance.

The tide has washed away the previous virtuous stance and has been replaced. What is interesting to me is this song was written in the 1970s, so it is referencing that these malleable virtues or positions have been around a lot longer than today. The only difference is today we can more easily find the previous position, which may have only been stated a few years before. Yet, we don’t ask questions of why you have changed. In essence, we are “thick as a brick” by not staying on top of things and realizing when smoke is being blown at us.

Speaking through my imperfections, I find it hard to fathom why we choose virtues like we are at a cafeteria. A friend of mine uses the reference to “cafeteria Christians,” not to pick on this religion, but use it as an example. Some will cherry pick the parts of the bible they support, but overlook overarching themes. But, this occurs in other religions as well.

If we focus on the overarching virtues and endeavor to do the right thing, we will be on more solid footing. It is when we try to massage a virtue to meet an ideologue or a position, do we risk our position being washed away with the tide. Here are few that would solidify our foundation:

– Treat others like you want to be treated

– Be more inclusive, rather than exclusive

– You have two ears and one mouth, use them in that proportion

– Kindness is not a weakness and in fact is a quiet strength

– It is easy to love someone when things go well; only when they don’t is it hard

– Help your neighbor when he needs it, as you may be in need one day

– Pay attention to what leaders are doing and shine a light on poor behavior

– Treat our environment well for the next generation, which is even noted in the bible

I could go on, but these are a few virtues that would not be washed away. These virtues are far more than sand castles and could stand the greater test of time and barrage of waves. And, if we did these things day in and day out, they would become ingrained making us less “thick as a brick.”

To all our sexy mothers (a reprise on a special day)

To put your mind at ease, my thoughts are for our wives and single mothers, not for my mother, who I think of differently as a son, although she was quite the looker when younger. As my wife and I drive back from visiting my mother, my wife is singing along with the Divine Ms. M as she takes her turn behind the wheel.

What we and others love about Bette Midler is the range of music and emotions she will take you through from the pious to the profane. As she can be a tad bawdy, it reminded me that my wife and the mothers of our children are like Bette and should never forget that sexy woman they are.

And, it is essential that we husbands and boyfriends should remind them of such. Erika (Erika Kind) and Holly (A Heart Afire) have written posts today about unconditional love, being not only supportive but attentive to the needs of each other. Being able to see past the shortcomings and see the beauty and sublime. As I write this, my wife and Bette are singing the lyric “Did you ever know that you are my hero?” which seems fitting.

Yet, we should never lose sight of her sensuality and sexuality. It is those things we do throughout the day that really are the beginning of foreplay. The kiss on the back of the neck, the phone call during the day, the touch of a hand, caress of a cheek or massage of her feet. Or, it may be the glimpse of how good she looks in that blouse or pair of jeans or seeing her barefoot with bared shoulders under a long sun dress while she prances around the house. Our friend Erika called them “almost shy gestures” that make a difference.

So, let’s not forget our sexy mothers. And, remember they are the women who look past our shortcomings. We guys have our share. Happy Mother’s Day.

PS – Just a sidebar, if our mothers were not found sexy by our fathers, we might not be around to read this post.

Florida and the US deserve better

Apparently, I missed the announcement of the Florida governor running for president. I have seen a well-polished commercial that masks over all his warts starting this weekend, so I guess he is in. In anticipation of this, I sent the following letter to my hometown Florida newspaper in hopes they would print it. Please feel free to adapt and use.

In my home state of Florida, several major problems go undiscussed and unresolved. Climate change, environmental maltreatment, healthcare costs, better gun governance, job retraining, fresh water shortage, etc. Instead, the governor and legislature focus on contrived or exaggerated issues like wokeness, critical race theory, banning books that dare speak of our ugly history and punishing people and companies who act in an egalitarian manner.

It is quite disappointing to this independent and former Republican to know the Florida governor threw his hat in the presidential campaign ring. We need serious minded leaders who will help all citizens and focus on real issues not contrived wedge issues. What we don’t need are authoritarian bullies who pick on people who don’t agree with them.

Rainy Day People – an encore tribute to Gordon Lightfoot, may he Rest in Peace

I learned from my brother that Gordon Lightfoot passed away at the age of 84 from natural causes. He was a troubadour to the day he died. Here is an encore post from a few years ago, that I repeated in 2021. May he Rest in Peace.

With it raining cats and dogs outside tonight (and this morning with tropical storm Elsa), this title has greater meaning. “Rainy Day People” is not necessarily my favorite Gordon Lightfoot song, but it describes my bride of 27 years. Why you might ask? Here is a glimpse of Lightfoot’s magical pen in this song (a link to the song is below).

Rainy day people always seem to know when it’s time to call

Rainy day people don’t talk…they just listen til they’ve heard it all

Rainy day lovers don’t lie when they tell you they’ve been down like you

Rainy day people don’t mind if you’re crying a tear or two.

My wife embodies rainy day people. She is a listener who people feel comfortable in being around; comfortable in confiding in. Gordon Lightfoot’s talent and the reason we both love his music is his ability to capture who we are. We saw him perform a few years ago. We enjoyed his music, but also his storytelling between songs. A man who could have many did not seem to have any airs.

His most famous song is “If You Could Read My Mind.” I think even non-Lightfoot fans could sing many of the lyrics of this song. Since it is so popular, I will skip over it to some of his lesser known, but also great songs. Another favorite is “Circle of Steel” because it tells a painful story of an alcoholic mother whose husband is incarcerated and who will lose her child in a week. The gripping, soulful lyrics include:

A child is born to a welfare case…where the rats run around like the own the place

The room is chilly, the building is old….that’s how it goes

A doctor’s found on his welfare round…and he comes and he leaves on the double.

The subject of the song is not heroic, but the words tell a story of how people struggle. Most of us don’t live in gated communities. Life is very hard for many.

For the romantic side in each of us, he write songs like “Beautiful” which has words like:

At times I just don’t know….how you could be anything but beautiful

I think that I was made for you and you were made for me

And I know that I will never change…’cause we’ve been friends through rain or shine

For such a long, long time.

He has written so many songs that were so well-loved others also recorded them. “Early Morning Rain” was sung by Elvis. “For Lovin Me” was sung by Peter, Paul and Mary. He also added a second song to the back of that one as the first part talked disdainfully to a woman scorned when the man said “that’s what you get for lovin me.” The added song he recorded had a lament “Did she mention my name” as the person who scorned his lover was feeling great remorse later on. Other great songs of his include:

“Whisper My Name”

“Sundown”

“The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”

“Carefree Highway”

“Cotton Jenny”

“Old Dan’s Records”

“Summer Side of Life”

“Cold on the Shoulder”

And, countless others, that should not be construed less by my failure to list them. Yet, let me close with a self-portrait of Mr. Lightfoot, at least by my interpretation – “Minstrel of the Dawn.” In it he says:

The minstrel of the dawn is here….to make you laugh and bend your ear

Up the steps you’ll hear him climb….all full of thoughts, all full of rhymes

Listen to the pictures flow….across the room into your mind they go

Listen to the strings…they jangle and dangle…while the old guitar rings.

Words and music. To me this is what it is all about. Gordon Lightfoot would have been an excellent poet without his music. He was lesser known, but may have rivaled even Bob Dylan on his penning of songs. Maybe the fact one was from Canada and the other from Minnesota meant they had time to collect their thoughts when it was too cold to venture outside. Yet, with his music and armed with a better singing voice that Dylan could only dream of, he was the minstrel to all of us.

For our younger readers who may not know him as well, I would encourage you to take a plunge. You can start with the songs above, but that is only sticking a toe in the water. I invite other Gordon Lightfoot fans to offer their favorites whether listed above or not. “If you could read my mind love, what a tale my thoughts would tell….just like a paperback novel, the kind the drugstore sells.”

Gordon Lightfoot – Rainy Day People – Bing video

Monday morning you sure look “fine”

With all due respect to Fleetwood Mac, allow me to borrow a line from one of their songs for my potpourri title today. “Fine” is one of those multi-purpose words, but its most elegant use is from our friends in Scotland.

In one of my favorite movies “Rob Roy” with Liam Neeson and Jessica Lange, Roy would tell his wife “you are fine to me” on more than one occasion. It meant far more than just fine, it meant she was attractive to him in more ways than one.

Here in the states fine is more used to say things are a little better than OK when asked how they are. Or, it could mean you are OK with an action when asked, So, the difference in tone can mean a great deal. If curtly used, fine may mean they are OK, but I don’t want to talk about it. I sometimes say “they are more than fine” to describe even better conditions.

Of course, it can also mean monetary penance either as a noun or verb. Recently, Fox News had two fines for defamation, one for $787.5 million and one for $250 million. After those fines, things are certainly not fine in the land of the Fox.

The funniest use is the response to a question of how attractive a woman is to an infatuated person. “She is so fine, the fine folks call her fine.” And, even Rob Roy would smile at that and call it fine.