I have two primary arenas of socio-cultural interest – Sports & Politics. I endeavor to keep them separated here (and am
managing to do so better than I would have ever imagined). Both of these arenas are septic fields overflowing with angst, anger and toxic malevolence. ….. The next several months are going to see that toxicity go thru the roof. I offer a few suggestions for maintaining a modicum of perspective balance in your life…….
As evident this week, we are in a state of flux over our weekly BLSays column schedule. Monday & Thursday doesn’t fit that well with the Saturday radio show and our new Monday column on chapelboro.com. We may shift to a Tuesday / Friday schedule …… or maybe not. Maybe a Monday / Friday?? For now just hang loose until we figure it out.
Crystal Light, Daily walks, Audiobooks …… and minimal Gluten – There you go. BobLee’s handy dandy menu for slowing down your descent into the maelstrom of terminal insanity. Unless a concrete colon IS your objective? Will it work for you? No clue….. but that combo has definitely benefitted me.
I use Crystal Light (or any of numerous other no-calorie water flavorings) to get myself to drink a minimum of two quarts of water per day. I keep a 32 oz water bottle in the fridge and take a long swig anytime I walk by. Everyone knows water is great for keeping one’s innards well lubricated and reducing that “I’m empty – feed me” feeling. But, for me, just “drinking water” was always too boring so I could never incorporate it into a regular daily regimen. For the past 18 months I have.
We used to buy Diet Coke by the case. We haven’t bought any Diet Coke for over a year. Don’t remember the last time I had a “regular” Coke or Pepsi…. or Sweet Tea. Yeah, I know going off Sweet Tea is sacrilegious. What can I say?
Over the past 18 months I’ve walked over 1,300 miles over the local Greenway system. I was doing 5-miles/day but have cut back to around 3/day lately. I don’t powerwalk nor do I stroll. I walk briskly at about an 18-20 minute/mile pace. That pace allows me to smell the roses and commune with Ma Nature to the degree that works for both me and Ma. Sometimes I walk in the AM, sometimes in the PM. I am not a slave to a schedule…. but I walk 8 outta 10 days.
The buffer seasons of Spring & Fall are the optimum walking seasons. Duh. No surprise there.
An odd component of my walking regime is that I purposely wear nothing to indicate my sports or political partisanship. I don’t interact with fellow travelers other than a polite smile and a subtle wave but I try to do that with everyone I pass on the trails. Most return in kin….. some don’t. I think my purposely non-partisan appearance ups the number who return my smile and/or slight wave.
My favorite fellow walkers are families on bicycles and moms with toddlers in strollers. I’m sure X number of them don’t vote like I do nor cheer for the teams I cheer for; but the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy of the Greenway removes that animosity from the interactive equation
Bicyclists and cars get along like Palestinians and Israelis; but I’ve never had a problem sharing the Greenway with bicyclists.
I’m approaching the 200 audiobooks mark. 95% escapists action-adventure-mystery fiction with the occasional Outliers or History “listen” sprinkled. Currently “realistening” to a history of the Commanches. Audible.com is as efficient a buying process as there could ever be. 99% glitch-free. I am maxing out my 10-12 favorite authors but somehow manage to find new ones. See my list of favorites there on the right. I have my walk / realisten system down to a science with the only variable which trek I want to travel today….. around one of several municipal lakes or thru a wooded glade or pass a meandering river or even just “around the neighborhood”.
I never walk with anyone even Blondie. She walks too but we never do so together. The solitude (man, nature & his audiobook) is a key component in the process at least for me.
The minimal Gluten thing is a new wrinkle just added six months ago but already seeing benefits. By not eating “bread” one eliminates the easy temptation of a fast-food sandwich. “Minimal Gluten” means I will occasionally eat wheat in the form of a thin-crust pizza but I’ve eliminated 90% of “bread” from my diet with nothing but much less digestive issues as a result.
None of the afore-mentioned elements required extreme self-discipline on my part. I managed to incorporate each of them into my daily lifestyle with minimum inconvenience and noticeable positive benefits. I don’t fight any tendency to “go off the wagon” on any of them.
Back to my original point that much of my work day is spent in partisan combat. Not unlike a vice cop or a proctologist….. I have to interact with my fellow man in his/her least desirable form. I suppose I could be a copywriter for Hallmark and live in a world of rainbows, balloons and smiley faces but that’s not the path I’ve chosen.
Whatever path you’ve chosen or find yourself in at this time of your life, I hope it involves some forms of daily enjoyment….. some release valve from the derm & strang.
This website can’t always be that cozy corner. We do slog thru the muck & mire here because there is muck & mire that must be slogged thru….. but if you can occasionally remove your partisan armor, set down your sword & shield and offer a polite smile to a wayfaring stranger…. it might benefit you AND the wayfaring stranger.
Gameday With The Good Sports – Art C & BobLee debuts Saturday (tomorrow) at 10:30 AM…. LIVE from Southern Season at U-Mall in Chapel Hill on WCHL 97.9 FM. Art, Ron Stutts and I did a dress rehearsal yesterday. The on-air chemistry was pretty remarkable. Stutts “suggested” I not use one particular sorta-political simile…. reminding me “Dude, this is Chapel Hill remember”. ☺
Will it be your same old-same old pre-game kool-aid slurping rah-rah show? Well DUH – NO! It is Art & BobLee for heavens sakes.
Will we piss off some folks? Well DUH, it IS Art & BobLee for heavens sakes.
Will we have nekkid cheerleaders and kute kittens videos? Not in Week One.
Tune in to 97.9 FM in Chapel Hill / Derm and parts of Western Wake….. or download the chapelboro app from their website and listen via your smartphone from “anywhere” ….. or wait 48 hours for the show to be archived and available right here.
