FREEDOM!

How pleasing it is that so many people clamor for more freedom. Especially when it comes to matters that affect them personally. I'm so in favor, but it needs to be more than just about a little shot.

 

 

 

It's my Constitutional right to drink as much as I want. Likewise, after drinking as much as I want, it’s also my God-given right to drive. FREEDOM! 

 

If I were to get hurt while driving after drinking, so what? That’s on me, a consequence of my choice of freedom. If someone else were to get hurt, we’ll, they should have kept their distance. 

 

If people express concern about being on the road with us drinkers, well, it's their option to drive or stay off the road. No one is forcing them to be around us drinkers. FREEDOM!

Also, what's all this nonsense about requiring me to have a kid buckled up in a car seat? It's my Constitutional right to let the little rug rat roll around on the seat next to me. I grew up without ever having to be so restrained in my Dad's pickup and I'm doing fine. FREEDOM!

Recently, I gave my little boy Tucker a shotgun and all the neighbors are up in arms! So what if that ten-year-old wanders around the block with it showing off? It's his constitutional right and anyone who objects is just some namby-pamby libtard. FREEDOM!

So everybody needs to get off their high horse and allow us freedom-loving Americans to do what is right and just for our liberty. Just as god gave us Trump to lead our nation to Freedom, we must continue to demand our God-given rights. FREEDOM!

Ahhh, James Thurber

The Thurber Brigade would like to apologize for this satirical sidestep that takes aim at the anti-vaxxers. But we won't. If you are one of those idiots who politicizes health issues or even worse, believes the right-wing crazies who espouse personal belief over science, fuck off. As a kid, I got my polio shot in elementary school without any nonsense about personal liberty or freedom because my folks weren’t stupid, knuckle draggers. Get the shot. Wear a mask in crowded indoor settings. Care about the public good. Be a caring citizen.

 

 

Jogging and Public Health

If you've been reading The Thurber Brigade for some time you'll know that I like running/jogging. It has been the topic of numerous blogs from dealing with the pandemic to running just for pleasure. My first experience with jogging was as a punishment.

One day at gym class at Jardine Junior High in Topeka, KS, Coach Tryon came in and was pissed. He yelled at us a bit then said we were going on a “fun run.” We got into a single line and then headed from the gym to around the football field, up an embankment to around the temporary classrooms (the grounds were large) around the main building and parking lot, eventually ending back at the gym. While the other kids bitched and moaned, I loved it and would eventually do fun runs on my own around my neighborhood. 

My gym class was being punished for the ungodly sin of leaving a towel out after a class. Who actually did it no one knew. All of us had to pay though. He was teaching us a lesson. Oh, it surely was with the idea that we should throw our towels in the hamper after using them, but it was more. He really taught us that we were all in this together. Yes, it had been one evil person who left out the towel. However, we all had a responsibility to check on everyone and make sure everyone followed the rules. 

He wasn’t teaching us a bad lesson on justice. He was teaching us a lesson, via socialization, that as a society we all had to work together.

As a society, we experience these lessons all the time in different environments.  In the army, this lesson was taught to us with even more urgency as it is critical for each unit to work as a team in order to survive. We absolutely had to look out for the other guy in the foxhole with us.

Even though this lesson of collective responsibility permeates our society, it's always a shock when people ignore it.

That is what is happening with the COVID-19 pandemic here in the U.S.  almost a third of the population has ignored their upbringing, disregarded the lesson that is pounded into each of us and has instead opted out. 

People shout they want freedom and refuse to wear a mask. However, it is not infringing their freedom, it is only an inconvenience. Like making your son wear a seat belt or telling your daughter not to run with scissors. It’s for their wellbeing as well as that of the family. 

Instead of believing that we are all in this together, this small group is saying it's all about them. Their vain individual needs are more important than the wellbeing of all of us. Screw you is their unspoken motto. 

Although wearing a mask and getting the shot will help all of us get past this pandemic, this minority of people refuse to join the team. It doesn't matter that there are far worse requirements that everyone must follow and everyone does (driver's license to drive, measles shots to go to school, take off your shoes to go through airport security, etc.), because of recent political opposition, this little act of goodwill is vilified. 

It's time for everyone to put politics behind them and join the team. Work with all of us to get over this pandemic. Just as Americans joined together to survive World War II, we need to work together to end this war.

So get the shot. Wear the mask. If not, Coach Jay is going to yell at you and take you on a “fun run.”

The Fat Shaming Blog

The United States has a big problem and it's not just the narcissist we have as president.  It's huge, really huge.  It's fat.  The US is the most obese/fat country in the world. The US may not just be the most obese but also the most overweight with over 70% of Americans in that category.

You can walk down any street in our country and in front of you will be a large group of people who are waddling off to buy a 1,000-calorie latte.  When you get on a plane to fly off on vacation, you know that secretly you’re praying that a fat guy doesn’t sit next to you and take over half of your seat as well as his own.  

Likewise, when you have a ticket to a football game, you attempt to get there first before that overly plump fan arrives to try and take your allotted few inches of hard metal bench (unless you have a pricey ticket which may have separate seats). 

I know you remember an earlier blog and are saying, “Coach Jay, you’re biased because you have a degree in Physical Education.”  What you don’t know though, is that I got that degree partially because it bothered me to run into PE coaches with bellies that looked like they had tucked a bowling ball under their belts.

Okay, I’ll be honest too, I could use shedding a few pounds.  I’ve gained more weight than I’d like lately, but I’m obsessed enough about the issue to want to do something about it.

It all began years ago after I read “Fit or Fat?” by Covert Bailey.  I was working as a study hall monitor as I attempted to break into the Austin ISD click as a PE teacher.  One of the biggest points I remembered about that book was Bailey explaining one big reason why we gain weight as we age.  It’s because we eat like we're still kids.  As a child, you probably ran around constantly, driving your parents wild but naturally burning off lots of calories.  

 As we age, we do less running around.  Unfortunately, most people don’t adjust how many calories they take in daily.  In other words, people are still eating the tons of food they could get away with as a child once they have passed college or high school and have joined the workforce.

Let me interject here that—as you can guess from above—it’s a myth that you naturally gain weight as you age.  No, it’s not part of the aging process.  Although your lean muscle mass declines with age (thereby not burning as many calories as in your younger years), the real problem is that it’s part of Americans' habit to eat too much and not exercise.

One of the things I did after reading that book is that I decided to just eat an apple for lunch.  Yeah, that’s a little extreme and I began to do a little more later in life (probably why I could use with losing a few pounds now), but that was the idea.  I no longer was as active as previously, so I cut back on a lot of calories. 

There are charts that give you estimates of how many calories you should consume (also Body Mass Index charts to see where you stand) and you’ll note that it’s less as you age, and also it’s less if you’re female. For example, an 18-year-old moderately active male should consume 2800 while a female 2000.  Once you hit 55, a male should take in 2400 cals, a female 1800. 

Of course, Americans don’t do this.  They do not cut back calories, instead preferring to amp them up.  Ergo, fat Americans.

I am often perplexed when driving home late at night and notice big crowds of people in fast food places.  I always wonder why people are eating supper so late, but subconsciously I know that they’re not eating supper—they’re eating a snack that has as many calories as supper!  That’s insane!  If you want a snack then eat an apple (50 calories) rather than that 1,000-calorie double-meat hamburger covered with cheese and sour cream and maybe an extra piece of bacon thrown on top.

Of course, that won’t happen.  Greasy food is too alluring, especially compared to an apple.  It’s also super cheap.  Plus, often it’s hard to find an apple because many cities have food deserts.  They don’t have a grocery store nearby, instead they have 20 fast-food joints. 

Fast food isn’t the only culprit in our national disgrace, we also have an easier life than previously.  Now people will drive to the corner fast food place instead of walk down the street to the Mom and Pop grocery store.  Obese children are a big problem in the US nowadays partially because they find it more fun to play games on the computer, rather than tag or hide-n-seek outdoors.

Admittedly, it’s difficult to make lifestyle changes once you’ve gotten into a well-worn and comfortable rut.  However, if you are tired of folks like me trying to shame you into changing, then maybe you should give it a shot.

There are a few simple things you can do to start the process.  One is to weigh yourself every morning.  Buy one of those cheap digital scales and hop on it when you get up.  No, it won’t take pounds off you, but it will begin to make you think about your weight more seriously.  If you weigh yourself and notice you gained a pound since yesterday, it may not stop you from grabbing that donut during a coffee break that morning, but you may begin to think twice.  And that’s a start.

Also, consciously think about those calories you consume.  We were supposed to have menus at restaurants and charts at food stores showing the calories available by now, but sadly, Trump in his anti-regulation craze has delayed (if not stopped) this from happening.  So you’ll have to either guess or look it up somewhere.  Do it though.  Find out how many calories are in that Big Mac before you buy/eat it.  Like the scale idea, it may not stop you from consuming, but again it may begin to change your perception of what you’re putting in your mouth. 

Another thing to try is to find snacks you might enjoy and that are low in calories.  For example, years ago I read an article about what are the best fruits and discovered that watermelon was #2 (guava #1).  I like watermelon.  So I decided to buy a seedless one and cut it up into small chunks and have it sitting around to snack on instead of something like calorie rich chips or M & Ms. Find one you really like and snack away.

And don't get me started on exercise. Of course you need to do this (as well as watch your calories).  Not just for weight, but because it will improve your health and mental well being.

Lastly, don’t give yourself or your friends a pass.  Don’t say “she’s naturally big-boned” or “he is too busy to exercise” or any of the hundreds of apologies/excuses you or your friends may use.  Sure, some people gain weight because of medications or other unavoidable occurrences—but those are the rare occasions. This epidemic won’t resolve itself until we all resolve to fix it. 

So next time your coworker invites you to lunch at some diner or fancy establishment, counter-offer that he/she join you on a walk to the park a few blocks away and present him/her with half of your apple.  Tell them Coach Jay insists.