Man doesn’t live by coffee alone — or this man doesn’t, anyway, although some days it seems that way. For quite a while now, well before we left Second Chance Ranch, my morning ritual has included a handful of vitamins and supplements, washed down with a nutrition drink.
Deb chooses what we take, placing tablets and capsules into a gizmo that organizes them by day. I readily admit that there are times when it’s the only way I know what day it is.
And coffee comes first — always.
The vitamins-and-supplements regimen is about the only dietary concession I make to age. I rarely eat an actual breakfast. Lunch is a bit more common, but never if I’m working or, say, driving. (A mid-day meal tends to make me drowsy.) I snack throughout the day, have a single meal late in the afternoon, and maybe snack some more in the evening.
Fresh is good, home-cooked is best, but I don’t get hung up on that. I’m not seduced by fad diets, either. I have no problem whatsoever with GMOs, processed foods or so-called “fast food.” Ditto salt, refined sugars, trans fats, carbs and anything touched by Monsanto, Cargill or Tyson. I simply don’t care.
This sums up my approach:
“A healthy diet won’t help you live longer. It’ll only seem that way.”
And so I eat what I please, when I please. Give me quality-of-life over quantity. I choose what I like over what’s “good for me.”
As much as I enjoy beer, bourbon and the occasional cigar, I don’t indulge as often (or as much) as you may think. I don’t remember the last time I judged getting drunk to be a good thing. It’s been eight years since I gave up cigarettes and started vaping.
I pop a couple of migraine pills as-needed, once every couple of weeks on average, but I take no prescription meds. The only malady I can claim — Graves Disease — I monitor with common sense.
Other than aching joints, the price of aging, I feel just fine. I have the strength and stamina I require to live the life I choose. When I check my vitals, the readings cause me no alarm.
Were I to change anything, I might do a bit more light hiking. (That’s not the same as “walking.” Hiking actually goes somewhere.) Last weekend’s canoeing rekindled an old interest of mine, and I’ll see if Deb wants to take that up with me in the spring. I may try another joints-and-muscles supplement, since glucosamine-chondroitin didn’t do a damned thing.
But all things considered, what I do appears to work for me. There are no guarantees, of course, and I don’t aspire to be anyone’s role model, so you do what works for you.
The rain continues, a second straight day of what looks like three. Beginning this afternoon the wind picked up, 25mph gusting to 40mph, so (again) we’ve stowed and secured our outdoor setup.
A wet and windy tomorrow is supposed to give way to a perfect autumn weekend. We’ll see about that.
I may walk the edge of the woods later and forage for usable materials to start a fire in our ring. I’ve grown rusty and spoiled, and I could use some practice under these conditions.
From our campsite we can’t see the wooded slopes and ridges of The Ozarks, either in Missouri to the north or in the Boston Mountains to the south. We’re using the trees that border our campground as an indicator of fall color.
In just the last 48 hours we’ve seen a change. Whether it’s due to damp weather, cooler temps or simply the march of time, the foliage is starting to pop ’round here. We’ll venture out this weekend and see what the show looks like farther afield.
Between now and then we’ll immerse ourselves in ease, tidy things up a bit and do stuff that needs doing. Today it was battery maintenance, cleaning fan screens and swapping HVAC filters.
Life is good — cold and wet, but good.
Deb and I subscribe to Fox Nation, a paid streaming service of Fox News. We appreciate the independent nature of its voices and content, free of broadcast constraints. We consider it a wise investment.
Tucker Carlson, during his regular Fox News show last night, teased an upcoming “Tucker Carlson Originals” series on Fox Nation. Called “Patriot Purge,” it dissects the events of January 6th.
The first of three installments premieres November 1st.
I’m looking forward to it. I have no doubt that “Patriot Purge” will be a high-quality report, typical Tucker — well-researched, corroborated thoroughly and presented responsibly.
I’m equally sure that it’ll piss people off. In fact, it already has.
Leftist media pounced immediately. Post, Times, Stone, Beast, Esq, Huff, the lot. Most of their whining centered on two points — the term “false flag” in the trailer Tucker aired last night; and Geraldo (who has a big new Fox News contract and feels licensed to take potshots) calling “bullshit” on Tucker for daring to undertake the report.
It’s worth pointing out that none of these critics has seen “Patriot Purge.” All of them hate what Tucker stands for, repeatedly using the word “debunked.” (Translation: “What he says departs from The Holy Narrative.”)
That narrative came together in the two weeks following January 6th, demonizing not only those present in DC that day but literally half the country. And I’m here to say that all observations and commentary crafted during those weeks — including mine — are irrelevant.
Whatever happened at the Capitol on January 6th, no matter how sinister the Left says it was, is nothing compared to how the State has exploited it to justify crushing Liberty. A locked-down “inauguration” was only the beginning.
Introducing the “Patriot Purge” trailer last night, Tucker said this:
“The U.S. government has, in fact, launched a new war on terror, but it’s not against al Qaeda, it’s against American citizens. Nothing like this has ever happened in the history of our country. This is an attack on core civil liberties and it’s essential that you know what’s happening — and that you resist it.”
That’s exactly right. I’ll be watching.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath
#LetsGoBrandon #FJB
(Today’s header image: Deb and me, on the Buffalo River last Sunday.)