Fatterday

Just got back from an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet with my cousin and his buddy... bad news. I don't know what my problem is, but when an endless supply of something is put in front of me, or if there is something offered for free, I feel like I must take as much of it as humanly possible. I'm such a glutton. Anyways, we three stuffed our guts until no room remained. Then drove home and i actually had a foodburp. Gross.

Ever since I stopped rowing, my health has gradually declined. It's started to level off now that I have joined a gym, but the fact is that I will never, EVER be in the same shape that I once was. I lifted weights for about 45 minutes yesterday and am now pretty sore. Pathetic. I'm trying to buy healthier food (kind of) and am actually going to go buy potatoes for possibly the first time in my life. Cut em up, add some salt, sizzle em on the stove and you have a nice lil batch of homefries, right? Is that healthy? I've honestly pondered trying one of those diets where you only drink lemon juice with cayenne peppers for 5 days. We'll see.

In the same healthy state of mind, I wanna bring some attention to the passing of Dan Fogelberg. I sort of was a 'joke' fan after hearing his song "Same Auld Lang Syne" which consistently put me into a mental trance once it played, yet everyone I sent it to told me it was the worst/corniest song they'd ever heard. I stood behind Fogelberg, however, even while others threw salt... and once I heard he was living in Maine, I realized that I couldn't start sippin' the Haterade like all my peers were. So, when a friend informed me a week or so ago that he had died, I at first shrugged it off, as all I knew about the man was that he wrote one of the greatest songs in the history of Western Civilization. But as I read more about his life and the cancer he had been battling, I became legitimately sad. Check out this letter he wrote to his fans:

To each and every man….

I cannot encourage you strongly enough to get a DRE (Digital Rectal Exam) and a PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) test EVERY YEAR.

The medical community suggests this for men over 50, but men with a family history of prostate cancer should start getting tested at age 40.

The PSA test is a simple blood test…it only takes a minute or two. The DRE, okay, every man squirms at the thought of this exam, but hey, it too takes only a minute or two, and IT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE.

Prostate cancer can be very slow growing or very aggressive, but detected early while it is still confined to the prostate gland, it can usually be treated and cured successfully.

Once it spreads beyond the prostate it is called Advanced Prostate Cancer (PCa). At this point it becomes imminently more life threatening and harder to treat. Do yourself and your loved ones a huge favor and GET CHECKED REGULARLY. I promise you, you DON’T want to go through what I’m going through if you can avoid it.

Education and awareness are key, I urge you to follow the link below to the Prostate Cancer Foundation web site and read up on how best to protect yourself and reduce your likelihood of contracting this terrible disease.

I grew up hearing stories of people battling various forms of cancer... who hasn't. I guess sometimes it is something that you really don't pay full attention to until it affects you. I hope all fathers and those of age take these testing opportunities seriously, as early detection really is your best chance in most cases.

That's it for the day.

Dan Fogelberg -- Someone's Been Telling You Stories