A Demon Inside Me

Posted on 11/11/2021 by Grumpa Joe

It was a bit chilly this rainy afternoon when I attended the OASIS monthly meeting. The theme today was “Being Thankful.” The Lions club turned out in healthy numbers and that was a good thing. Because there was a Thanksgiving turkey dinner with all the trimmings, it took a bunch of Lions to serve the meal to the twenty visually impaired people in attendance. For the second time this week, I ate a meal from Cup A Joes cafe. They were identical, and both were delicious, KETO be damned. I can feel the slippage away from a rigorous diet in my waist. I am mentally defeated and rapidly succumbing to the carbohydrate world of mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, bread-stuffing, pumpkin pie, and more. The only thing KETO on my plate was the turkey.

In my mind I am building a case of determination to get back to a rigorous KETO meal plan with 1500 calories per day. I will not buy new clothes to match my waist again.

The biggest challenge will be getting my breakfast back in control. Ever since I found KETO bread at the grocery I have been living carb high. The bread is certainly lower in carbs than normal sliced white bread, but two slices is just two grams away from the daily carb-limit of twenty.

Once I finally make up my mind to get off bread again the sweets will also fall off the plate. I’ll again be substituting berries for dessert. One reason I fell off the plan was a sudden distaste for eggs. Eggs are a staple for KETO breakfast plans. Hard boiled, scrambled, omelets, poached, after awhile the palette simply rejects eggs no matter how they are cooked or disguised. Another mistake I have made is to allow portion control to become a dirty phrase.

My, my how I have to get myself back into control once more. I will add one more thing before I sign off. It is a whole lot easier to gain weight than it is to lose it. With Thanksgiving right around the corner the temptation to gorge on carb-calories becomes a demon inside me.

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Day 23-Quarantine-Group Meetings

Posted on 09/04/2020 by Grumpa Joe

This week I had opportunity to participate in three group meetings by phone. All three were different and I learned a lot from each, mostly how to operate an online video meeting. This afternoon was probably the most interesting because it was the most attended with eighteen participants, and because it was a support group for the visually impaired, not everyone had video. The service is called ZOOM. I have to admit it is a far cry better than the one I used when I was still working twenty years ago. I guess there has been some advancement in the past two decades.

Why am I attending a support group for the visually impaired? Several reasons: 1.) I am a Lion and we are Knights of the Blind as commissioned by Helen Keller (blind, deaf, and mute) in nineteen twenty-five. 2.) As a Lion, I want to understand the hardships that visually impaired people encounter.

There are many things that sighted people take for granted. Like being able to get into a car and to drive someplace, read a menu at a restaurant, or social isolation. What I was surprised to learn from this group is that they all sound as frustrated as I am about having the stay in place. One would think that blind people would be stuck at home most of the time, but they are not. Many spoke about not being able to get out to the store, or to church. Vision impaired people have trouble finding transportation, but somehow manage to find rides when they want them or need them. Most have recruited support systems for themselves.

This meeting was semi-formal in that the leader opened with an uplifting prayer and started the conversation. After that it became a friendly banter between people just as any group of friends would have. The group leader announced that they will hold a ZOOM meeting every week at the same time until such time as the COVID-19 is dead.

The second meeting I attended was a Lions Club Board meeting. I recommend we do this on a continuum since we finished a pretty complete agenda in thirty-five minutes. The third meeting was a Lions training session. The leader conducted a Power Point slide show with lecture while the attendees all showed at the side of the screen. During the question answer period attendees clicked on a icon of a raised hand so the moderator could give him the floor. This also worked good because it cut out people talking over one another. This meeting also lasted forty minutes.

One great thing that COVID-19 is doing is forcing us to use the technology that is available to us. This evening, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday, parishes all across the country will conduct video services.

I plan on opening a personal ZOOM account for my own use so I can gather all my grandkids together from three states for a face time phone chat on Easter Sunday.

Easter was always a huge celebration for my family. I have fond memories of my mother cooking and baking for the Easter morning breakfast, and the family gathering that followed. My wives Barbara, and Peggy celebrated the holy day similarly even though one was of Polish descent and the other Irish. Only the foods varied. My daughter and daughters-in-law have continued the tradition within our family. Now that we are a thousand miles apart it is difficult if not impossible to carry on the tradition as a combined family. That is why I am hoping the ZOOM service can allow us to gather as a group once again.

 

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