Category: Healthy living
-
What, me anxious?
I like to think of myself as a self-aware kind of guy—attuned to my emotions, noticing them as they arose, acknowledging them, and letting them pass. But this past year, with the death and destruction of Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina, followed by the election of an ignorant, vengeful, narcissistic wannabe dictator, my mind…
-
Five Octogenarians Carry on the Handball Tradition at the Downtown Asheville YMCA
While games in which the player strikes the ball with the hand have been around for thousands of years, the modern game of handball took root in this region at the Asheville YMCA in the late 1960’s. Dozens of handball players at the Asheville Y have come and gone over the decades, but the numbers…
-
WHAT, ME 80?
An Octogenarian Looks Back on His Path to Good Health If you’d known me when I was in my 20s and 30s, a hyper-masculine, self-indulgent, beer-swilling rebel (without much of a cause), you might have wondered if I’d ever reach the age of 40. I ponder sometimes if I even wanted to. But here I…
-
What We Did on Our Summer Vacation!
Realizing that Shonnie’s graduate studies at Western Carolina University were about to resume and Gracelyn would soon begin online classes at Evergreen Community Charter School, we began planning a break from our usual pandemic routines.
-
With your support we made it!
YES! We made it! Shonnie’s breast cancer diagnosis in November and Gracelyn’s intuitive sense that it was essential to remain near her mom at all times, led to weeks of unsettledness and uncertainty for our little family.
-
My One and Only Sex Education Class
In 1958 during my sophomore year at Tullahoma (Tennessee) High School, every boy in the school was ordered to the gymnasium bleachers with the male teachers for a sex education talk by a local physician, Dr. Ralph Brickell.
-
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Co-op
We popped into French Broad Food Co-op during the Women’s March in Asheville on Saturday for a few snacks and something to drink. And as I wandered the aisles, I thought, maybe it’s time to re-up our membership at the Co-op. Then, today I found this piece I wrote almost 20 years ago (March 2,…
-
Homemade popsicles . . . yum!
Gracelyn and I made and enjoyed yummy homemade popsicles today–lots of nutritious ingredients with no added sugar. Later I found myself thinking that she probably got more essential nutrients from that one popsicle than most U.S. kids get from what they eat in an entire day. 🙁 Today’s recipe started with a cup or two…
-
Reigniting the vital fire of life
Saturday morning, alone in the mist and drizzle. Stillness envelops me. No sound but my footsteps, the drip of the moisture from the trees, the occasional songs of the birds. How blessed I am to live in this part of the world—hundreds of miles of mountain trails, all within easy reach. Though I usually run…