What can we do?

Where do you start when you have a lot to say but yet don’t know where to start? Or if you are not sure you should say anything at all.

So much is going on right now. We’re still in the Covid-19 mess. The numbers are climbing again at an alarming rate. This doesn’t seem like much until it hits home. Recently a friend’s mom died from Covid-19, just shy of her 90^th birthday.

She had been healthy and other than her age, had very few health concerns. She caught it from somebody. Yet people are still yelling that their rights are being taken away when they are required to wear a mask to protect others.

It’s a tough time to be in law enforcement. Defund the police? A ridiculous idea. Some of the most honorable and dedicated people that I know are in law enforcement. The huge majority are dependable, responsible professionals.

But get this straight—there are bad eggs in every profession. There are physical therapists who are doing things that are terribly wrong. There are bad lawyers, doctors, educators…everything. No profession is immune. So when a bad egg emerges, don’t condemn all the good ones.

Yes, racism is still an issue. I thought we fixed all that in the 60’s but that was barely the start. Too many people judge people by the color of their skin. If that were a rare and isolated behavior, I might be able to accept it. It isn’t and I can’t. We need to be anti-racist, not just non-racist.

Let me tell you a story from a conversation I had recently with a man I consider one of my children. This fellow is black. His daughter, my goddaughter, is black. “When my daughter leaves the house, I tell her to stay under the speed limit, if she is stopped, she is to put her hands on the steering wheel and be polite. If she is being harassed by someone, keep driving—find a policeman. What did you tell your white son when he left the house?”

I would tell him to be safe and have fun. I didn’t worry that some random stranger was going to do anything bad to him because of the color of his skin. A black father doesn’t have that luxury. Even today. Maybe especially today.

We are living in sad times.

Businesses everywhere are struggling, especially small businesses. My friends at Savory Rootz had to close their doors. They had a great place with great food and service. They just couldn’t survive the Stay-At-Home. Tragic. They put their heart and soul in that place. 

Maybe they will be able to open again. If they do, please flock there in droves.

I’m not saying it was wrong to shut everything down. I believe it was the right thing to do. But goodness gracious what a cost it extracted. It will take the economy years to recover.

I’ll apologize beforehand but I’m going to talk politics for a moment. Two topics I avoid talking about here are religion and politics. But sometimes I can’t help myself.

There’s a saying in government, “you’re either at the table or we’re having you for lunch.” What that means is that you’ve got to be in the arena. You have a voice—you have to use it. 

You might whine “I’m just one person…what can I do?”

Let me tell you a story. In 2007, there was a bill working its way through the state legislature that would allow someone to see a physical therapist without a referral. That bill was bogged down in a committee because of partisan politics.

It passed out of that committee because one legislator stepped across the aisle and voted against her party leadership. That one legislator was influenced by one physical therapist who had done nothing more than provide good physical therapy. The legislator didn’t forget the value of that physical therapist.

I hear people all the time saying that they can’t stand politics. I would argue that each of us has an obligation to be an engaged member of the political process. If nothing else, you have a vote. And a voice.

Right now, schools are agonizing about opening back up. Do we? What precautions should we take? Making the news regularly are questions about the upcoming sports seasons. Do we play? If we play, what precautions do we take? How can we even consider practicing where contact is unavoidable?

My opinion? Games will be played. Schools will open. Temperatures will be taken. Every precaution possible will be utilized. There will be fewer fans in the stands. Some students will opt for the virtual classroom. We won’t know if we’re doing the right thing until we get back into it.

Do we need for our kids to be in school? Heavens yes. But how do we go about doing that? I don’t have all the answers because there are too many things that we don’t know about this stuff. The science hasn’t caught up with the disease.

Are sports more important than our health? Oh heavens no. Do we need sports? Yes. Definitely. I wrote about that a couple of weeks ago.

When it comes down to it, YOU are the only one that can decide about you. Only YOU can decide what behaviors you choose. Only YOU can make a difference.

But wear the dadgum mask! What harm can it do? And you might have saved the life of my friend’s mom. Even if that’s a big maybe, is it still worth it if there’s any possibility that you could be wrong?

At what age are you too old to exercise?

Anybody that knows me sees that question and knows that I have my tongue firmly planted in my cheek. For those of you too young to understand that, it means I’m kidding. Really.


I talked about prevention last week, offering guidelines for preventing illness and injuries. But what about preventing old age? Isn’t it inevitable? If you live long enough, aren’t you going to get old anyway? Well yeah, but how do you want to spend those golden years?


First, let’s define “old.” Years ago (many years ago) I would declare that “middle-aged” was whatever I was plus 10. I’m well past middle-aged so we can’t use that one. But that still doesn’t define what is old.

Maybe old is what I am now plus 10.  That would make "old" officially at 77.  Maybe. 


My dad had a friend who declared on his 80^th birthday “I’m officially old and no one can argue with me now.” I get that. Even as I fast approach that threshold.


OK. Let’s use 80 as the barometer. Does that mean that anything less than 80 isn’t old? I’ve known 60 year olds that were positively ancient. They dress old. They walk old. They think old. They talk old.


I also know that my 90 year old neighbor will outwork people a third of his age. He maintains a several acre yard and a big house and there is no one that meets him that would ever believe that he is 90. I saw him working on his house recently on a stepladder. How many people 90 do you see doing that?


He’s always worked. He’s always taken care of his own place. He just never stopped. Still hasn’t. He bought a truck recently to help carry stuff around. His only concession seems to be a golf cart, but as I said, he has a really big yard.


So, what is the secret? How do we both live long and live well? Is there a Fountain of Youth out there?


I believe there is. I believe that our own Fountain of Youth can be found in movement. A very long time ago, I studied Physics. One basic principle in Physics is that “a body in motion tends to stay in motion while a body at rest tends to stay at rest.”


I believe that is true for us too. If you move, if you never stop, you will be able to stay in motion. On the other hand, if you don’t move, if the recliner is your constant companion, you will get to the point where you can’t move.


Make sense? Let me put it in a personal perspective. I’m not a gifted athlete. My aerobic capacity is quite mediocre. I’ve not got broad shoulders and I’m sure not going to win any races. In other words, I’m an Average Joe.


But I’ve never stopped. I’m always in motion. Always have been. And because of that, I don’t move nor behave like I’m 67 years old. Mountain biking. Road biking. Hiking. CrossFit. Farm work. It’s always something.


Do you have to join a gym and lift weights? Heavens no. Most of us need strength training because we lose muscle mass as we get older but you can set up a home gym and do that on your own.


Don’t ignore body weight exercises. Pushups, pullups, situps, jumping jacks…they require no equipment but are effective tools for strength training. Building endurance doesn’t mean that you have to run a marathon or sit on a bicycle for 3-4 hours. It means simply that you get your heart rate up for 20-30 minutes.


You can stretch. You can build balance by standing on one leg. You can take the stairs. You can take a yoga class. But you’ve got to move. Movement is everything.


The answer to the original question? NEVER! You’re never too old to exercise. It can add quality and quantity to your life.

Six Month Checkup

It’s been six months since I had my knee replacement surgery so I thought I would catch you up a bit. I get a lot of questions about how it is doing.  Many of those questions are from people who are considering knee replacement themselves.


Let me just say this: If you think you need a knee replacement, you probably do. I’ll tell you what I have heard patients tell me hundreds of times—“I wish I had done this a long time ago.”


Let me explain my situation. Prior to knee replacement, I had three surgeries on my right knee, dating back to when I was a teenager. All were successful and I continued an active lifestyle, playing basketball until I was 59. Really.


Even in recent years, my knee didn’t hurt much. Oh, I took more than my share of ibuprofen and only when I went without anti-inflammatories did I get an inkling of what was going on in my knee.


It’s been a long time since I could run. That was OK. I could still ride a bike without any problem whatsoever. And I could hike. For years, my wife I have taken an annual fall hiking trip, visiting some really great places. Not in 2019. I knew that my knee wouldn’t hold up to it.


About the only time I had to run was on the football field to check an injured player. In recent years, that got harder and harder and I got slower and slower. It finally got to where I didn’t even try and run. This past fall, I heard an official tell an injured athlete “Joe’s coming” as I walked as fast as I could onto the field.


I rehabbed hard and tried to force my knee to allow me to run, thinking that maybe I wasn’t tough enough. I knew it was bad but I didn’t know how bad. Then I saw my own X-ray.


What a mess! It is no exaggeration to say that my own x-ray was about the worst I had ever seen. But I knew that I had to get through the football season so I limped along. Literally.


There were days when the pain was pretty bad…days when I wanted to find an orthopedist and an operating room and fix it right then. But I got through it and on the first Wednesday after the state championship game, I was admitted for surgery.


Jump ahead to today. My knee feels great. It’s a little stiff but that’s because of the extensive damage to my knee and the fact that I waited about 10 years too long to have it fixed.


I’m biking hard. I climbed Lookout Mountain on consecutive days recently. I’ve been mountain biking a bunch, even wrecking (without injury) a couple of times. I’m ready to start hiking again. Thank you Dr. Justin Jones for taking a mess and giving me a good knee.


My best advice? If your knee is changing your lifestyle, if there are things that you can’t do that you want to do because of your knee, get it replaced.


Like I said, I wish I had done it a long time ago.

What Lessons Will We Teach?

I turned to a family member this week for ideas for this space. She told me “well, you haven’t written about your newest grandchild yet.” Well, I sort of did. Right after she was born. Talking about experiences in the Children’s Hospital NICU.


Number seven. A blue eyed beauty that shares my name. Born prematurely in January, she is now healthy and robust and though lacking in understandable vocabulary, is quite the Talker.


But what kind of world are we bringing her into? Will she be judged by her gender? By the color of her skin? Will she experience hate and prejudice? Parents and grandparents worry about those things. Especially these days.


So, what can we do for her? What can we do to make the world a better place for her? When all this turmoil is over, I would really like to think that her world will be more accepting, more loving, more tolerant.


As her grandfather, I want to show her love…unconditional love. To make sure she knows that I will love her as long as I’m around. That there is absolutely nothing that she can do to change that one bit.


I want to teach her the value of being physically active. If needed, I will teach her how to ride a bike, play in the trees, and swim like a fish.


I want her to respect her body and mind, understanding that those are hers and hers alone—that it is her job to take care of both of them. Maybe that means eating good, whole food but sometimes a girl just has to have a burger, fries, and a milkshake.


And that means that she accepts her body, whatever shape it takes. Tall or short. Thick or thin. I want her to love herself, to love the person that she sees reflected in my eyes.


I want her to learn the importance of being outside. Of walks in the woods. Of the mysteries to be found in a creek bed. That bugs aren’t creepy but necessary.


I want her to recognize the fox, the deer, the bear, the bunny, even the lowly possum. The Robin, the Mockingbird, the Eastern Bluebird. The fish in the sea. That she is a part of nature just like all those creatures. Even snakes.


I want her to understand that we are custodians of the planet Earth and it is our responsibility to take care of her, to nurture her, to protect her. The air that we breathe. The streams and creeks and rivers.


I want her to be less dependent on digital devices than I am, to understand that real conversation is important, that human contact is essential.


I want her to experience the joy of family. That her siblings are the best friends that she will ever have. That her cousins are the best people she will ever know.


I want her to play a sport—any sport. I want her to find something that she is passionate about and pursues it with vigor. I believe essential life lessons are learned on our playing fields. But let it be her sport and her choice. From that, she will discover the joy of movement.


I want her to know that there is a world outside her four walls, outside her hometown, outside her family and that she has a responsibility to that world. Yes, I want her to go change the world. It’s what she was brought into this world to do.

What does Joe Black eat?

I received a note from a reader this week, mostly appreciating what I didn’t have to say about Covid-19. But she did add, “tell us this—what does Joe Black eat?” 

Ooooh…I don’t know. Does anyone really want to know? Should I be worried? Can I be completely honest? How specific do I get?


OK. Here goes. Judge me as you will. But go back. Way back. 

For most of my life, I have followed what we were told was a heart healthy diet. Low fat. High carbs. Lots of fruit and vegetables. If anyone wanted to lose weight, they were told to avoid bread and potatoes (which maybe should have told us something).


About eight years ago, it was discovered that I had a significant level of atherosclerosis. Hardening of the arteries. Further testing indicated that my coronary arteries are probably doing their job so I’m not likely to have a heart attack but I will fight blood pressure issues for the rest of my life.


At about the same time, a friend of mine introduced me to research clearly indicating that we had it all wrong—that carbs were the culprit. And I was a carb-fed animal. Carbs for breakfast. Carbs for lunch. Carbs on my bike rides. More carbs with dinner. I ate but I was hungry all the time.


That friend also introduced me to Whole30, basically 30 days without carbs. I can tell you that for a couple of weeks, it wasn’t too bad. Then it hit me—it was tough. My energy levels were zero. My performance on the bicycle was awful. I got dropped in the parking lot.


But by the end of the 30 days, I felt pretty good. I lost weight. I wasn’t hungry all the time. My problems with hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) went away.


Don’t get me wrong…you can’t exist without carbs. As a biker, I need more than most, especially on a 3-4 hour ride. But it should be complex carbs. And you don’t need as much as you think. I will follow a low carb diet for the rest of my life. I am convinced it is the most heart-healthy approach out there.


And about that low fat. We now know that there are good fats and that a diet totally avoiding fats has problems of its own. We just have to seek out the good ones.


The other thing that I have changed is how I shop. I’ve always read labels but now what I’m looking for is simplicity. Most of the items in my grocery cart have one name, easily understood. Broccoli. Spinach. Salmon. Eggs. Milk. Various fruits. My friend, the late Sam Beall of Blackberry Farm, taught me why butter was better than margarine (check the ingredients). Simplicity.


So what is a typical Joe Black meal? It trends toward sameness. When I find something I like, I stick with it until I get tired of it. Here’s what I had yesterday.


Breakfast: Two eggs, almond milk, almond flour pancakes, maple syrup. Lunch: Chicken salad, carrots, fruit, coconut water. Dinner: Grilled chicken, asparagus, Jasmine rice, pumpkin pie.


I drink a Kombucha every day and snack on Pistachios. I have a distinct weakness for Benton’s bacon, Haagen-Dazs ice cream, Fritos, dark chocolate, and hot dogs with chili and slaw. A late night snack is likely to be tart cherry juice and a handful of Cheetos (don’t ask me to explain that one…I can’t). I believe that we need to enjoy our food and I’m not afraid of desserts.


I love good restaurants and avoid the chains. If the chef and the owner are the same person, that’s my kind of place. I love seafood of all kinds and a really great steak, cooked medium rare, is heavenly.


So, there you have it. I’m not going to try and tell you what to eat-I’m not a nutritionist. This is what works for me. Do your research and eat what’s right for you but avoid white sugar and white flour whatever you do. 

Your heart will thank you for it.

Noticing The Little Things

I will not write about Covid-19. I will not write about Covid-19. I will NOT write about Covid-19.

There. Got that out of my system. But since we aren’t doing much in the way of sports and this is the Sports Section, what’s left? What lessons can I teach? What wisdom can I impart?

Well, maybe not much. My world is very singular now. And most of my inspiration comes from experiences—things I do, see, or hear. Right now, my life is work, eat, sleep, repeat, so I’m finding far less inspiration.

So, I went outside. Sat out on the back of the building where I work, having a snack. The sky was what the meteorologists call “partly cloudy.” Not the big Cumulus clouds that you can use your imagination on. Plain, normal clouds. And a light breeze. A little cool. Perfect weather, really.

I’ve seen a rabbit in our parking lot for a while but while snacking, I saw the squirrel that had left signs that he was hereabouts. He was on the side of the one little Maple tree beside where I usually park for work. Twitchy as they all are, he didn’t like my presence. I was in his world.

When I stopped to look, I noticed birds everywhere. They didn’t seem to be practicing social distancing. My curiosity up, I walked down to the small creek that runs behind our office and splits the Maryville Little League Park.

It seems like I’ve been around that little creek for half my life, first with my kids playing ball on those fields and for nearly 20 years, in an office nearby. I never thought much about it. It was just someplace where kids liked to throw rocks and sometimes fall in.

I never thought of it as a life form but as I gazed into the waters, I noticed lots of life. 

So I took off my shoes and crept down into the creek. The water was cold but after I got used to it, I started exploring. I noticed tiny fish everywhere and several different kinds of aquatic plants. On close inspection, it was teeming with life. Never noticed any of that.

I stopped to listen and could hear the creek gurgling, the birds singing. It didn’t seem like there was as much road noise. Maybe traffic is down because people are staying home more. I could even hear kids playing nearby.

By now my senses were on full alert. I stopped, inhaled, and smelled…nothing. I’ve been in big cities and there is a constant odor, usually rather unpleasant. I grew up in an industrial town that smelled of rotten eggs.

But then I picked up just a hint of something sweet. Honeysuckle was in bloom not too far away and when I really focused, I could distinguish that particularly nice smell. Just because I’m an inquisitive sort, I put on the mask that I had in my pocket to see if it filtered the honeysuckle odor out. I was pleasantly surprised that it did not.

I looked at that little Maple that I’ve written about a few times. Just a stick when first planted, I would say it is now a teenager. One thing I like about it is how it reflects the seasons. Bare in winter. Budded in spring, full bloom in summer. Bright colors in fall. I try to make it a metaphor for life sometimes, but that’s just the poet in me. In all of us.

Is there a point to all this? Yes. Despite the pandemic, the sun will still shine. Regardless of the masks, there are smells to be smelled, sounds to be heard, wonders to be noticed.

I'm Positive That...

Coronavirus. Doom and gloom. Fear the Beast. I’ve done my part on the scare tactics. I’ve filled this space with warnings and dire predictions.


So what’s a guy to do? Shut out the world? Hide in the mountains until this is all over? I’ve just about quit watching the news—something about the body count (the number dead from the Coronavirus) that is just too much. It’s reminiscent of the news from the Vietnam era that I grew up in.


I can’t ignore the fact that it seems like a lot of people are just ignoring this thing, going on about their lives like there is nothing to be concerned about. Some people seem to have interpreted “Safer at Home” to mean “stores are open-let’s go shopping!”


Not a real threat? Look no further than the nursing home in nearby Etowah. Talk to the children of those nursing home residents in Maine or in Kentucky. Talk to anybody in New York City. 
I have a friend at a hospital in New Haven, Connecticut that last week was filled with Coronavirus patients. Literally filled. The threat is very real and is still out there.


Agree or not, we’re beginning the move back to some degree of normalcy, although I would insist that we’re going to find a “new normal” out there. Some things can never go back to the way they were. Stores, restaurants, and other non-essential businesses are opening although there are a lot of rules that must be followed. Masks, social distancing, and counting heads at the door will be the rule of business for most of the summer.


“Safer At Home” is no longer a mandate but is still a good idea. I saw a meme this week that said “I’m going to come out of this thing a Hunk, a Chunk, or a Drunk.” There’s a lot of truth in that.


There are obviously some negative coping mechanisms being employed. And believe me, you will employ coping mechanisms. You probably already are. But I would like to suggest that you seek out positive coping mechanisms.


Like exercise. You’ve got more free time. Take advantage of that. We also know that regular exercise will help keep you healthier and maybe make you less susceptible to the Coronavirus.


This should be a time to eat better. More time to plan meals. More time to cook. Although the lines at the fast food places are long, I think that’s just folks finally getting out and wanting something, anything that isn’t in their own freezer or cupboard.


Put away the digital devices and get to know your family better. Yeah, I said it. Mr. Hooked-to-his-phone. They’re great and I crave that FaceTime with the grandkids that I don’t get to be around but sitting in front of the computer or TV for hours on end is simply a bad idea. Find alternatives.


Sleep more. I know I have. Not getting enough sleep is probably my biggest health mistake. There isn’t a study out there (that I’ve been able to find) that tells you anything but that you should get adequate sleep. Like 7-9 hours.


Get in touch with important people in your life that you haven’t talked to in forever. Give them a call. Send them a note. Tell them what they mean to you. That book you’ve been wanting to finally read? Now’s the time.


Work in the dirt. It helps. Plants something. Anything. Then watch it grow. There are few things more satisfying that being able to eat straight from your own garden. Whatever you do, look for the positives. 

Or wake me when this thing is over.