Have it your way

It wasn't Burger King, but she had it her way. Today a co-worker named Sonya and I, along with our friend Brad, drove down to the Four Winds restaurant in Cusseta. Just south of Fort Benning, its moniker is "Home of the Ranger Burger." With Rangers and other Army personnel based very nearby, you can imagine the appetites that walk in the door. A Ranger Burger is two slabs of beef weighing 1 lb. You can get most anything on it--even fried pickles as Brad did. Or you can get a Junior Ranger Burger, which is half that and which is what yours truly ordered. (Such high standards, you know, with this blog, haha.) Actor Mel Gibson has even eaten there, when he was in town several years ago filming "We Were Soldiers Once ... And Young." Anyway Sonya, who easily consumed a Ranger on two previous visits, went for something not even on the menu. "They don't even list it," Brad said, evoking fear. (And also they probably don't want the Rangers to know there's something heftier than their namesake.) It's called a Marine Burger: THREE slabs of beef. 1.5 pounds. The grease drips liberally onto the plate on the first bite. Sonya ate it all. (And have I mentioned there are fries with that? And a quart of sweet tea?) Brad and I ate our meals more quickly--go figure--while Sonya kept saying, "OK, will you guys wait on me?"
Like we were going to leave her in the middle of nowhere, 45 minutes from the office. Brad took pictures, one of which you see here. Waitresses kept coming by the table, watching Sonya's meal disappear (and, by the way, she's about a size 2). And some Army guys kept staring at what turned out to be history in the making: The servers said other women have ordered the Marine but none have finished one, to their knowledge. All were stunned and stupefied. Feel free to post your own Four Winds tales of triumph. Or defeat.
PS We learned that tonight is fried catfish night at the Four Winds. Needless to say, we're abstaining.

Kiwi, kefir and barley--oh my!

If you tire of the one-note wonder--broccoli (or blueberries), you might want to check out Prevention's report on six so-called Super Foods. They are: cranberry; broccoli sprouts; kiwifruit; pomegranate; barley; and kefir. Each plays a unique role in keeping you healthy and strong, and some boast claims of cure.
Meanwhile some of us from work ventured over today to Temple Israel for Deli Day, where there were few Super Foods in sight. Which is why we love going to this charity benefit every year: hefty kosher corned beef sandwiches, chips and cole slaw. The homemade desserts cost extra and are worth every penny. Some people treat it like a picnic and the weather is usually great, as it is today. Some kids were running off their calories by chasing each other on the lawn and playing hide-and-go-seek under the oaks. Some of the rest of us? Spin. But later, after a nap.

P.S. This is funny. After I posted the above yesterday, I read this blog entry
that rather pokes fun at (some) marketing of health aids--in this case, aspirin.
A) We ought to do everything at our reasonable disposal to stay healthy but B) Nothing--not even kefir or blueberries or aspirin--can keep us from dying. (But hopefully not today for you and me.)

Wheels with a heart

A friend of mine who has cancer got a great report on his progress Tuesday up at Duke University. So today I ventured onto the Duke Web site and found this story. (Which is unrelated to my friend except by Duke.)
If you see Drew Bratton, wish him well with a pat on the back. (Unless he's passing by at a high rate of speed.) He's overcome various heart problems with the help of his Duke cardiologist and on St. Patrick's Day he started pedaling across the country from San Diego. He's headed east with five friends. Quite inspiring.
On the cycling note: "Wheels to Heal" is April 15 here in Columbus. A benefit for the John B. Amos Cancer Center, it starts at the Columbus Civic Center with check-in at 7 a.m. and breakfast following. Cyclists can choose among four lengths: 20 miles, 40, 62 and 100. All riders head toward Fort Benning, at staggered starting times. Registration is $55 through April 13 and $60 the day of. ($45 for military.) Should be a lot of fun. For more information: 706-660-6559 or to sign up online: www.columbusregional.com or www.active.com.

Germs!

So in spin class the other day, these two friends, both of whom are nurses, were warning about germs that build up in recycled water bottles. (Bottles you drink from time and again.) Guilty. Those plastic bottles (Deer Park and Evian among the brands) are too expensive for me to buy time and again, so I re-use them and they pile up in my car and under seats, making it resemble the landfill. I use a thicker plastic bottle on my road bike. Yet it, too, builds up bacteria. Several Internet articles reveal that you can contract everything from dysentery to vomiting to cancer in using the same bottle time and again; but this story both sheds light and refutes at least the cancer rumor. (See the Snopes link.)
To err on the side of caution, wash your bottles with hot water and use bleach.
Meanwhile, I'm not aware that I've contracted a fatal illness from my unhealthy water-bottle habits, or even the lesser stomach variety. Stay tuned. Anyone else have a take on this?

Random news: Monday edition

Happy Monday.
Did you know?:
A teaspoon of neutron star material weighs about 110 million tons.
The ant, when intoxicated, will always fall over to its right side.
A giraffe can clean its ears with its 21-inch tongue.
Astronauts are not allowed to eat beans before they go into space because passing wind in a spacesuit damages them.
On average, 100 people choke to death on ball-point pens every year, so don't stick one in your mouth.
--www.stunning-stuff.com

In more serious news, CNN is reporting that ACL injuries are affecting more young, female athletes. ACL stands for the anterior cruciate ligament. Say that three times fast. Then read the full story here.

And unless you are not quite sick of news about Anna Nicole Smith--or her baby or her alleged boyfriends--the autopsy results are in today: She died of a drug overdose from presciption drugs. Duh. I'll let you find that story on your own, which shouldn't be too difficult.
Steer clear of tbe beans and space suits.

Exercise and heat

This woman is visiting our little hamlet from Alaska, for three months, and she posed the following today in a meeting: Is this as hot as it gets? HA! Though not yet April, today's temps reached about 90 degrees. ... We will have to go visit her in July.
So in anticipation of warmer weather, here's this article by a doc at the Cleveland Clinic. It's about taking precautions while exercising outside, or cutting the grass, or whatever. If you must be outside for exercise, it's best to go in the cooler parts of the day, especially with high humidity. (We got both!) And drink your fluids.
Tiger Woods, meanwhile, is leading the WGC (formerly the Dural) in Miami. Looks breezy down there.
Hope everyone is having a grand Sunday.

It's a yellow day

Check out this map. It's the pollen count today all over the country, with the Deep South practically covered in it. (The red states/regions. Amazing how this mirrors Republican voting trends.) Anyway. You go outside and there's this sort of yellow haze, which isn't to be confused with the haze we get in the summer. The cars are covered in it. When we get another big rain, puddles of pollen will cake along curbs and roadsides.
Here's a definition of pollen:
"The male element in flowering plants; usually a fine dust produced by the anthers, which, by contact with the stigma effects the fecundation of the seeds. This impregnation is brought about by means of tubes (POLLEN-TUBES) which issue from the pollen-grains adhering to the stigma, and penetrate through the tissues until they reach the ovary."--WorldwideSchool.org
Who knew? (Probably lots of people, actually, but I didn't know it was this, um, sexual.)
Pollen also wreaks havoc on people with allergies.
Thought about writing a poem about pollen, but the only rhyming word I can come up with is Holland.
Any other ideas?