OK...i'm not bragging (its still premature for that), but i am really excited. you see, i discovered tonight that i have lost an inch and a half in my hideously fat neck! from a 19 collar to a 17 1/2 collar...i haven't been able to wear a 1...7.5 in YEARS. The shirt is probably out of style and I couldn't care less! i'm wearing it proudly, buttoned to the top with a tie. i may one day be fit again afterall.
neck 17.5 (down form 19). waist 34 (down from 36). weight 201 (down from 218). its been the slowest, hardest weight loss ever (about 8 months...but i've been the most consistent/commited for the last 4)...but for the first time in years, i haven't given up after 6 or 8 disappointing weeks. so...2 more inches in waist to go. one more inch in neck to... Read More go. 13 more pounds to go. but actually beleive i might make it this time. thank you tod (who works out with me every week so that i don't throw in the towl and replace it with twinkies).
This is quite a different story than I posted on Oct. 17, 2006 where I was simply resigning myself to corpulence and trying to find the wherewithal to celebrate it. If Fat and Fabulous is the best I can do, I'll take it. But, honestly, Fit and Fabulous is better. I want it. And I'm really getting close (hopefully the obesity gods won't strike me with a terminal craving for Krispy Kreme and thus undermine all my hard won progress...but for now, it's looking good).
........................................
A blast from the past:
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Fat As I Am
Wasn't it Sophie Tucker who sang, "I don't want to get thin; you can laugh and you can grin but I'm doing very well the way I am"? Oh for such self confidence!
And didn't Mae West in mid-life and full figured just know that she was sex walking! Oh for such self assurance!
And wasn't it Bette Midler who made fun of herself by singing, "Fat as I am, who wants to see a diva fat as I am..."? How wonderful to laugh at one's foibles rather than taking them too seriously.
Well, here I am, weeks away from 40 and for the first time in life I've passed the 200# mark on the hateful, satanic scales of scorn. Every photographic image of myself, every mirror reflection, every bathroom scale, every pair of pants that fit me only two months ago that now serve only to cut me in half as I try to zip them up all remind me that I'm starting on the back 9 and I may need a cart to finish!
Oh, I swear that I will get to the gym or take a pilates class or sit on a cushion and meditate the lbs away. But mostly, I drink another soda (never diet) and prepare for the next Star Trek rerun on TV. After all, Captain Kirk is quite corpulent these days too. At least I have my hair, though the same mirror that shows my Santa belly and double chin also demonstrates that my luxurious hair is as a grey as a mule's. Can I please catch a break?! Though, at this point I couldn't even catch a frisbee (not that I would bother to try).
Maybe this is what middle age is like. I keep hearing that 60 is the new 40, so why does 40 look like the old 60?! It isn't fair.
Maybe I'll get to the gym. Maybe I'll will away the poundage and release the svelte inner homo that longs to re-emerge. Or, maybe I'll channel the spirit of Sophie and decide that I'm doing very well the way I am. I think that may be the answer. My new resolution is to have the attitude of Ruth Brown, who sings, "Now look at this nice bottom, ain't it easy on the eyes, guaranteed to support any weight or size!" Or in the words of a song from that fun musical, WHEN PIGS FLY, "Put on a few its not so bad, your man will learn to love it; I have all I ever had - in fact I have a lot more of it."
Yes, there are reasons to get back in the gym and work on being healthier. But I can be happy with who I am right now. At any size, at any age, I'm a damn good person. Now I feel fantastic! I think I'll celebrate with a pizza. Hey! Who are you to judge?! I'm doing very well the way I am!!!
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
Cheers for the ELCA
Following the example of Metropolitan Community Churches (since 1968), the Unitarian Universalist Association, the United Church of Christ, and The Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America takes the courageous step of validating the sacred value of its LBGT members. There will be name calling, threats of schism and financial bullying, and pleas to return to "traditional" values (that demonize and exclude the Other), but you can't unring a bell. "The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice." The ELCA has taken courageous risks for justice and inclusion. I applaud our Lutheran friends.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Leaders in Progressive, Inclusive Religion
I am grateful that The Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the United Church of Christ, the Unitarian Universalist Association, and the Presbyterian Church in the USA have been discussing human sexuality for years now. I'm grateful that most recently the ELCA has adopted a progressive and inclusive statement on human sexuality. The UCC and the UUA progressed faster on issues of sexual justice and inclusion than some of the others, but they've all been willing to challenge assumptions and prejudices and to consider new ways of being "the Church." Additionally, Reform Judaism and the New Thought churches have proven themselves gay friendly. Meanwhile, Metropolitan Community Churches (founded in 1968) have ALWAYS affirmed the dignity of LBGT people, have always ordained LBGT people, and the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches was blessing same-unions long before anyone thought gay marriage would ever be legal anywhere! I'm proud of MCC's moral/social leadership. I'm glad and grateful to be part of the MCC movement.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Health Care a Personal Issue for Some of Us
My grandfather was a small business owner. He was a self-taught machinist without a high school education. He survived the depression (as an orphan) and went on to teach himself a trade, start his own business, build his own house (before the days of onerous permits), and raise a family.
My grandfather, though generous, was also fiscally conservative. He saved and was ready to retire with a significant nest egg (mostly invested in Certificates of Deposit). He retired at 62 with his savings and Social Security as his only income. My grandmother, a life-long home-maker, drew a significantly smaller Social Security pension.
At 65, my grandfather would have received Medicare. But you see, for some reason, he had never bothered to purchase health insurance. And since he didn't have it while he was working, he didn't think he'd need it in retirement, especially since Medicare was just three short years away.
Sadly, cancer did not wait on medicare. Medical bills depleted most of my grandparents' savings. In fact, my grandmother was still paying for my grandfather's illness years after his death. When she turned 65, my grandmother received Medicare benifits and eventually took out an AARP supplemental policy. But neither of her insurance plans at that time covered prescription medications. She spent the rest of her life spending most of her fixed income on her own medical care. The lack of insurance, or insurance that covered the real cost of health management left hard-working, saving, thrify people spending their retirement years far less comfortably than they had planned for, hoped, and deserved.
My other grandmother was a teacher. She did not have the added income of a spouse in her retirement years. She had social security and teacher retirement pensions and an insurance policy. That insurance policy proved invaluable as Alzheimers disease struck and left her needing a great deal of care. Where would she have been without it? And if she had chosen a different profession, she might not have had insurance. Then what?
My father had a union job and therefore had good benefits. Again, this was lucky for him as he was forced to retire slightly early because of health challenges that probably resulted from a lifetime of factory work. What if he had worked for a non-union company? What if he had not been lucky enough to have health insurance? How would he have paid for his oxygen, his medications, his quadruple bypass surgery, his year of chemotherapy?
I am in a profession that provides HMO coverage for me. I'm glad. Otherwise, the thousand dollars a month of HIV medications I take to remain healthy would be financially devastating to me. And without the medications...well, we know the story of AIDS.
You see, I know from personal experience and family history that health insurance is not a luxury...it is a necessity. Not every job provides it. Not every individual can afford it. And yet, at some point, almost every individual will need it. Physical health and financial survival may depend on it.
That's what the national health care debate means to me. I don't care if people think its socialist (it is no more socialist than Medicare, Social Security, VA benefits, civil service benefits, guaranteed student loans, etc.). I personally don't have a problem with socialism. In fact, I am a great admirer of the social democracies of Western Europe and Canada. I am aware of the Christian Socialist movement of the late nineteenth/early 20th century (championed at the time by such evangelicals as Francis Bellamy, the Baptist who wrote the US Pledge of Allegiance!). But regardless of what it is called, health care is a human right, a practical necessity, and human compassion should make it a priority for an advanced civilization (especially one that imagines itself to have the moral authority to call itself a world leader).
If you have insurance, think of how lucky that makes you. Think of how horrible it might be if you didn't. Think of all the people who don't. Our wealthy nation can provide this necessity for everyone who can't afford it otherwise. Shouldn't that settle the matter once and for all?
My grandfather, though generous, was also fiscally conservative. He saved and was ready to retire with a significant nest egg (mostly invested in Certificates of Deposit). He retired at 62 with his savings and Social Security as his only income. My grandmother, a life-long home-maker, drew a significantly smaller Social Security pension.
At 65, my grandfather would have received Medicare. But you see, for some reason, he had never bothered to purchase health insurance. And since he didn't have it while he was working, he didn't think he'd need it in retirement, especially since Medicare was just three short years away.
Sadly, cancer did not wait on medicare. Medical bills depleted most of my grandparents' savings. In fact, my grandmother was still paying for my grandfather's illness years after his death. When she turned 65, my grandmother received Medicare benifits and eventually took out an AARP supplemental policy. But neither of her insurance plans at that time covered prescription medications. She spent the rest of her life spending most of her fixed income on her own medical care. The lack of insurance, or insurance that covered the real cost of health management left hard-working, saving, thrify people spending their retirement years far less comfortably than they had planned for, hoped, and deserved.
My other grandmother was a teacher. She did not have the added income of a spouse in her retirement years. She had social security and teacher retirement pensions and an insurance policy. That insurance policy proved invaluable as Alzheimers disease struck and left her needing a great deal of care. Where would she have been without it? And if she had chosen a different profession, she might not have had insurance. Then what?
My father had a union job and therefore had good benefits. Again, this was lucky for him as he was forced to retire slightly early because of health challenges that probably resulted from a lifetime of factory work. What if he had worked for a non-union company? What if he had not been lucky enough to have health insurance? How would he have paid for his oxygen, his medications, his quadruple bypass surgery, his year of chemotherapy?
I am in a profession that provides HMO coverage for me. I'm glad. Otherwise, the thousand dollars a month of HIV medications I take to remain healthy would be financially devastating to me. And without the medications...well, we know the story of AIDS.
You see, I know from personal experience and family history that health insurance is not a luxury...it is a necessity. Not every job provides it. Not every individual can afford it. And yet, at some point, almost every individual will need it. Physical health and financial survival may depend on it.
That's what the national health care debate means to me. I don't care if people think its socialist (it is no more socialist than Medicare, Social Security, VA benefits, civil service benefits, guaranteed student loans, etc.). I personally don't have a problem with socialism. In fact, I am a great admirer of the social democracies of Western Europe and Canada. I am aware of the Christian Socialist movement of the late nineteenth/early 20th century (championed at the time by such evangelicals as Francis Bellamy, the Baptist who wrote the US Pledge of Allegiance!). But regardless of what it is called, health care is a human right, a practical necessity, and human compassion should make it a priority for an advanced civilization (especially one that imagines itself to have the moral authority to call itself a world leader).
If you have insurance, think of how lucky that makes you. Think of how horrible it might be if you didn't. Think of all the people who don't. Our wealthy nation can provide this necessity for everyone who can't afford it otherwise. Shouldn't that settle the matter once and for all?
Theological Discussions
A Progressive View of "The Way, the Truth, & the Life"
Panel: Rev. Durrell Watkins, MDiv/DMin & Rev. Robert Griffin, MDiv
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#play/uploads/3/k-nr9ejn7o8
Where Do We Go When We Die?
Panel: Rev. Durrell Watkins, MDiv/DMin & Rev. Robert Griffin, MDiv
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#play/uploads/0/3MHEolRsbWQ
Is the Bible the Word of God?
Panel: Rev. Durrell Watkins, MDiv/DMin & Rev. Robert Griffin, MDiv
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#play/uploads/28/RZEe0o2q4_E
Why Don't the Miracles of the Bible Happen Today?
Panel: Rev. Durrell Watkins, MDiv/DMin & Rev. Robert Griffin, MDiv
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#play/uploads/25/OZROxedIJlc
Does the Bible Condemn Homosexuality?
Panel: Rev. Durrell Watkins, MDiv/DMin & Rev. Robert Griffin, MDiv
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#play/uploads/27/w_fGE05nzz8
What is Progressive Christianity?
Panel: Rev. Durrell Watkins, MDiv/DMin & Rev. Robert Griffin, MDiv
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#play/uploads/24/Kb-ctsKbvPw
How Can I Be Good Enough?
Panel: Rev. Durrell Watkins, MDiv/DMin & Rev. Robert Griffin, MDiv
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#play/uploads/1/qgzWdXmk71w
Why Healthy Religion Must Confront Heterosexism
Panel: Rev. Durrell Watkins, MDiv/DMin; Rev. Robert Griffin, MDiv; & Rev. BK Hipsher, MATS
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#play/uploads/19/J3nhm7sr6HY
A Progressive View of Salvation
Panel: Rev. Durrell Watkins, MDiv/DMin; Rev. Robert Griffin, MDiv; & Rev. Brent Hawkes, MDiv/DMin
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#play/uploads/14/UrH9V7XEwWs
Integregation of Sexuality & Spirituality
Panel: Rev. Durrell Watkins, MDiv/DMin; Rev. Robert Griffin, MDiv; & Rev. Elder Don Eastman
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#play/uploads/13/KTOsRSflKO4
Can Gays Pray?
Panel: Rev. Durrell Watkins, MDiv/DMin; Rev. Robert Griffin, MDiv; & Rev. Michael Diaz, MDiv
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#play/uploads/12/GPjsdnrC1NE
Gay Images of God
Panel: Rev. Durrell Watkins, MDiv/DMin; Rev. Robert Griffin, MDiv; & Rev. Michael Diaz, MDiv
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#play/uploads/10/SOTfmPtRQW0
Queer Bible Study
Panel: Rev. Durrell Watkins, MDiv/DMin; Rev. Robert Griffin, MDiv; & Rev. Mona West, MDiv/PhD
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#play/uploads/8/JqzAGelxe_8
Affirming Gay Outreach
Panel: Rev. Durrell Watkins, MDiv/DMin & Rev. Robert Griffin, MDiv
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#play/uploads/5/QINPS3Y4Qa8
There are more topics at www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral.org
Panel: Rev. Durrell Watkins, MDiv/DMin & Rev. Robert Griffin, MDiv
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#play/uploads/3/k-nr9ejn7o8
Where Do We Go When We Die?
Panel: Rev. Durrell Watkins, MDiv/DMin & Rev. Robert Griffin, MDiv
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#play/uploads/0/3MHEolRsbWQ
Is the Bible the Word of God?
Panel: Rev. Durrell Watkins, MDiv/DMin & Rev. Robert Griffin, MDiv
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#play/uploads/28/RZEe0o2q4_E
Why Don't the Miracles of the Bible Happen Today?
Panel: Rev. Durrell Watkins, MDiv/DMin & Rev. Robert Griffin, MDiv
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#play/uploads/25/OZROxedIJlc
Does the Bible Condemn Homosexuality?
Panel: Rev. Durrell Watkins, MDiv/DMin & Rev. Robert Griffin, MDiv
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#play/uploads/27/w_fGE05nzz8
What is Progressive Christianity?
Panel: Rev. Durrell Watkins, MDiv/DMin & Rev. Robert Griffin, MDiv
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#play/uploads/24/Kb-ctsKbvPw
How Can I Be Good Enough?
Panel: Rev. Durrell Watkins, MDiv/DMin & Rev. Robert Griffin, MDiv
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#play/uploads/1/qgzWdXmk71w
Why Healthy Religion Must Confront Heterosexism
Panel: Rev. Durrell Watkins, MDiv/DMin; Rev. Robert Griffin, MDiv; & Rev. BK Hipsher, MATS
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#play/uploads/19/J3nhm7sr6HY
A Progressive View of Salvation
Panel: Rev. Durrell Watkins, MDiv/DMin; Rev. Robert Griffin, MDiv; & Rev. Brent Hawkes, MDiv/DMin
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#play/uploads/14/UrH9V7XEwWs
Integregation of Sexuality & Spirituality
Panel: Rev. Durrell Watkins, MDiv/DMin; Rev. Robert Griffin, MDiv; & Rev. Elder Don Eastman
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#play/uploads/13/KTOsRSflKO4
Can Gays Pray?
Panel: Rev. Durrell Watkins, MDiv/DMin; Rev. Robert Griffin, MDiv; & Rev. Michael Diaz, MDiv
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#play/uploads/12/GPjsdnrC1NE
Gay Images of God
Panel: Rev. Durrell Watkins, MDiv/DMin; Rev. Robert Griffin, MDiv; & Rev. Michael Diaz, MDiv
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#play/uploads/10/SOTfmPtRQW0
Queer Bible Study
Panel: Rev. Durrell Watkins, MDiv/DMin; Rev. Robert Griffin, MDiv; & Rev. Mona West, MDiv/PhD
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#play/uploads/8/JqzAGelxe_8
Affirming Gay Outreach
Panel: Rev. Durrell Watkins, MDiv/DMin & Rev. Robert Griffin, MDiv
http://www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral#play/uploads/5/QINPS3Y4Qa8
There are more topics at www.youtube.com/sunshinecathedral.org
Sunday, August 16, 2009
My Welfare is OK; Yours is No Good
Social Security.
Medicare.
Free public schools.
Low tuition community colleges.
College tuition grants.
Federal work-study programs at colleges/universities.
Federal student loans.
Military retirement pensions.
Public school lunch programs.
Civil service benefits.
Small business loans.
We aren't opposed to government programs. We are only opposed to government programs that we don't feel we need. We seem to think we're entitled to the ones we enjoy.
Save "my" government program; just don't let "them" get the one "they" might need. "Mine" is legitimate. "Theirs" is frivolous.
How did the "Land of Opportunity" become so lacking in public generosity? And is it possible to call us back to a compassionate, caring path?
Medicare.
Free public schools.
Low tuition community colleges.
College tuition grants.
Federal work-study programs at colleges/universities.
Federal student loans.
Military retirement pensions.
Public school lunch programs.
Civil service benefits.
Small business loans.
We aren't opposed to government programs. We are only opposed to government programs that we don't feel we need. We seem to think we're entitled to the ones we enjoy.
Save "my" government program; just don't let "them" get the one "they" might need. "Mine" is legitimate. "Theirs" is frivolous.
How did the "Land of Opportunity" become so lacking in public generosity? And is it possible to call us back to a compassionate, caring path?
Government IS Involved in Healthcare
Guess what? The US government is already involved in health care. The poorest families with children get medicaide. The elderly get medicare. The military has its own hospitals. Veterans get VA benefits. Why not provide care for the rest of Americans who are uninsured? The people who are so angrily opposing universal health care either have it themselves and don't care that others who need it can't afford it or otherwise can't get it, or they have allowed themselves to be frightened by untruths and vitriolic rhetoric. The government already insures many Americans...it's time to make sure EVERY American has access to quality health-care. It is not only the moral thing, but as a Christian minister I also believe it is what Jesus would endorse. Jesus spent a great deal of time in his ministry caring for those who were ill. Followers of Jesus should likewise be concerned for the well-being of all people. This isn't about partisan politics; this is about doing what is best for every person in this country. And as the government already provides coverage for many, let's go the rest of the way and make sure there is coverage for all.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
