I had my Heart Attack October 1, 2015.  It was Thursday night about 10pm.

I finally went to sleep about 2am, Friday morning.

I went to work late that Friday morning, helping load 28 car battery cores in the back of a Ford F-150, then helping off load them onto a pallet back at the warehouse, then going to lunch.

After that, I delivered some car parts to a few locations, driving maybe 200 miles.

I was hurting bad enough when I arrived home at 4:30 pm, I told Betty to take me to the 24 Clinic, where they told me to LEAVE and get to a Hospital/ER.

They stuck me in a room and said they would do stint placement the next morning.

That Saturday Morning at 7:30 am they wheeled me in the Stint Room, and then rolled me right back out.

Then they did hand stands on my groin for 30 minutes, taped the hole shut and said to stay calm, I would have a BY PASS Monday Morning.

It was actually just after noon Monday, Oct.5, 2015 they clamped my chest opened, while searching FOUR PLACES on my legs to find suitable veins to sew together and replace the Coronary Arteries on my Heart… in three places.  Yes, A TRIPLE BY PASS.

About 4-5 pm that afternoon, they brought me back to my room in CICU where I realized I was in a submarine on the 6th floor….

One of my first concerns after the removed the damned tube from my throat, was that the Pony Tail be moved to a more comfortable place BUT NOT CUT OFF!

My greatest comfort for the next hours, till the sun finally came up through the windows of the Submarine on the 6th Floor, was the WONDERFUL CUP of ICE I pestered the Nurse to keep refilled.

Tuesday I awoke to a new life.

The staff was FANTASTIC.

Apparently the Surgery was too.

Today (6/30/2018) it all seems much better than I can ever remember, but then I have eaten nothing but vegetables, fruit, and beans since the Surgery.

Also, I just RAN a combined total of 101.65 miles in the month of June 2018.  I walked 93 miles (so far).

I have been a good boy.

Ok, back to the chickens…..

I was in the CICU less than 3 and a half days after the Triple By Pass, and they sent me home.

One of the first things I did was let the Hens out of their cage, so they could roam the back yard and have fun being CHICKENS.

I Had about a dozen or so at the time.

I had the Chickens because I was not going to be with out food if THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNEW IT was to come to pass.

Plus, I was disobeying City Laws by having Chickens in the City Limits.  (Felt good in those days)

These hens were so happy to get out, roam around, run…. and basically eat EVERYTHING!  They can clean ANYTHING up in a Back Yard with enough time…

They are so funny too !

I propped their door open with a large stone, they returned each day at dusk, fight over the best place to roost, and they are so happy!

I went out after dark and removed the large stone, the door was spring loaded and would secure by itself, and there you go.

The only problems was what to do with all the eggs, because, I DAMNED SURE was NOT eating anymore eggs after the Heart Attack/Triple By Pass!

Hell NO !

The 2nd night, after dark,  I go out in nothing but under ware, house shoes, and a house coat…. time to remove the stone, allow the door to secure, and all was safe.

 Kinda ‘like

But as I turned the corner, and the motion detector on the flood light came on, THE DOOR WAS ALREADY CLOSED!

The stone was moved during the day, and the ‘Girls’ could not return to the safety of the Coop before dark.

They were in terror, in the corner of the yard, near the Coop, climbing on top of one, then another, trying to get somewhere higher than they were.

Chickens like to roost high up since it gives them the feeling of being higher than their enemies.

To see them in that terror, and trying to climb up on one another was really sad.

My Surgery was less than a week ago, and I was out there finding out scared Chickens do not herd well.

Especially in the dark.  They can’t see well when the sun goes down….

The flood light would turn off after a few seconds since I would get out of the sensor range… so THEN I was in the dark too.

Did I mention Chickens do not see well in the dark?

Finally they all were back in the Coop …. except ‘Old Girl’.

I had to go back in and get Betty to help me get her back in the Coop.

Boy, was I ever in the Dog House that night.

Whew!  Betty was really pissed with me….

All was well though.

The ‘girls’ were happy, I was happy.

Betty …… ok, anyway ….

AND I didn’t pop the new 8″ seam across my chest….

 ( Did I ever mention ‘they’ Super Glued’ this back…  no stitches …?)

It will soon be three years that that event occurred.

Most of the times I recount that story, I can get a few laughs ……

Believe me it WAS FUNNY!

… at least ‘after the fact ‘…

Except for the terror of those chickens while they sought safety from the dark.  The fear of the unknown.

They had never been through the sitting of the Sun without claiming their favorite spot, and feeling the security of the four walls to protect them from the night.

The sight I can see in my mind still bothers me.

I thought I had provided a safe place for them.

I have no idea how the stone was moved and the door closed.

It never happened again.

After that,the ‘girls’ were able to RULE the back yard till the neighbors dogs ate through the fence and chased the chickens in my yard.

I was going to shoot the dogs.  With a GUN.

Betty won that discussion, so, we put up a new fence in February… just four months after my By Pass…. and yes, Betty and I did it BY OUR SELVES….

Yes, we are crazy.

I guess the point I am making is that the Chickens were so dependent on their owner.  Even if there had been a Rooster in the flock, he could not have protected the girls from that door closing the night they were locked out…. nor could he have done much against the neighbors dog who chewed through the fence.

It was my responsibility to care for the girls.

I wonder how we as pampered Humans have become like those Chickens.  Poor things, they were locked up all their life, then set ‘free’ to the back yard, then locked up for several days during my Surgery, and finally set free again, only to be locked out of the security of the coop one terrible night…. then that damned neighbors damned dog.

I really think I would have enjoyed  pulling the trigger on that one…

Who or what are we depending on to ‘protect’ us?

Who…?

oldmanskinandbones.com

June 25, 2018, I signed up and paid for an entry fee for a 20 Mile Run.

This event occurs in Port Allen, LA October 6th-7th 2018.

I signed my son Joshua for the same event and distance too.

Then a run Club member says,  … ” HEY! Y’all should run the 100 Mile Relay with us, it will be fun!”

So it looks like no matter what results, Josh and I are in for a 20 mile run in  “The Children of the Cane 100” .

Awesome! I am so excited !  PUMPED UP !!

Well, I felt that way till it was way past my ‘Bed Time’ later that evening.

Then the ‘worry’ began.

What the HELL was I thinking!?

Sure that is a few weeks away, BUT TWENTY MILES!  AT ONE TIME!?!?!?

And to top THAT off, I seem to be committed to a team effort, running through SUGAR CANE FIELDS,  where 5 other guys will be depending on my ability to complete MY PART, in an acceptable time, and not ‘screw it up’ for the team!

I think these guys are all younger than I, by at least half my age….

What was I thinking!?

What if I let them down?

What if … what if … what if …

Yeah, I was beginning to worry, and doubt this decision.

That is what my thoughts were even till this morning.

I was having coffee at about 4:20 AM. (Yes, I still drink coffee…)

I was rearranging the laces on my Running Shoes, to offer more toe area/freedom, and maybe deal with some numbness that usually occurs at 2.5 miles.

(According to you tube, it is a common issue with most runners)

I also learned some stretches and things you can do to prevent the numbness.

I grabbed a Banana, and a bottle of water, and went out the back gate, and started my Run under an almost Full Moon.

Just before 2 miles, the battery in the left ear announced it was almost ‘gone’.

Ok, I had not turned on the Book I am listening to, nor had I turned on my Running Play List…. I was just listening to the sound of a wonderful Summer Morning.

I can listen to audio books, or music via the Blue Tooth connections in my Hearing Aids….

I figured I would head back to the Back Yard, go ‘potty’, stretch a bit, grab a drink, grab the Banana, and replace that Hearing Aid Battery.

Just before I arrived about a Mile later, I thought, “… FORGET THE BATTERY!”

I was doing fine with the sounds of the Morning…. and my THOUGHTS.

I will be the first to tell you sometimes, my THOUGHTS are just plain TOXIC.

By the arrival to the back gate and my back yard, I had worked through the ‘doubt’, ‘fears’, and the such about the 20 Mile Commitment Oct.6-7th.

I can do this.

I am going to do this.

Screw the Hearing Aid Battery.

Screw the doubts about 20 Miles.

I race, one race.

When I run, my COMPETITION is only one opponent.

That one opponent is ME.

The old ‘Sofa Surfer’, ‘Couch Potato’, ‘Slave to the Standard American Death Diet (SADD)’… …

Actually, I won that ‘race’ and beat ‘HIM’. this morning while running the first 4.5 miles.

I decided to not listen to ‘HIM’ any longer.

I decided I need that goal of a 20 Mile Event Oct. 6-7, 2018.

I decided to TRAIN.

I decided to be there.

I decided to be there every day until then, eating the best nutrition, and training my body and mind with the best thoughts, and physical preparation.

I decided to not be ‘SCARED’ of 20 Miles, a 63 Year Old Body, and a ‘something I have never done before’.

I decided to kick it’s ASS.

I ‘placed’ FIRST in that Event this morning…

AND I ran that 6.23 Miles this morning with 16:56 pace.

Not bad!

(for a starting point)

oldmanskinandbones.com

I ‘met’ Justin Lacy soon after February 28, 2018.

THIS GUY tells the story of running MILES with a ROCK in his shoe.

I believe him!

He is on a job these days somewhere in West Texas where he trained in Triple Digit Texas HEAT for a Heavy Half Marathon in Leadville, CO.

He really did that!  The training, AND the Leadville Heavy Half Marathon.

The guy is a BEAST!

Meet Justin Lacy ( he is the one without a helmet on…)

He was jumping out of a perfectly good airplane, and then took off the parachute (after he was on the ground of course) and then ran a 50 mile ULTRA Marathon…. last year (2017).

He has invited several friends to do the same JUMP OUT OF A PERFECTLY GOOD AIRPLANE again this year…. and then run a ULTRA MARATHON.

No, I am serious.

So is Justin Lacy.

I am going to copy and paste a ‘post’ Justin Lacy just put on FB, and yes, he said I could….

“…

Warning!!!: Whole plant foods have party-goers, food-lovers, couch surfers, and beer guzzlers transforming into high energy, healthy, happy athletes….be careful!! Side effects may include: No lack of energy, No headaches, No digestive issues, No inflammation, No foggy thinking, Increased reduction in depression, No type 2 diabetes, No heart disease, and excessive weight loss will be inevitable. Most all discomfort and disease will diminish also… this epidemic of eating a whole foods plant based lifestyle…. what’s going to happen to all the scooters at Wal-Mart? All the 2x, 3x, 6x clothes??? What’s going to happen when doctors have less and less patients???? Or people will have maybe 1 tv in their home vs 6? Or devices to help grab things while sitting for hours so you don’t have to get up? What’s going to happen to machines to help you breathe when obesity obstructs airways at night? Or the energy drink companies?? How will they be in business when everyone is getting all their higher energy from mother earths foods? Just beware!! YOU may also become healthy as a result of giving up junk and poisons and eating whole plant foods. You MAY even go from being someone over 500 lbs to becoming an ultramarathoner!! Yuck!!! Be careful!

I ‘met’ Joe several weeks ago on FaceBK… introduced by Fatmanrants.com (Tim Kaufman).

From the first time I saw his picture with Tim, I knew Joe was not just a ‘regular ol’ Joe’.

If I correctly remember how the story read,  Joe had entered his first 5K Event and it was getting ‘real’ and maybe one of ‘those voices’ on his shoulder had caught his ear and was convincing him entering a 5K Event was for … someone besides just a regular ol’ Joe.  Then, a not so ‘regular ol’ Tim’ showed up, and told Joe he would finish the Event with him…. and they did.

Joe was Happy Joe…. none of the old stuff…

That is how I remember ‘meeting’ Joe.

Since that day I feel like there has been a special bond form between Joe and myself.  Mostly I watch what goes on with his updates on the social media.

In April, I went on a camping trip in Georgia with my sons, and I was ‘off’ Social Media for most of a week.  Joe came looking for me via Instant Messages.  Seems he had noticed I wasn’t showing pictures of my weird bowls of food, and the such.

When we made that initial reuniting of ‘contact’ he said he became concerned at my absence …. I was touched…

Then one day I saw a picture of Joe smiling, and holding a 2nd Place Medal for a 5K Event, and there was a story with it….

Joe’s wife had written a story along side this picture of a 2nd Place Finisher, who had not that long ago, been all but FINISHED…

Katie wrote the following…

“… 

I am extremely proud of my husband. His doctors said he was too sick for someone his age. His diabetes was way out of control. He’d been sick for 15 years and his body was beginning to really show this. He was put on an insulin pump that we first thought was the answer only to see we were wrong. Joe’s diabetes was out of control for many years. Foot neuropathy so bad he could barely walk by evening, high sugar readings sometimes the machine wouldn’t even register, deep depression, anxiety and he needed more and more insulin. Let’s not even get started on his IBS. He never wanted to leave the house. He always felt bad because we had to cancel so many plans because he simply couldn’t leave the house. Me? I was depressed. I was losing my husband and our daughter was losing her father. He pushed us away, went to bed as soon as he got home and didn’t care if he lived or died. 2016-2017 was HELL for his health, our marriage and our lives.
I’m here to tell you today- regardless how you feel today- you can change. We adopted a wfpb lifestyle in November 2017. On Monday my husband was finally told he can STOP 🛑 his insulin. He reversed his diabetes. This is huge for us. We were always told once you take insulin you never can go off it. Guess what? They were wrong. Now you can give me all the reasons in the world why this lifestyle can’t work for you. Those are excuses. I’m not trying to be mean but they are. I’ve seen first hand in only 8 months someones health turn around completely. An added bonus? Between us we have both lost over 130 lbs.
Joe won a medal at our second 5k for his age group. See that smile? Every time I see it I can’t help but smile back because for so long that Joe was gone. We now have an even better version of a husband and father back.
One of my favorite sayings is we are our own worst enemies. Guys- get out of your own way. ❤Joe’s full story can be found on his blog fattobeast.com

 — feeling grateful …

I was so moved by this story as ‘pinned’ by Joe’s wife Katie I tried reading it to my wife…

It took forever to finally read it to Betty because I was sobbing and wiping tears and blowing snot to the point, I didn’t know if I could complete the  reading of the story.

I contacted Katie and told her I wanted to blog their story and she said yes!

Joe is not some ‘ol’ Joe…. and Katie is not some ol’ Katie.  They are two beacons of light in a world of such sadness, darkness, and surrender.

They said NO to the status quo, and yes to Health and Happiness.  They took charge and took a new life as individuals and as a couple.

You want something to BE HAPPY about?

Look at Joe.

Thank you Joe and Katie…

Thank you for sharing your lives… the good parts as well as the tough parts.

Thank you for the HOPE of something better, something FUN, and something HEALTHY!.

oldmanskinandbones.com

P.S.

Joe and Katie’s story is not uncommon.  Untold numbers of people have turned to a Whole Food Plant Based Life Style and reversed the Chronic Diseases which have become acceptable as the ‘NORMAL’ pattern of ‘life’ in our times.

We can PREVENT them from ever occurring.

It IS the FOOD.

Not some Fad Diet where we have to “SUFFER”, Count Calories, Measure Proteins, FEAR CARBS.

Folks, the shirt Joe is wearing says it all ….

“… EAT PLANTS and MOVE YOUR BODY.  ALL YA GOTTA DO IS A LITTLE MORE THAN YA DID YESTERDAY…” (FATMANRANTS.COM)

In my early days of going to a lifestyle of Whole Food Plant Based Food, I found a fellow on Face Book whose page was called Fatmanrants.com

I would tell all the guys how that you could still be a ‘real man’…. a tough guy…. and just eat plants.

Fatmanrants.com (Tim Kaufman) was my ‘proof’, or example to my buddies I was ‘ok’ after my Triple By Pass, and that I was not becoming a ‘sissy’ since I gave up eating all animal products and gave up all dairy items ( yes, including Blue Bell Ice Cream).

I saw his wife Heather in his post more and more, and realized her story was as wonderful as was Fatmans….  In fact, more than once I saw her referred to as Mrs Fatman…. but she was so pretty, and Fatman was…. well….  ….

…. well, Fatman sure looks A LOT BETTER than he did over 400 pounds.

You know I am just kidding.  I love Tim and Heather both.

They live some where in the state of New York.   Seems to be a small town.  Well, at least ‘small’ compared to New York City…

And to show you how much I respect Tim, IF HE WERE to make some Hot Sauce, I would eat it with out fear of being ‘less’ of a Texan.

Really.

Some day, Betty and I are going to travel to New York and visit in person with Tim and Heather.

They are sweet folks.

If you need ideas about how to make the move to eating more Plants, thus leaving the toxic Standard American Death Diet behind, follow Tim at Fatmanrants.com !

You will be happy you did.

Even if you are a hard core #wfpbno #plantpowered type of person, meet these folks.

They ARE, a Blessing!

(Tim posted: Being grateful while we enjoy a whole food plant-based lifestyle has flipped our world upside down.
What will it do for you?
**Results aren’t just typical, they are expected. …)

Thank you Tim and Heather!

You are loved by many grateful folks who have been blessed by your stories.

oldmanskinandbones.com

#wfpbno #plantpowered #eatplants #movealittemore #nomorelookingovermyshoulder

My FitBit Watch Report since the first day it began recording some time in March 2018.

1,384,902 steps …. wow!

529.02 miles, most walked, some by running!

The month of May 2018 I added up ‘Training’ or ‘Events’ (running) as a total of 77.96 miles.

I am impressed!

The Fat Boy who wore that hoodie can’t even ‘wrap’ his mind around running 77.96 yards, not to mention 77.96 MILES!!!!

Again, the main focus at this point is that I am getting INTO SHAPE, I am not getting BACK IN SHAPE.

I have never been in this general condition in my life except maybe when I was in High School.  But I have NEVER been in this good of condition in my entire life.

But I never purposed to condition the body as a ‘fine tuned machine’ with the BEST FUEL (Whole Food/Plants) and no toxic Standard American Death Diet.

I have never purposed to condition the physical aspect of the body by being INFORMED.

My previous mindset was NO PAIN NO GAIN!!  IF YOU AIN’T THROWING UP YOU AIN’T TRAINING HARD ENOUGH!!

That is what we did back in the 60’s….in High School.  That is what ‘everyone’ believed.

Well, it is wrong.

Plus I am 63.  I may be ‘old’, but if something wrong is wrong, it is wrong at any age.

It is generally reported the average SENIOR walks around 5000 steps a day.  Some suggest a Senior aim for 8000 steps a day.

Aim for something, and aim for more today than yesterday.  It doesn’t take much.

I like what my friend Tim Kaufman (Fatmanrants.com) says… “Eat plants and move your body, all ya gotta do is a little more than ya did yesterday. – Tim Kaufman”.

But folks, the focus is “…a little more than ya did yesterday…”.

You do not have to run 5K, 10K, or Marathons.

But you might…..

You might just be surprised …

Step #1.  It is the FOOD.  Eat PLANTS/Whole Foods.  No processed crap.

Step #2.  Move your body.  Walking is the best, and safest way to start.  Keep it simple.

Step #3.  Repeat steps #1, and #2.

Enjoy life.

Live LIFE till you die.

Free yourself from the pain, failure, and disappointment.

Be INFORMED, then DO A LITTLE MORE!

You do not need to COUNT calories.  You do not need to MEASURE proteins.  You do not need to FEAR carbs.

oldmanskinandbones.com