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10 OUR YUCAIPA | OCTOBER 2014 The Middle of the Road: By Randy Peters, a middle-aged, middle-income, middle-school teacher A couple of weeks ago I was shopping at a craft store. I found what I needed and was rushing along trying to get to the other side of the store where the registers were. As I sped around the corner with my purchase in hand, a woman quite a bit older than I am quickly pulled back her cart and said, "I'll let you go first. You move much faster than I do." It was then that I noticed the woman was tall, well-dressed, very thin, had a full head of white hair pulled back to a neat bun. I also noticed she was wearing some kind of support around her mid- section. I thanked her for her kindness, made a quick left and started on my way. Then she surprised me and spoke up again. "Don't ever get old," she said. I turned to her and said, "Oh, but I do plan to get old. I plan to get very, very old. When you think about the alternative, I embrace aging." She turned her head and said, "I hadn't thought about that. But I do know aging will certainly slow you down." I told her that's okay. The way I'm rushing through the store, I need to learn to slow down a bit. I believe that we should always try to learn from the people we meet and the experiences we had. So on the way home I started asking myself some questions. Am I doing what I should at my age to be healthy? At what point does one just chalk up aches and pains or physical restrictions to aging? How big a factor is heredity? Is this just one big crap shoot anyway? I suppose if I knew how to guarantee healthy and long productive lives, I would knock Dr. Oz off his pedestal, make a million or two, and hire my own chef and personal trainer. My dad, his dad, and two of my three uncles all died of heart disease at 65. I've been on cholesterol and blood pressure medications for years — medications that the previous generations didn't have available. My doctor reminds me that I can't fight heredity, but I can try to control all the other health factors in my life. I'm not that good at controlling those factors. But I am really good at rationalizing them. I remind myself that I don't eat ground beef cooked in Crisco and added to pasta with buttered white bread on the side which was the family go-to dinner at least three times a week when I was a kid. I tell myself that I am active at work and move around campus and the classroom more than my dad moved around his desk at work. I don't smoke, may have a drink once every couple of months, and haven't had soda since my kidney stone surgery last spring. Isn't that enough? No. Actually, no it's not enough. I know it; you know it. And, let's face it, Dr. Oz who is in good shape and obviously good health, knows it too. So what do I do about it? I've started tracking my weight. I keep track of the number of steps I do daily with my "fitbit." I am drinking so much water that I may be the source of the drought in California. I plan to go to a Yoga class this week, and hopefully go again and again. The clothes and dust are coming off the recumbent bike and treadmill. And I'll probably use them somewhat regularly! But I think the best fitness equipment I have is this column. I'm going public. I'm letting you good people of Yucaipa know that sometimes it's time for us "middle-of-the-road" people to be a little more selfish and take care of ourselves. We are so used to doing for our spouses, our kids, our jobs, and our friends. But if we don't take care of ourselves, the alternative may come faster than we want. So, let's take a walk, join the gym, visit our doctors, and eat healthier. It's time for me to practice what I've told my wife for 28 years, "Grow old with me; the best is yet to be." Keep your eyes on the road. Grow Old Gracefully or Fight it Every Step of the Way $10 Off Oil Change brake speCial $89 99 expires 11/1/14 expires 11/1/14 FALL SpeciALS Am I doing what I should at my age to be healthy? … How big a factor is heredity? Is this just one big crap shoot anyway?

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