Category: Life with Pratts

Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight

This isn’t about the Beatles album Abbey Road. It’s a follow-up to something from last year, about alcoholic beverages.

C2H5OH

I’ve stopped consuming alcohol. Not only was it affecting my sleep, it was one reason why I had put on weight.

Oh, to be 50 again!
I certainly enjoyed beer and wine when I weighed only 165 pounds, but not only was I younger then, I was running 2000 miles/year. Lately I’ve been averaging 18 miles/week, albeit at a slower pace than in my middle-aged prime.

A year ago my cholesterol was 210, just over the “safe” 200 threshold. My doctor prescribed a statin, but I wanted nothing to do with it. My hope was that an alcohol-free liver combined with a better running schedule would do the trick… and it worked. My cholesterol is now 170, and my belt is three notches in from where it was during the pandemic.

Saving money wasn’t a consideration in my decision, but it’s another advantage to abstaining. I’m not saying I’ll never again have a pint of beer or a glass of wine, but the benefits of not indulging, especially a good night’s sleep, are better than enjoying an evening drink.

Panel 3 accurately describes Winter training for the Boston Marathon in my somewhat younger years.

BMOC Wannabe

My dreamy-eyed college ID photo. The staple holes came from meal passes.
Stevie Wonder’s Innervisions was a favorite record during my freshman year of college. “Jesus Children of America” was a significant song for me. I had started doing Transcendental Meditation at the end of my senior year of high school (my assigned mantra was “ee-mah”), and my involvement with a church at home had extended to joining a Christian Fellowship group on campus.

I haven’t listened to the album all the way through in many years. My 50-year-old copy of the LP is playing now, and Innervisions is every bit as accomplished and enjoyable as I remember it.

Rock (of Ages) Music

I try to sustain a mostly buoyant tone in my posts, but I’ve been grappling with a difficult and stressful personal situation. Fifty years ago, during the craziness of adjusting to college life, I bought a record of Gregorian Chants. Listening to it on headphones helped to calm my nerves, so I’m going to give it a try today. Track 9, “College Runt”, is a favorite. 😉

When fully restored, I’ll follow that up with this musical meditation. See? Buoyancy!