A Perfect Balance

A recent post by Richard Machida got me thinking, and that's always dangerous.

Here's the Link:  http://blog.machida.us/2012/08/is-riding-unhealthy.html

After the driving restriction from my heart problems was lifted, my goal for getting to and from work was to ride Max, walk or take the famous Canadian Subaru (Monty) in roughly equal proportions. Lately though I have been failing miserably at attaining that goal. I was riding Max too much. (Is that even possible?) For the last 3 weeks I had ridden the scooter almost every day. The walking hadn't been entirely abandoned because I walk the dogs frequently. It was poor Monty (the famous Canadian Subaru) that was being ignored.

So today I took out on foot to maybe achieve "A Perfect Balance". To hell with the car, I wanted to walk.

East Central Avenue in the early morning. Not too much traffic yet on a Friday.

I track my exercise with a phone App called Endomondo. It uses the GPS device in the phone to compute distances, calories used and all sorts of not very useful information. But it's fun and it shows that I have walked almost 500 miles in the last year or so. Not spectacular, but not bad. I have to admit I feel better for it. When I walk, I think. It helps clear out the cobwebs in my mind. Today as I walked, I was thinking about Richard's post. I was considering the balance in my life. Almost a Zen feeling. It was a beautiful morning, not quite as hot today. As I walked along, I crossed over a creek with not much water in it.

This creek never has a lot of water in it, but it's damn near dry right now.

I was thinking that it would be more of "A Perfect Balance" to have a little more water in that creek. Not so much as to flood it, something more in the middle. We could sure use some rain.

Walking is an excellent form of exercise. Here's a pic of the dogs on a recent evening walk. After dinner and a short nap, they are always ready to go and see what has happened in the neighborhood. My wife and I alternate nights to walk them, but we do it almost every evening.It's good for them, too.

Madeline (in front) is 16 yrs old. Sophie is 3.

Recently we were in the Taos, New Mexico area and did a little hiking near a ski resort. Now there's some walking for you. Uphill at 7,800 ft elevation. The dogs loved it. The humans did too. (Even me, the Cyborg)

The dogs tried to be in charge of the route, but seemed more interested in chasing small creatures.

Now some people are interested in extreme sports. I own a Subaru and a motorcycle (scooter). The next picture has a Subaru and a motorcycle, could it be me?  Naaah. A little too extreme for me, not quite "A Perfect Balance".

Taken from UK's "Top Gear" website

But I admit to doing something a little more extreme lately. My daughter and her husband have been doing some riding on mountain bike trails and have encouraged me to try one of the courses out. So on a Sunday evening we headed out to Millers Meadow.

http://www.kansascyclist.com/trails/MillersMeadow.html

My daughter looking pretty fierce just after our ride. She's a helluva rider and was my guide for the evening.

Endomondo says we did the 5 mile course in about 44 minutes averaging about 6.7 mph. Now that may sound slow, and it was, but let me tell you, some of it was pretty gnarly. (Yes, I said Gnarly)
Some of the gullies that had very unsettling bottoms to them. At times the path was just wide enough for your handlebars, not to mention ruts from the parched earth.

Will I do the course again? Probably, but I think I prefer just a nice smooth bike path. Maybe something a little less extreme, but it was fun and I hadn't done anything like that since I was a kid. I never fell that evening, but I admit to stopping and walking the bike through a few really deep and scary gullies.

A little blood was the result, but it was a lot tamer than it looked. You see, taking heart medications, including a coagulant, makes it a little harder to stop bleeding. This was just from brushing up against a tree branch.

Now, you have to realize that there are at least two ways to achieve "A Perfect Balance" Balances can be achieved in both a physical and a spiritual sense. Take this next picture for instance:

Just like from "A Field of Dreams", having a dog and a beer at the ball park.

If you drank beer and ate hot dogs all the time, obviously that wouldn't be too good for you physically. But moderation is possible in my book. Spiritually, though, spending an evening at the ball park with my son can be very rewarding. Some hat, huh?

When I was in college, as an elective, I took a course in nutrition. Thought it would be easy, it wasn't. Thought it might be boring, it wasn't. The professor was really good and I learned a lot. One thing I always remember is that she used to say that your body has a tendency to know what it needs for you. It will make you hungry for things that it needs. Now some nutrients, like most sugars, in excess can be very bad for you. But in moderation, all things can be good.

As I walked this morning I went by this fast food restaurant, popular in this area. They have nice greasy hamburgers, shakes and fries. But they also have fairly healthy turkey on pita sandwiches. I bet they serve more burgers, but at least they maybe try to achieve "A Perfect Balance".

Fast greasy food here with a balance of some healthy options.

Then right across the street from the eatery and at the end of my morning walk is the ER where I spent some time 18 months ago. A lot of this "Balance" stuff is my attempt to try and avoid this place in the future.

A place to avoid if you can, but pretty fantastic people there if you really need them.

Maybe the best way to achieve "A Perfect Blance" is to spend time with your loved ones.

At the ball park with my wonderful wife. We tested out a few beers that night. Everything in moderation.

Ride On and Carpe Diem, my friends.

..

Fiercely Local at Douglas and Oliver

The excitement is building. A formerly renowned and locally owned  Italian restaurant, known as Angelo's, closed for many years, may now be reopened by a relative of the family that started it. This is big news to the local citizenry. For some people it is the joy in the recollection of the fantastic aroma of the meatball sandwiches. For others it is simply the spaghetti and meatballs. For still others it is the incredibly authentic Italian salad with an un-pitted olive, eggplant pieces and dripping with savory Italian salad dressing. But for me, it was the Deluxe pizza.

I recall vividly the first time I tasted one of those pizzas. It was with my wife to be, her mother and her brother at the restaurant's location on East Harry street here in Wichita. The place was hardly what you would consider fancy. In fact it was kind of a cheap looking place. But nobody cared because they knew how good the food was. A warning note on the menu says that if you order the extra large deluxe pizza, be prepared to wait a little longer, because it takes awhile to bake. Nobody complained because they knew what was coming. Just ask my sister about the place. Long after she and her husband had moved to Tulsa, they would sneak back to Wichita and dine there.

That pizza is close to an inch thick! There were chunks (yes, chunks) of  beef, Italian sausage, ham and the most amazing pepperoni I have ever tasted along with green pepper, black olives, mushrooms and onions. Cheese is piled high. The only possible imperfection, to a Cyborg like me, might be the crust, but I never heard any complaints. Everything else was so spectacularly good. One piece was all most people needed. I kid you not!

The potential future location is the northeast corner of Douglas and Oliver streets, a place that once was a popular, locally owned jewelry store for many, many years.

It was almost sad to see the former jewelry store close. In the day of big chain stores in the mall, this local store had fought a good battle for market share. My wife and I had purchased rings there in the past. Everybody in town knew where this store was and the good reputation it had in the community. Eventually though, the markets became more difficult and the store eventually closed.

Ironically, very close to this location, across the street and down a little bit is one of my favorite pizza restaurants. This place, also locally owned,  has wood oven pizza, jazz music, great atmosphere and great pizza, calzones, salads and sandwiches.  

All the pizzas are good, many with unique toppings such as artichoke hearts, spinach, etc, that wouldn't be found on a pizza from a"corporate pizza" restaurant.

You may or may not know that "Pizza Hut" started here in Wichita in the 1960's. The original owners, two brothers, sold out to Pepsico, I think in the 1980's. I don't blame them. They made a bunch of $. They were hugely successful and I have eaten a lot of their pizzas over the years. Their pizzas were good. I say "were", because now the recipes are different and, in my opinion, the restaurants are now just very "corporate", the bottom line is more important than the food. I guess that's what happens when the company has to answer to Wall Street and shareholders, rather than the actual customers.

The original Angelo's Italian restaurant was never that way. Il Vicino isn't either. I haven't eaten a Pizza Hut pizza voluntarily for many years. For the same reasons I won't eat at Domino's or any other big chain. Something gets lost in the process.

Being "Fiercely Locally Owned" seems to thrive at this intersection. All 4 corners have retail stores, but the southwest corner is the most interesting, to me.

Supposedly the first true shopping center in the history of the world. I cannot verify that, but there are some great stores here. A marvelous florist, a good shoe store and a variety of shops.

This shopping center was not too far from the edge of town in the 1940's, far enough from downtown, that a walk downtown, to go shopping, would have taken awhile. But a walk here from what is known as the College Hill residential area would be rather nice. People used to walk more, and not complain about it.

Max in the morning sun helping to provide evidence of the origin date on the shopping center.

There is one local store here that I admire a great deal. One that has survived the upheavals of the market crash and weathered blistering competition from national chain stores. It is a locally owned bookstore. 

Surviving in a vast sea of competition, this small, but mighty, locally owned bookstore is an anchor for this shopping center. 

I am sure they have struggled at times, financially, as they compete with big box stores like Barnes and Noble and Borders, etc. But the customers of this store remain "fiercely loyal" to their local neighborhood book store at a time when it would seem that the obstacles against them might be insurmountable. Nonetheless, they survive. They compete. They do not give up!

It is almost like Winston Churchill, who was quoted as saying something like:

 "Never, Ever, Ever, Ever Give Up!"

I guess this Cyborg likes the idea of being "Fiercely Local" and not ever, ever giving up.

A lot of very loyal former customers hope the Angelo's restaurant is able to be revived. I bet my sister, who now lives in the Dallas area, will drive up and partake of their food once again.

Ride On and Carpe Diem my friends.

Jimbo

Taking Out The Liners & A Very Strange Cow

 How Humid Was It?......

Well, Let Me Tell You.....

The weatherman said that the temperature at 7:00 am was 61 degrees
                                       the dew point was 60 degrees
                                       the relative humidity was 97%
He said if there wasn't a 15 mph breeze from the south, It'd be Foggy As Hell!

(Well, maybe he didn't say "hell")

There was no way I was leaving the liners in my gear. My pants have a fleece and a waterproof liner. Out they came.

My jacket has just a fleece liner (a waterproof liner in a denim jacket is nonsense)., But out it came, too.

The next step was to change gloves. The old Aerostich Summer Vegan (my favorites) were patiently hanging in the garage for over a year. I didn't put the winter gloves away just yet. Might still need them.

80 degrees in March! Are you kidding me?

On the way to work today, I had a mission to stop by the Grand Opening of the new "Chick fil A" not too far from my house. Yes, we didn't have one in Wichita. We have lead a deprived life. The restaurant opened up at 6:00 am today and people had camped out since yesterday to be one of the first 100 customers. Seems that the first hundred would get a free sandwich every day for a year, or something like that.

I was not one of the campers. But I did stop by to get a couple of pics.

At this one in the parking lot, if you make the proper left turn you can enter the "two lane drive thru".

Ahh,, what they won't think of next.

And, of course there was a radio station with their DJ blasting music and this guy....

I regret that I didn't stop and buy anything. Guess I don't get too excited about new restaurants, especially fast food ones. Although, from what I hear, their food is pretty good. I am unable to judge it, though, having never tried it. Maybe someday.