Good Wine, Good Friends....Good God!!!

It's a well known fact that things like wine and single malt scotch get better through the process of fermentation and as they age, their value rises, their taste improves and well, they just get better with age. So that thought drew me to the dictionary to see what ferment really meant.

Ferment: To be in a state of agitation or intense activity....who knew what really goes on in those barrels.

So what does fermentation have to do with this blog. Well, like wine and scotch we like to think our lives and our bodies get better with age. But speaking for this tired old bag of bones and skin, the only thing getting better for me are the odds I will not reach the ripeness of old age and enjoy the fruits of my labor. I am quickly spoiling and  my ability to better with age will be lost.

Over the past month or so, there have been, lets say, warning flags or as comedian Bill Engvall calls them, signs for the stupid, like getting my fat ass stuck in a chair or just not being able to maintain my body hygiene...nuff said....I am bigger today than I have ever been in my life. I have also been diagnosed with sleep apnea that has cost me financially, physically and mentally as well as strained a 33 year old marriage. After enduring a sleep study that revealed collapsing airways every 30 seconds and blood oxygen levels only the dead would have envied, I now sleep with a machine that allows me to sleep like most people. Before my Bi-pap machine, I was falling asleep while sitting up which caused me to fall into things like furniture or off of chairs. In a movie it would be called slap-stick, for me it was a slap in the face.

So that began phase one of getting better with age. My apnea was affecting my life in a very negative way, but it also provided me with an excuse not to do anything physically, I was just too tired. Remember part of fermenting is intense activity so I am not getting better, I am just stinking up the place. Now after 10 days, I feel I have more energy, but I fear I am going to miss my dear friend, the excuse of being too tired.

So I have experienced warning flags, ah-ha moments and signs of stupidity, but today I got hit upside the head as I came face to face with my ever growing problem, I bought a scale.

Those digital numbers will never replace a dog as man's best friend but today the number 288 will not be my pick three or the beginning of a new pin number. That my friends is my current weight. It's not a surprise. All I have to do is look at pictures of special events in my families lives to document my increasing footprint on planet earth.

I also know I am very lucky that my wake up calls, including today's $20.00 purchase, have not involved great physical harm in the form of heart attacks or strokes, but I too often feel I am treading on ice thick enough to hold a car but for me it's becoming increasingly thin.

So today I proclaim war on weight, the fight against fat and a battle against bulge. As a part of this skirmish, I will use this blog and its readers to hold me accountable. I know I am setting my self up for failure and embarassment  by publishing this and future blog posts, but nothing else has worked to motivate me to make these necessary changes so why not success through humiliation.

There are personal reasons....I want to track my success or failure as a reminder in the future as changes continue to be made, good or bad.  It is also a writing challenge for me to have this as a part of my routine. This means it won't always be about weight gain or loss  or how many miles I have walked.

I also have a pretty cool job that is fun to talk about as a producer-director for ESPN, doing college sports. So there will also be updates and thoughts about places I get to visit and things I get to cover in college football and basketball.

I also have three grown and great kids whose lives are changing constantly and a part of that is the soon to be arrival of our number two and three grandchildren. That alone should be the motivation I need to get me started and to conquer my enemy  and my fear of failure.

And more than anything, I have a very caring and supportive wife, Julie, who rides this roller coaster of a life with me. I'm quite sure there are many times she would like to get off and see me ride alone without the safety bar, but for some reason she is always there beside me.

So there it is. I stand naked before you....not to worry I will not include before pics....my hopes and fears published for those who care or can tolerate the goings on of an average life documented by an average writer. I have a diet plan and an exercise program that includes a gym membership that last year cost me $600.00 per visit....well one visit and $50.00 per month. I also have goals. Not so much a number, but a present to myself. You see in October of 2015 I will turn 60. At one time I played and enjoyed golf even though I never broke 90 I don't think. But on or near my 60th birthday, I want to be physically able to play Pebble Beach Golf Links, walking with a caddy and re-learn the game of golf to finally break 90 strokes for 18 holes, maybe  not at Pebble Beach, but on regular basis.

I also have a number in mind, but know there are plateaus and weight levels that I will face and don't want a number as my only measurement of success. I also have clothes I want to wear again, be able to wear a tie and button the top button on a shirt, enjoy yard work again and not ache every day. But more than anything I want to see and enjoy what my Dad didn't get to witness, grandchildren grow up.

Someone once said "Next year I will be older than I have ever been before." Kind of a Yogi Berra statement but to know I will be able to see next year and the years after as I keep getting older than last year, I will know everyday, I am getting better with age.