Labor Day Thoughts

Happy Labor Day!

I find Labor Day to be a curious holiday. On New Year's Day we celebrate the beginning of a new year. On Memorial Day we celebrate the memories of our armed forces and loved ones. On Independence Day we celebrate our freedom and independence. And, on Labor Day - do we celebrate our labors? Well, perhaps, but generally we enjoy the day off!

On Exercise Physiology

This one could easily have come under the heading "More I Don't Understand...." Can someone explain to me why a person can stand for hours without noticing much more than sore feet, can squat down (baseball catcher style) for several minutes with only minor discomfort in the knees, yet when taking a pose somewhere in between find their muscles screaming within seconds?

To play along... Sitting in a chair, extend you arms directly above your head, lock your elbows and clench your fists. (If you prefer, you can also clasp your hands together.) Now, lift your butt about three inches off the chair and hold this position until you begin breathing hard or feel discomfort in your legs. Some of you who are in better shape will surely be able to do this for a longer period of time than I, but I can just about guarantee you can't hold this position for as long as you stand upright or squat fully. Why is that? What is it about this body position that makes it so much more difficult to maintain?

Some of you may know this as a yoga pose (the Chair Pose, though the book I've read refers to is as the Power Pose). If you think yoga is only about relaxation and breathing, think again. Holding yoga poses not only stretches your muscles but gives them a heck of workout as well.

Look for more of my adventures in yoga in coming "Healthy Heedings" entries.

On Quality Education

As graduation time nears, high school seniors are contemplating "What's next?" Like the game Life, some will choose career paths while others will continue on the school path. As a proud alum of Iowa State University (ISU), I've been known to suggest reasons for attending there. But I'm quick to point out that I believe one will get a quality education at any of the public universities in Iowa. Often the decision comes down to what field the student wishes to study.

It is with this backdrop that I read about the cuts being made at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI). In tough economic times, difficult choices need to be made in all arenas - corporate, non-profit, and educational institutions. These decisions are never easy and they almost always involve high levels of emotion for those involved. I don't claim to understand the intricate complexities of how these decisions are reached. But in this particular instance, one thing stood out as odd to me - the closing of the Price Laboratory School.

I have no connection to the school, no emotional stake whether it closes or remains open. The reason I find it odd is that it seems so fundamental to what UNI is about. When I talk to young people about how they can get a great education at any of the state schools, I typically ask what they are interested in studying. With good liberal arts programs at all three - ISU, UNI, and the University of Iowa - a solid education is assured. But when I think of each, there are certain programs that stand out. At Iowa State these include veterinary medicine, architecture, and engineering. At the University of Iowa, I think of medicine (UIHC), dentistry, and law. At UNI, I think of teaching. (*)

When corporations look to cut, they often work to retain their "core." They often divest those things that are peripheral so they can invest in their areas of greatest strength. So, if in fact, teaching and education are at the core of UNI, why close a laboratory school that provides an environment for new teachers to hone their skills? I can't imagine the vet med program at ISU continuing without a lab setting in which future veterinarians can learn. Nor can I imagine, medical school at the U of I without UIHC. Yes, future teachers can intern elsewhere, but having a laboratory school on campus provides a centralized location for university students to begin the practice of teaching, while still under the watchful eye of their own teachers (the university professors).

I looked up some information on UNI's own website and ran across this interesting quote from Malcolm Price (for whom the school is named):

"The facilities of the school are essential to the professional education of teachers and give the college a greater opportunity to be of service to the state of Iowa."

For additional historical information about the Malcolm Price Laboratory School, refer to the "Building Histories" section of the UNI website.

Education is a key area of life. Quality education starts with first rate instructors. First rate instructors need appropriate education and opportunities to practice their skills. Whether the Price Lab school remains open or not, I trust that UNI will continue to produce quality educators.

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(*) Note: By listing certain programs at each school, it is not my intent to discount the other fine programs. These are just some key program areas that come to mind when I think of each school.

Get a Big Pencil

I've long known Scott Adams to be very astute at capturing the daily challenges of corporate life. Little did I know that he also had a knack for our daily personal struggles.

There is little doubt that writing down every morsel will help us to be cognizant of what we are eating and will likely result in our eating less. Writing down other details - our mood, where we were, special occasions, etc. - may also help us to see developing patterns. Do you eat every time you get down but not when you are with friends? Knowing that may encourage you to surround yourself with friends whenever you may be feeling blue. Perhaps more helpful is writing out a menu plan in advance and sticking to it.

And hey, if you have a really big pencil, the workout won't hurt either.

They say "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." (More accurately, Lao-tzu said it, and many have quoted it since.) They - I believe a different "they" then the first - also say "The best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time." Over the course of my life I believe I have mastered the latter. Now, it is time for me to embark on a better journey - one step at a time - and master the former.

I've embarked on this journey multiple times before.

Each time I've walked hundreds of thousands of steps and shed tens of pounds. But each time I've found reason to turn around, tired from the trek, hail a cab and ride, stopping at every greasy spoon and five-start restaurant, collecting all that I had left behind and picking up a few extras along the way. This time must be different.

I will no longer make this journey alone. My wife will continue to help, my sons will see to a certain level of activity, and I will have recollections of activities already missed. I will have you - my readers - who can hold me accountable and ask me how things are going. But most importantly, I will have the help of another, based on one final saying...

Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26, NIV)

In this passage, Jesus was explaining how difficult it is for the wealthy to get into the kingdom of God. (In his day wealth was often shown through a bounty of rich foods.) He suggests that it would be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle. While I know this is not meant literally, I can't help but think if I am to pass through the eye of a needle, I must first take this journey.

If you are someone in need of a similar journey, I invite you to follow along. We can journey together. Share your thoughts; I would welcome the support and accountability. And I promise to share some encouraging words, a cartoon or two, and a few forced analogies along the way. I won't post everyday, but will aim for a minimum of once a week.

My own sense of social decorum and humility preclude me from including "before" pictures (no one needs to see that). Over time perhaps I'll be brave enough to share a few numbers, but otherwise, the entries here will be about the ups and downs of the journey itself. I hope some of you will find them helpful.

Gracious God - I humbly turn my journey over to you. I've tried repeatedly on my own, only to find short term success and reversion to old habits. But I trust that with you all things are possible. Please lead me to a full understanding of the importance of this journey. I pray through my sharing others may be helped as well. I ask these things in the name of your Son, my Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

[Note: I considered a separate blog for this journey, but instead will use a common label for all related entries - just search for the entries marked "Healthy Heedings." I still had to stick to my pattern.]

More I Don't Understand...

The blimp has become a fixture at sporting events in the United States. (I don't know whether this phenomenon exists outside of the states, but that's not the part I don't understand.) Whether it's the Goodyear blimp, DirecTV's Airship, or one of MetLife's Snoopy fleet, they provide incredible aerial coverage of any number of sporting events. My personal favorites are the overhead views of golf shots. But they also provide coverage of football, racing, and occasionally baseball. But the NCAA Basketball tournament? This is truly March Madness. Yes, the blimps provide nice aerial shots of the host cities, but nothing of the games inside. Do we really need these overhead shots of the arenas?

Some Things I May Never Understand...

Today I offer commentary on two things which have occurred to me in the past 48 hours that I'm convinced I'll never understand.

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First, is the annual ritual we call March Madness. Every year, there are teams selected to the tournament as well as teams left out of the tournament that some people disagree with. And, even if you accept the selected teams, you may quibble over the way they were seeded.

I am a graduate of Iowa State University and having my Cyclones selected to the tournament for the first time in a number of years was a great thrill. I didn't even care where they were seeded; I was simply excited that they were in. I could go on about the Cyclones and their match ups, but that really isn't the part that I'll never understand. What I really don't understand is this - How can the Missouri Tigers be, according to the selection committee chairman, the 4th #2 seed (or the 8th best overall)? In the rankings that came out March 5th - prior to conference tournaments - Missouri was ranked 5th in the AP poll, 5th in the USA Today/ESPN poll, and 10th according to RPI. Fast forward to the end of the conference tournaments and you find that the teams ahead of them in the two polls - Kentucky, Syracuse, Kansas, and North Carolina - all lost. In the RPI, Baylor was ahead of them, but Missouri beat them head-to-head in the Big 12 conference tournament championship game. They are 30-4. All four losses were conference games and three were on the road. I understand that a loss to Oklahoma State (even in Stillwater) didn't help them nor did two losses to Kansas State. But aren't those easily offset by a split with Kansas, two wins over Iowa State, and three wins against Baylor? What more could Missouri have done? I'm sure I'll never understand the bracketing for March Madness.

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The second is the English language. In particular (today), I'm wondering what need we have for the letter 'c'. On his spelling test today, my first-grade son spelled the word "cart" k-a-r-t. My wife was concerned that he was influenced by video games like Mario-Kart. But upon thinking about this and discussing it, I had to wonder why we think c-a-r-t is any more natural. The letter 'k' always has the hard sound, while the 'c' is a wishy-washy hard or soft depending on how it feels. We already have an 's' for soft 'c' sound and the 'k' handles the hard sound; why do we need 'c' at all? Consider the word "circus" - why not s-i-r-k-u-s? (For that matter, why is the 'i' not an 'e'? Who decided that "circus" makes more sense than "serkus"?) My wife pointed out that we still need the "ch" sound. I'll grant that, but why not create a separate single character for that similar to Greek? Why not a single sound for each character? I could even accept dual use of vowels with some form of diacritical marking to distinguish between long and short sounds, but why allow a single character to represent multiple sounds depending on context?

I could go on, but I think I'll spend the time creating my own language instead. Writer or note, I may never understand the English language.

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It seems quite likely that "Things I May Never Understand" will become a semi-regular series. There is certainly plenty in this world that I may never fully grasp. What things do you believe you'll never understand?