Posted on January 10, 2019 under Thursday Tidbits with no comments yet

Logged a few kilometers yesterday… 32.5 to be exact.

 

I do a lot of thinking about my health these days which is pretty standard practice for the over 65 crowd. I can’t think of too many people my age who don’t have a health issue of some sort whether it is creaky bones, poor sight or questionable hearing. Questionable hearing is not to be confused with selective listening especially if your spouse or partner is on the other end of the communication. Many others have afflictions far worse.

A few years ago, I attended a most interesting lecture at St.F.X. University. The guest speaker was Ryan Meili, author of the book “A Healthy Society: How a Focus on Health Can Revive Canadian Democracy. Don’t go to sleep on me here. He talked about the social determinants of health. According to a Government of Canada website, “determinants of health are the broad range of personal, social, economic and environmental factors that determine individual and population health.”

I won’t list them all. There are eleven including (surprise, surprise) income and social status, education and literacy, healthy behaviours and access to health services. To see the full list click on this link: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/health-promotion/population-health/what-determines-health.html

I want to focus here on number 6 which is social supports and coping skills.

I’m doing a lot of walking these days with my brother out here in Victoria. He is a walking machine. He walks at least twice a day to keep him and his dog in good shape. Very often he walks with friends. Of all the social determinants of health, friendship might be the most underrated. Friendship is a form of social support and having good friends can make a huge difference in a person’s physical and mental health. Walking is good for the heart, the mind and the soul. Add liberal doses of talk and laughter along the trail is an added bonus.

We may not be able to rearrange our DNA or easily change our economic status, but staying connected and walking with friends can be achieved by almost everyone.

Which leads nicely to my brief rant on health care. I know some retired professionals in Victoria who have to get up in the wee hours of the morning to stand in line before a walk-in clinic opens, in the hope of seeing a doctor of their choosing. Getting a family doctor has become as elusive as tracking down Nessie. I don’t know a damn thing about health boards or how the health care delivery system is administered but something seems terribly out of whack when people in one of the most privileged countries in the world can’t find a family doctor.

None of us should become blasé about this. Record numbers of family doctors will retire in the next 5-10 years… including yours. Do you have a plan going forward?

I still naively believe that more dollars spent on prevention of disease and providing incentives for healthy living might be a long term solution but more often than not, the decision makers (politicians) are constrained with the immediacy of getting elected in 3-4 years.

In our own community, we have the ongoing story about a well loved and respected surgeon who finds herself on the outs with the Health Authority.How could this happen? Small communities are desperate to attract and keep good doctors.

Is our health care system broken?

Have a great week.

P.S. I arrived at my brother’s house the other morning for the first of two walks that day. We normally walk for 90 minutes just to get the heart started. “We’re doing an epic walk this morning,” he informed me. Three and a half hours and 16k later we arrived at our destination – the Jubilee Hospital. How appropriate. I thought an oxygen mask would come in handy!

P.P.S. My new book is available now on Kindle. https://www.amazon.ca/Chaos-Wonder-Months-India-Week-ebook/dp/B07MSF47R5/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1547042602&sr=8-2&keywords=chaos+and+wonder%3A+six+months+in+India

 

 

Posted on January 7, 2019 under Monday Morning Musings with one comment

Cooper hanging out at the Victoria Golf Club

 

“Walking the dog, I’m just a walking the dog,

If you don’t know how to do it, I’ll show you how to walk the dog.”

Walking the Dog. Rufus Thomas

I’m spending three weeks in Victoria dog sitting. The only thing is that the dog isn’t doing much sitting. Cooper and I walk twice a day- sometimes three on days that it doesn’t rain. We do at least 15k each day. He is a young poodle and full of energy. I’m an old dog and am inexorably slowing down with every passing day. The exercise is good for both of us. Come evening, we’re both flaked out. We had a dog growing up as kids but judging by Chipper’s girth, I don’t think he ever walked further than the food dish.

Judging from the weather back east, walking a dog would be mightily challenging during the dog days of winter. It is cold, snowy and icy. The picture posted above is not meant to evoke envy. It is not surprising that Victoria is the retirement capital of Canada. Winters here are benign with snow a rarity. It is very conducive to outdoor activity like walking, biking,golfing, gardening and hiking. Spring will arrive here shortly. More and more aging Canadians are likely to look at Victoria as a winter retreat as health issues come to the fore, especially for those who travel to other countries for a winter getaway.

The timing of this visit is perfect after the uncontrollable eating season of Christmas. It is a perfect time for me to do a reset. Many of you are familiar with the El Camino, an 800k walk through Spain. Actually, several of you messaged me to say that you had done the walk at some point in your life. I’m hoping to tackle this walk in May and my daily walks with Cooper are perfect to help get myself physically prepared.

Having run the Boston Marathon a couple of times, I know the importance of being prepared both physically and mentally. And you also have to have the right equipment, footwear and clothing. With Victoria being a walker and hiker’s paradise, I thought that this would be the perfect place to get properly equipped for the Camino.

While there are many excellent stores in the region where one can buy gear, my brother suggested Robinson’s Outdoor Store, a family owned business that has been in existence since 1929. Yes, this business started during the Great Depression. The first owner, George Robinson, bought what was then a bicycle shop. During the Depression when driving a car became unaffordable for many people, the bicycle business took off and Robinson’s never looked back.

I made my first purchase on Boxing Day. I am gradually breaking in an excellent pair of Merrell walking shoes. Arguably, the most important piece of equipment (besides a positive attitude!) for doing a long hike is a backpack. My brother did the walk last spring and offered to loan me his. He suggested that we go to Robinson’s to have it fitted properly. It was my lucky day, as one of the fourth generation Robinson’s and part owner, Erin Boggs was there to help this rookie hiker. She gave me all the time that was required to make sure that the backpack fit properly. I even tried one other pack for comparison purposes. I could have easily been convinced to buy a new one but Erin thought the one I had was perfectly good. I was impressed by her integrity. When you’ve been in business 89 years, you learn a thing or two about client service. Without spending a penny, we left the store.

The following morning, I loaded up the pack, 14.5 pounds in total and did a two hour walk with my brother and the dogs.

A few days later, I wandered back to Robinson’s to get a long sleeved walking shirt to ward off the rays of the sun while traversing Spain. I also purchased some socks specifically made for long walks. Much to my delight, I was waited on once more by Erin. We shared travel stories and I spoke glowingly about the ethos of her business and the excellent client service model that the business employs.

Ringing in the purchase was none other than Erin’s mother, one of the previous generation owners. I had a lovely chat with Gayle Robinson. She spoke of the core values of the company including corporate social responsibility. Every year, the business makes a sizeable donation to Power to Be, a non-profit organization “that empowers people living with a barrier or disability to explore their limitless abilities through inclusive adventures rooted in nature.

It’s not hard to support a business where you feel like one of the family when you step inside the door, where client service is second to none and that has a social conscience.

I was planning to go on a health care rant but I’ll save that for Thursday.

Have a great week.

 

Posted on January 3, 2019 under Thursday Tidbits with no comments yet

Au Revoir to Christmas 2018

 

Reflections.

I am writing this post on New Year’s Day. Mercifully, I’m not hungover. I took care of that eight years ago, one New Year’s resolution that I have actually honored. I didn’t see many people out doing a 10K walk at 6:00 a.m. this morning!

Today is a day when many people look backwards and forward at the same time.

I attended a very civilized, low keyed New Year’s Eve potluck. There’s was lots of discussion about politics, pipelines and POTUS. A few of us, who had logged over 22K of walking that day, chose not to stay around and play games. We did, however, ring in the New Year but we cheated a bit. We decided to go with Nova Scotia time and clinked our glasses at the stroke of 8:00 p.m. Pacific time. This is a sure sign of aging when you have a pretend New Year’s Eve so that you can get home and under the covers long before the fireworks begin. The definition of boring!

We did stick around long enough to play one simple game. What was your most memorable event of 2018? It didn’t have to be necessarily good or bad but merely the one thing that stood out in 2018. I thought about the amazing job that our small community did in hosting the National Special Olympics last summer. That was unquestionably a high point for Antigonish but the question posed was more about personal highs and lows.

One of the people in the room had authored a prize winning scholarly book. Hint – it wasn’t me! Another couple who have one child felt the pains of watching their daughter go off to university in Montreal. There were lots of other interesting observations. When it came my turn, I didn’t have to think for even a second. Our mother’s passing on May 17^th was a seminal event for the family. The memory of that time (and there were plenty of them) that will remain with me forever was singing one of mom’s favourite songs, “Abide With Me” along with my seven siblings at her funeral.

So, how about you? Can you easily pinpoint the highlight or lowlight of the year just passed?

Have you trotted out your resolutions for 2019? If it’s doing something about your waste line (pun intended), that doesn’t count. On this day, there is plenty of self- loathing going around. Too much food, too much drink, and credit cards that are too hot to the human touch. I implore you. DO NOT get on a bathroom scale today. You will hate yourself and will probably kick that scale around the bathroom floor, realizing that it has played a cruel trick on you. We’ll all self-regulate in the days to come and return to some semblance of normalcy, whatever in the hell that is.

There will be lineups at gyms and yoga studios for the next month and slowly but surely the old habits will creep back in unless you are supremely disciplined and determined. Treadmills in your basement will once again occupy their rightful places as convenient locales to hang laundry on the handrails. These same treadmills will become a common item at the curb in the summer during yard sale season.

Am I suggesting that you are spineless, lacking a shred of willpower? Not at all. I am just an observer of the human condition. It was Robbie Burns who said, “The best-laid plans of mice and men go awry.”

What will you do to make the world a better place this year?

All the best in the year ahead.

P.S. Thankfully our apartment is too small for a treadmill. That’s why I find walking a very reasonable and cost effective alternative!