This is why I say I Love You everytime we part....

I know that my first couple of entries have been comical and I wish this one could be but I need to take a more serious approach today. In my last blog, I mentioned that I would write about the little old lady trying to cross Georgia Ave. at the Route 108 intersection. Back on that day, I pulled up alongside her and she said "these people just keep zooming by, I can't get across." Now mind you, she had the rightaway, the little pedestrian light was white and last time I checked, that meant you could cross. No one would stop, they just kept whipping around the corner one after another. I told her "Ma'am, not to worry, I will protect you! No one is going to risk their nice vehicle hitting this BIG body." So I put my bike and myself between the little old lady and the traffic and we got across safe and sound. She said "thank you young man" and my good deed was done. I never was in Scouts, never helped anyone across the street and haven't had anyone call me young man in about twenty years. This story leads me into today's story....

At the very same intersection today I was crossing in the crosswalk with the little white pedestrian light telling me its time to get a move on. I got across southbound Georgia Ave. fine and then with cars stopped in the left turn lane of the northbound side, I slowly eased out in the crosswalk. I always joke with Cindy about me having some sick, abnormal peripheral vision. As I crossed, out of the corner of my eye was a driver paying no attention as they quickly approached a red light much less to some guy on a bike. He or she (they were going to fast for me to tell) ran that red light, missed the front tire of my bike by inches. Had I not been looking or if not for the peripheral vision or even if time was changed by 1/10 of a second, I probably would not be writing this to all of you today. It was that close of a call and that is what today's blog is about.

The lesson here is two-part, drivers need to stay aware at all times, far too often there are tragedies that could have been easily averted with better judgement, common sense, or less distractions such as cell phones. According to USA Today, there were 4,784 pedestrian deaths in the United States in 2006. In our country, there is one pedestrian death every 110 minutes, that's deaths not injuries. In our country there is a pedestrian injury in a crosswalk every 9 minutes. So we have 1000's of deaths and many more injuries, many people survive but are maimed, crippled, and paralyzed everyday. So in the first part of our lesson, we all need to pay attention and be more aware when we are driving, enough said...

The second part of the lesson is the title of today's blog, rarely will any of us know when our "time is up." It could be in our sleep, at work, in a tragic accident, the list goes on and on. I know on Facebook many of us gave thanks this past week during the holiday but I want everyone to know the importance of saying I love you. Cindy and I exchanged one of our variations this morning where we say "Much Love" and quite frankly, had things timed out differently, it would have been our last time saying that. I don't want to sound preachy today and I am afraid that I will but everyone, all of my friends and family, please make sure you say "I Love You" to your significant other, your parents, your children, your friends today. They are the 3 simplest words to say that carry so much meaning, 831....8 letters, 3 words, 1 meaning.....

I love all of you and am so thankful and so blessed to be saying it to everyone at least one more time....

New Update to My Comical Weight Loss Blog....

Okay, time for an update for all my adoring friends and fans...all 3 of you! LOL Last week was a rough week, it rained nearly everyday and only allowed me one day on the bike, not to worry, I used the ab roller at home. So here was the exciting news, I dropped 7 pounds, a stout 273 at the end of the week, what does this week hold?

For those of you that are followers in Olney, first off, if you see someone biking who has on not one shred of bike gear, i.e. is dressed in jean shorts and shirt, hat (no helmet) and sunglasses and looks like they stole the bike from someone's backyard and doesn't look like a bicyclist...that's me, please BEEP YOUR HORN in a show of support. Many of you that live around here requested a glimpse at my route, and by many, I mean none so here's the route I take...

Thornhurst to Bowie Mill to 108, this requires going up a slope, if you see me sometimes I will be riding up that slope, other times I will be walking my bike up the slope. Then 108 all the way to the light at the hospital, take a right at the light, then go to Brimstone Academy and then hit Old Baltimore Road. Obviously the route is reversed for the way back so those of you that know the area know that once I cross over Georgia Ave., I fly down 108 past the strip mall etc. but this also means that all of you know that on the reverse route, I am walking my bike from Bank of America up that damn hill to Georgia Ave. My goal is to try and make it a little further each time up that hill, someday I will conquer it unless the right arm pain is some type of warning sign...

Now I will wrap things up with my do's and dont's...

1) Don't pedal till it burns, burning could be a sign of your thigh muscle tearing

2) Don't ride through a water main break without anticipating a problem with mud

3) Do listen to the police officers who tell you about the gas leak by the water main break on your return trip home.

4) Do listen to the police officers when they tell you that you can go through the area but don't breath through your mouth.

5) Do listen to the police officers as they scream to you while you are speeding away to not light a cigarette in the affected area, thank you to the fine men and women of the Montgomery County Police force.

6) Don't take for granted that anyone will stop at the clearly marked pedestrian crosswalks, they won't...this is Olney

Finally, I will let you know that in my next update, I will share a story about a little old lady that I met at the intersection of route 108 and Georgia Ave. as well as what happened when someone actually did let me through a pedestrian crosswalk. As a final note to all other bicyclists, if the homeless guy at the forementioned intersection asks you for change and you don't have any, he will ask you for your bike....

My Sometimes Comical Journey to Healthier Living and Maybe Weight Loss?? :)

This is being written for those who are thinking about doing this, are already doing this, or have already done this....I am attempting to get into top-notch physical shape via exercise with bicycling being my main exercise. I will share with you my experiences, some of them (most of them probably) a bit comical...

Let me start out with a little bit of background for you....I am nearly 6'3", overweight (280 lbs), 44 years old, a heavy smoker, and I have a mediocre diet at best. I have great support in my life from both family and my girlfriend/fiancee (we are pre-engaged) because that is what the economy dictates right now, don't get me wrong, she has a beautiful ring on her finger, its just not the final "expensive" one, I think she mentioned "princess cut" and some number of carats that will somehow involve theft on my part at a local mall. Oh, yeah, btw, these are pictures of me from today in case you were wondering, please note the cigarette, that was going to just be a prop but I ended up smoking it anyway.

Let's start at the beginning, I live with my forementioned Cindy, that's the GF/fiancee and I have a wonderful office at my parents' home to run my Internet business out of (thank you 'rents). The two homes are nearly 2.5 miles apart in Olney, Md. As my birthday quickly approached this past October, I knew exactly the gift that I wanted...a new bike. My parents quickly obliged, providing me with a Discover gift card that I took to Walmart and used to buy a bike (did you know that you are not allowed to ride a bike in Walmart? I didn't know that but I quickly learned discretion being always in a case like this the better part of valor, I jumped off and walked the bike the rest of the way to the counter instead of risking being tackled by a bunch of people in blue vests adorned with smiley-face buttons).

What I will share with you today and in subsequent witty offerings are some do's and dont's that I learn during this journey...(I'm afraid there will be far more dont's than do's)


I've been riding for a couple of weeks now with a small blip: my future sister-in-law having a beautiful baby girl that caused a slight layoff from my exercise. So here is what I learned from my first few rides....

1) Do not eat a swiss cheese, pepperoni, and mayo sandwich ten minutes prior to hopping on a bike for the first time in twenty-five years. It causes you to get that throw-up feeling that only goes to the top of your throat but doesn't come out and this happens before you ever get off your own home street!


2) Don't wear an NFL team jersey that is not from your hometown while biking, there is nothing quite like riding in a cool breeze on a sunny day and hearing someone from a passing truck yelling "You f*cking suck Manning." (I have a Peyton jersey, not Eli just to clarify because Eli really does f*cking suck).

3) Don't stop at 7-11 at your halfway point to enjoy a quarter pound big bite, ho-ho's and a slurpee. This completely defeats the purpose of getting exercise and losing weight.

4) If you are a male, try your best to get your butt in great shape as quickly as you can, this way you can avoid having the shapeliness of a female butt that causes both truckers and dump truck drivers to honk, whistle, shout, and harass you when they are behind you and then after they pass you and see in their mirror that you are a guy, they yell "My bad."

5) Don't do anything to accentuate the forementioned butt because you too can have a MILF pull up next to you in her Lexus and ask if you would like to come over for some iced tea or lemonade. Pedal away quickly if the burn in your legs hasn't already caused you to start walking your bike by now.

This is going to do it for today's episode, I will try my best to write updates at least weekly as to how I am progressing or how I am failing!! Time to break out some Epsom salts....

America and Kevin Skinner...

Last night on America's Got Talent, a true dark horse won the competition....Kevin Skinner. Many felt that Barbara Padilla would be crowned the champion and certainly, she deserved that honor. I voted for her myself.

So how do we explain Kevin winning? In my reading of many comments last night about the competition, there was so much ugliness on this subject. Many things were written that were derogatory about Kevin. There was plenty of name calling, plenty of shots at his intellect, his background.

Now, for what it is worth, I'd like to share my perspective... Many of us have felt and are feeling the economic crisis/crunch in this country. We see a man who is moderately talented with the potential to be better. We see a man who definitely has not been living the so-called good life. The other 9 finalists were delightful but out of the 10, economically, one stands out...Kevin Skinner.




Maybe, just maybe (and I'd love to hear from people that voted for Kevin) many people voted for Kevin because of the hardships that most of us are going through. Maybe his victory is a sign of what is still good in this country, the ability and the desire to help out someone who is less fortunate. Many of us saw someone that at least we could on some level relate to, that level is being financially stressed. Quite possibly those that voted for Kevin took a stand, maybe their prevailing thought was: I like this guy, I can help this guy, I myself need help and I can't get it but I can do something about helping someone else get it.

Enough of the name calling and bemoaning his win, let's look at it in a brighter, more positive light. America is still a great country and its still a great country full of great people from all backgrounds, races, and ethnicity's and maybe, just maybe, last night we saw a little of that greatness and kindness show through in Kevin Skinner's America's Got Talent victory....

Please do not republish without permission from the author,
John W. Hench

Michael Vick - What to do with you?

The Michael Vick saga is one of the sadder chapters in modern sports of late.




Obviously everyone who is anyone has written or commented about his story and subsequent plight. What is an intriguing question is can he redeem himself or even be allowed to redeem himself? By law, he has committed his crime and done his time. Does being a former star quarterback actually hurt his chances of redeeming himself? I think it does...if he were a construction worker for example instead of a quarterback, would he immediately be "back at work" after serving his time? I think he would. This may once again be a case of us holding superstar athletes to a higher standard then those of us who are non-athletes. We can even tackle the issue of the crimes he did commit and compare those with other types of crimes more agregious where those who committed them were released back into society and became useful members of the community. We seem to as a nation on a whole put our athletes and celebrities on pedestals, we idolize them, we revere them, and when a shining star falls, we chastise them and almost seem to take joy in their suffering. It becomes far bigger news then when a "star" helps others, helps charities, helps those who are in need, we rarely see any of that on our news. Make no mistake, Michael Vick's crimes were horrible, I agree with all those upset by what he did and participated in but we are not allowing him a chance to redeem himself. Many of us have predetermined that he should not have any opportunity to do so, put him under a bridge and let him be homeless and die young for all anyone cares. This isn't the way we should be thinking, we on a whole based on many large news polls and internet social polls have already said no good can come from this.

I say let's give him a chance, I agree with Roger Goodell the Commissioner of the NFL's decision to allow him the chance to do his job and that job is to quarterback in the NFL. Let's judge him on what he does in the future, not prejudge him because we are so offended by his past. Sure he may fall on his face but let him have that chance to trip before casting all of our stones at him. He has one person in his corner who really may guide him, someone I highly respect and that is Tony Dungy. Maybe this ugly, sad story can have a happy ending, let's give that a chance to happen instead of closing the door now....



Not to be republished without permission of the author John W. Hench
July 28th, 2009