Shopping Decathlon...

Den of the Beastly Bear

Hi Folks!

Some of you may have noticed that I missed blogging yesterday, my apologies! Slept late, spent some QT with Mama Bear before work...thought I could knock one out at lunch, but it was not to be!

Today we went out to our favorite breakfast restaurant, and then some shopping.

We ran to a few different stores...and by the time we were done I was losing my mind.

Since when did buying things become such an interactive sport?!?

I remember fondly a day when a trip to the local store was as simple as "I would like to exchange this money, for these goods."

Now, buying ANYTHING is like running a decathlon!

First of all you head to the register...they have 20, but only 2 are open so the line is interminable! So after you've stood in line 15 mins. THEN they call more cashiers!!!

Now it's time to jump lines...and of course whichever line you pick you get behind "that" customer. 

You know the one that wants to put half on their credit card and write a check for the rest...

So finally it's your turn...

BEFORE they even start ringing you up...

"Hi, do you have a store card with us?"

"No"

"Would you like to sign up for one?"

"No"

"Would you like to open a charge card and save an additional 15% on your purchase?"

"No"

"May I ask why not?"

"Because I don't want one..."

"Oh, OK will this be it for you today?" I always want to say "No, I've got a few more things to grab that I thought of while spending all that time in line, can I just leave this here while I continue to shop?"

Of course this is it you ditz...ring me up already!

"Yes"

So the ring up begins...which takes longer because on top of ringing up your purchases she must bag as well in one of those revolving lazy Susan bag holders they installed to get rid of the bag boy.

Now it's time to pay...

Time to "jump down, turn around, give a dog a bone..."

"Cash, check, or charge?"

In case you're wondering, there is no "right" answer!

No matter what you choose get ready to jump through the hoops!

"Would you like to give us your mailing address to receive occasional coupons?"

"No"

"OK, just punch in your zip code..."

"Why?"

"Oh it's how we track where our customer base lives"

"Fine"

"Would you like to donate a $1 to St. Jude's Children's hospital?"

"No"

"American Cancer Society?"

"No"

"Alzheimer's Association?"

"No"

"Jerry's Kids?"

"NO!"

"Mmmmm OK..." Add judgmental look.

So I swipe my card...

*bing* Would you like cash back?

"No"

*bing* Is this amount correct?

"Yes"

*bing* We will charge your account this much, is that OK?

"Yes" God Dammit!!!

Thank you for your purchase, how would you like your receipt? Paper only, email only, Paper & email...

Oh for FUCKS SAKE!!! I just want to take my shit and leave!!!

THIS is why the checkout lanes back up....it's no longer a simple exchange of money for goods.

It's now part interrogation, part inquisition, part sales pitch, and part charity benefit!!!

I have even had a cashier ask me if I wanted to open a Sears Charge AFTER I'd just paid with my Sears Card.

When they asked my why not, I said "Ummm cause I already have one and just used it?????"

Ugh!

Is it any wonder Internet shopping is on the rise?

Be Well Folks!

Beastly Bear

Things you see when you don't have a gun...

Den of the Beastly Bear

Howdy Folks!

Big Doin's here in the land of the Beastly Bear. 

I am equal parts pissed off and embarrassed!!! Let me tell you why.

Today my Daughter was going to take me out to lunch with her tax refund for helping with(read as doing) her taxes.

But I was offered 4 hours overtime to come in early, greedy bastard that I am I took a "rain-check" from my daughter and headed in.

Thinking ahead, I thought I'd stop at the "Big John's Steak and Onion" on Corunna Rd. in Flint for a breakfast sandwich and a sub for later in my twelve hour day.

As I stood in line placing my order, a guy came in behind me. About thirty, he was your typical young black man heading to work. Blue jeans, Navy blue hoodie, white high tops laces askew, and a navy stocking cap.

An older black woman came in behind him in line, headed to work as well in uniform pants, a logo'd polo shirt, logo'd jacket replete with ID badge...

I placed my order, paid, and stepped down to the end of the counter to the food "pick up station" to await my order.

As the young black fellow stepped up to order I must say I wasn't paying much attention, until I heard "Gimme all the cash...big bills, I want big bills!!!"

I turned back to the cashier and saw this guy had his left hand in the pocket of his unzipped hoodie and had it laying on the counter pointed at the cashiers chest.

I reached for my gun...only to realize I'd broken the first rule of winning a gunfight...bring one!!! DAMN!!!

You see General Motors does not allow guns on their property, period. So while I am licensed to carry a concealed weapon in my state, I must forgo my Constitutional right to self defense and leave my gun at home or face termination. I was on my way into work. Ergo, my gun was at home....

The things that ran through my mind in the next few seconds, I quickly dismissed. I could bum rush the guy, his attention was focused on the cashier...I had 6 feet to get my 370 lbs. up to speed, if I slammed him into the wall he'd probably crumple like a rag doll.

Problem was, did he really have a gun? I didn't THINK so...but I decided I wanted that lunch with my daughter...too big a risk.
If I'd been sure he didn't really have one...

Then there was the gentleman's tactical knife sitting in my pocket, thought I'd have a time explaining sticking this guy unless he posed a direct threat to me. So far he hadn't, just the cash register.

Just that fast the decision was made for me as he bolted for the door, cash in hand.

As the girls behind the counter yelled to the cashier to hit the alarm button, I was out the door behind him...I wanted to see which way he went. He jogged across the parking lot, around a fence to the back of the plaza next door. He jumped into the passenger side of a silver or pale metallic blue 90's era Taurus. In a squeal of tires they were gone. 

I dialed 911 as I walked back into the store, reported the robbery to the dispatcher and gave a description of both car and suspect.

The cashier was in tears now that the danger was over, the manager attempting to calm her down. When I came back in they locked the door, per their protocol. The black woman refused to stay...
The women turned to me and asked if I'd stay, at least until the police arrived.

I told them I wasn't going anywhere.

While I waited for the police to arrive I called in to work to tell them I'd likely be late...

The cops arrived within 5 mins. and we went through what happened, description of the man, the car, what was said...everything we could remember.

I know I could have stopped him, not necessarily shot him but held him until the police arrived. If he'd turned his "gun hand" on me I'd have fired, and at 6 ft. I doubt I'd have missed.

On the one hand I'm glad I didn't have to make that choice, on the other...

Made it into work with about 30 seconds to spare...
Then the questions started...rumor goes through the plant like shit through a goose.

By the time I got there I'd alternately been killed in a shootout at the restaurant, killed the guy before he could kill one of the girls, walked in on a rape, beat the guy and held him til the cops got there, or talked the guy into giving up his gun...take your pick!

The sad truth was I stood there like a lump, unable to intervene.
What bothers me most, what about the next restaurant...will they be as lucky? If he had a gun, will he have use it next time?

Someone may die because I was afraid of losing my job...THAT is why I'm both Pissed and Embarrassed!

Hope your Friday went better than mine.

Be Well My Friends!

Beastly Bear

Things have gone to hell...

Den of the Beastly Bear

Hi Folks!

Today Mama Bear and I took a sojourn to some local appliance stores to look for a new over-the-range microwave.

And through our travels it was noted that "Things just seem to have gone to hell!"

Brick and mortar stores are mere shadows of what they used to be...

And that's sad!

In our discussion I posited that Internet shopping has a large part to play in the decline...but there are some things that are just too tactile to buy without handling/seeing for yourself.

Books, DVD's, CD's all are just fine purchased over the Internet...

But there are things you just can't buy that way and expect more than a 50/50 chance of success.

Sure the Internet is great for getting specifications, doing some feature comparisons, finding the best price...

But what it won't tell you is...how does it feel in your hand? Are markings highly visible? Does it feel solid, or cheap?

Now the problem is, each place we went offered around 40 different models...online! In the store, no more than 12-15....

The store that disappoints me the most these days???

 Sears!

When I was a kid, Sears was the SHIT!

If Sears didn't sell it, BY GOD YOU DIDN'T NEED IT!

Tools, appliances, go carts, pets, furniture, guns, TV's, you name it!

Oh, how the mighty have fallen...

I notice an odd trend in brick and mortar stores these days....

that of space...and I don't mean the "Danger, Danger Will Robinson" kind of space!

I mean the "HELLO, Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello" kind of space....

It just feels so "Empty"!

And it's not just Sears, but Electronics giant Best Buy too!

Been in one lately?!?

You used to be able to buy damn near any cable/accessory you could think of. Software, Movies, Music...even books. Refrigerators, washers/dryers, microwaves, telephones!

They hardly have any of that anymore...what they DO have...
is a lot of space. 

Oh sure they have a few "Representative" models...and "options may vary" and "See our complete selection online"!

Being a Technophile I enjoy the use of the Internet for many things...

But let me tell you, if I'm dropping $2500-$3500 on a refrigerator you can bet your ass I want to see that bitch in person!!!

So, in the end we found a microwave...saw a "Representative" model at Home Depot (not the right color, and it'll take 2 weeks to get one in White...REALLY?!?! You're F-ing kidding me right? I don't want red, or blue, or F-ing fuchsia!!! But White!!!) got online and found the best price ($30 cheaper at Sears than anywhere else) and ordered it online and shipped to the store free of charge...of course they didn't have one THERE!!! 

But in 5-8 days I can go right to the store and pick it up...if I can find my way in all that space...if I'm not back in a couple hours, send a search party.

I tell ya, things have just gone to hell!

Wow, I just realized how much I sound like an old fart!!! Lol

Oh, well...

Be Well!

Beastly Bear

  

I'm so confused...

Den of the Beastly Bear

Hi Folks!

I admit to being a little confused....

I've been churning out a daily blog since January first...this makes me a newby at this blogging game, so any help from the veterans is appreciated.

What confuses me is what people like and what they don't...

There are blogs I've slapped together on a wing and a prayer...high readership.

Then there are blogs that I have carefully crafted, rewritten, reworded, honed to tell the story just the way I want to express it...barely gets read.

Perhaps my fault is in the blog titles...

Sometimes maybe I try to be too witty by giving a title you won't fully understand until you read the piece, sometimes I try a little misdirection...so you think it's about one thing when in fact it's about another.

Am I shooting myself in the foot here? Trying to be too clever???

Each one of these little creations I send out into the world with high hopes...and by and large I am thrilled that so many actually take the time to read my ramblings.

But why one blog gets 2-3X the traffic of another befuddles me!
Sometimes I'm surprised by what "catches fire" and what does not...

Perhaps it's the rotating pictures I use as headers to my blog, I try to match the pic to the feel of the blog...angry, melancholy, cheeky, playful or reposed. Could it really be THAT simple?

In truth it's likely that I'm not a "topic specific" blog, I tend to wander where my twisted mind and conversations with friends take me...I hit upon an idea and run with it!

So any help folks? Ideas? Suggestions? Complaint's?

I also must budget my time better, ran out of time again today so I'm slapping this out on my lunch break at work...sloppy I know!

But whatcha gonna do?

Be Well Folks!

Beastly Bear

A cog in the machine...

Den of the Beastly Bear

Hi Folks!

Sad and strange day here at work.

One of the guys that work in my plant on first shift, shot and killed himself today in the plant, in front of his ex-fiancee....which we can only assume was the impetus for today's events.

As second shift came in we were directed to our team room to await final decision on whether the line will run tonight...

40 minutes later...

Official word is "our condolences to the family, grief counselors are in place for those that feel they need it...the line will start in 20 minutes!" Gotta love GM!!!

While we all realize we are just cogs in the machine, nothing brings it home quite so completely as when something like this happens. 

One cog wears out, no problem...replace it with a new one, restart the machine!

*heavy sigh*

Well, time to make the trucks!

Be Well Folks!

Beastly Bear

Talking to the wall...

Den of the Beastly Bear

Hi Folks!

I Have a pet peeve..well, OK I have dozens of pet peeves...ask anyone that knows me...LOL

But this one really sparks my ire, and I can't really put my finger on why.

And is the reason today's blog is late.

Showing up at my door unannounced!!!

For some reason this just immediately sets me off! I find it highly rude and inconsiderate...

Perhaps it is the assumption that I have nothing better to do and am just waiting around for you to grace me with your presence, or that whatever I am doing is unimportant and can be instantly dropped so I can deal with you...

Most all of my friends are well acquainted with my dislike of the practice and will generally call first, that is polite and considerate.

If I don't answer the house phone, guess what? I'M NOT HOME!!!

The one person in my life that can't seem to wrap their head around

this concept is my mother!

I just saw her yesterday for my nephew's birthday. I had some errands to run this morning so got up and left the house.

I got home about 12:15 ate a quick lunch sat down to write my blog because I leave for work at 2pm when..."Knock, Knock"

Thinking it would be another window/siding guy I hustled to the door, told the dog to shut up pulled the door open to tell this guy to go peddle his crap down the road as I was busy...and there stood my Mom.

"Oh, you're home!" she said.

"Yeah...I live here..."

"Well I tried calling and didn't get an answer..."

"Unh huh..."

"Well I got you something..." and back to her car she goes...rummages around in the back seat and comes back with two Mancino's Grinders and her little Papillon.

"I brought subs..." she says with a cheery smile "for lunch!" 

"I already ate lunch Mom, I wish you'd have called before you came..."

"I did call about 11 and nobody answered the phone!"

"That's because nobody was home Mom, Kathy's at work, Kaitlin is babysitting and I had errands to run..." Mind you we all have cell phones and she didn't call them! 

"What errands???" (Nosey Rosey)

"I had to run to Sears..." I answered, as if it makes any difference.

"Well I was at my friend Verace's and I thought I'd get you guys Grinders for lunch, I got you a steak and an Italian for Kathy and Katie to split...you can take yours to work for lunch..." 

"I will Mom, thanks.....you didn't have to do that"

"Why don't you just cut a little bit off that Italian for me...and could I get something to drink?"

"Sure Mom...."

So I cut her off some sub, got her a soda and set and talked with her while she ate lunch.

Now don't get me wrong, I am extremely grateful that she thought of us...extremely blessed to still have my Mom...but I swear she does things BECAUSE she knows they annoy me!

And then stayed and stayed...before asking:

"Do you have to work today?"

"Yes Mom, it's Monday...I go to work EVERY Monday unless I'm on vacation..."

"Oh, I guess I better go then..."

So I got nothing done other than my errand...
I've tried to explain that working second shift I have a limited time to do things...as I have to plan and budget my time, I don't have time for spontaneous visits.

I might as well be talking to the wall...

Sorry I'm a day late!

Be Well!

Beastly Bear

Little Bear grows up...

Den of the Beastly Bear

Howdy Folks! Blog for 3/15/2014...

Yes it's a day late, and posted at Noon...for a reason!

Today is my Nephew Ethan "Little Bear" Retsel's Birthday! Today he turns 18!!! Happy Birthday Buddy!!!

I chose as a gift, for this landmark day...something no man should ever be without. A quality blade.

Of course due to the inane stupidity of our society, that vilifies "things" not "actions" or "people" he will not be able to carry it to school. Though for over 225 years boys had pocket knives in school EVERY DAY in this country and miraculously the world didn't end! 

Sorry, off on a tangent there...

My choice for him was somewhat symbolic...I chose a CRKT (Columbia River Knife and Tool) Nirk Tighe 2.

Read all about it here.

I chose it because while the knife is one of the oldest tools known to man, THIS knife is as high tech and "modern" as can be. 

Ball bearings replace the washers so the blade opens smooth as silk and lightning fast. The anodized aluminum handle is skeletonized to save weight as well as provide the knifes unique locking mechanism.

The tighter you hold the handle the more securely the blade is locked. 

Old yet New!

And so, like my nephew has one foot in both worlds!

Today Ethan, society says you are a man.

You may vote, and make your voice heard in which direction this great country of ours goes.

You may join the armed forces, and defend her from all enemy's foreign and domestic.

You will bear the full brunt of the choices you make, for all actions have consequences.

You may purchase weapons and ammunition...yet not alcohol, go figure!

You have so much ahead of you my young friend, so many choices to make.

A whole life yet to live, use it wisely...

Today I know you as a warm, loving, intelligent, and gentle young man. Let not the world, strip you of these!

Tomorrow we will gather to celebrate your day, at noon.

Not wanting to spoil the surprise I'll set this to post then!

Guess I'm gonna have to make a change, you're too big for "Little Bear" anymore.

From now on you'll be "Young Bear" instead!!! ;-)

Happiest of Birthdays, Love you!

Uncle "Big Bear" Joe

Be Well!

Beastly Bear

NOT road rage....

Den of the Beastly Bear

Morning Folks!

Well we got a little bit of a thaw, temps in the forties last couple of days...and people have lost their FUCKING MINDS!!!

I have wanted to pull more people out of their cars and beat their asses more in the last two days than in the last six months!!!!

Most of my driving is expressway driving, where the rules are simple and few: keep right, except to pass!

Not rocket science folks!

I would add one more: if you have "cruise control" use it!

This prevents the idiot "leepfrog" move...

You know this guy.

You're motoring along, cruise control set just slightly above the speed limit (cause hey, you're a rebel).

You gradually overtake a slower moving vehicle, move into the left lane to pass, and once by them move back into your previous lane.

Couple minutes later here comes the asshole...blowing by you because "nobody passes me". Gets in front of you and slows back down to his previous speed.

At which point you gradually overtake him again, pass him again, move back to your previous lane again, never having TOUCHED the accelerator!

And here he comes again!!!!!!

I've had an idiot do this to me all the way to work....some thirty miles!!!!

Is this the only fool on the road?!?!? OH NO!!!!

Then there's this guy...

You're driving along, cruise set. In the center lane of three, passing the slower moving traffic on your right.

Then for no apparent reason, some knuckle dragging, mouth breathing, inbred, backwards ass, douche nozzle decides he wants to drive in the center lane and pulls in front of you!!! WTF???

There is no one in front of them, no reason in this whole wide world for them to do that other than to fuck with me!

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

Or this guy...

Again, minding my own business...traveling down the center lane. Not a soul in front of me but one lone Ass Hat driving 65 in the left lane, no one in front of him, no one behind him...he is all alone!!!

My cruise set at 74, I'm gaining on him quickly.

When I'm no more than three car lengths from him he suddenly decides he needs the center lane! 

So, no blinker and no warning here he comes!!!

When you blow your horn and juke into the left lane to keep from rear ending this window licker, he flips you off cause you're the asshole!!!! 

All these guys are closely related to the butt muncher that flies around you on a multiplane road, cuts in front of you and slams on the brakes to make a right hand turn into a store/driveway.

People might say I have road rage...no, I do NOT have road rage, I have idiot rage!!!

I understand that shit happens! I myself have done stupid things on the road..but ya know what?!?

I APOLOGIZE!!!!

That's all it takes...just say "sorry", and I'm good...

Let's me know you didn't mean it.

Otherwise I gotta assume you just poked the bear on purpose!

In which case you shouldn't be surprised when you pull back a bloody stump!!!

OK,

Deep breath....Ohhhhhhhhmmmm Ohhhhhhhhhhhm...

Better now.

Be Well Folks!

Beastly Bear

Lesson learned...

Den of the Beastly Bear

Hi Folks!

Ever been in line at a store, and had to endure an argument between a parent and child in line in front of you?

We all have right?

It's almost universally cringe worthy as the kid pushes boundaries, and lips off feeling secure in the fact the parent will not escalate in public.

I always felt I knew exactly how I'd handle a situation like that. I felt there was no WAY my kid would talk to me like the kids I'd witnessed talked to their parents.

And then it happened to me...

Mama Bear, Princess Bear and I were in Kohls doing some Christmas shopping. Our treasures procured we headed for the check-out. The place was packed, lines were long and tempers short when Kaitlin started a discussion about going to a party.

I was adamantly opposed to her attending this party, being thrown by the class "problem" child. 

In earlier years my daughter and this girl were friends. A girl being raised by her Grandmother because her mother was a drug addict. As the girl got older, Grandma became overwhelmed...the girls behavior becoming more and more out of control.

The nail in the coffin of my daughter EVER hanging with this girl again came from a story from my own daughters lips.

It seems the year before this girl had a party (which my daughter did not attend) commemorating their graduation from 6th. grade.

During a game of  "7 minutes in heaven" (proof Grandma wasn't paying attention) my daughters former friend preformed oral sex on a boy she liked in the downstairs closet, to completion. 

At 12, this was a little more than this young man was prepared to handle. Freaked out...he told his Mom.

Needless to say, Mom was not remotely amused!!!

So now she was throwing a Christmas party and my 13 year old daughter wanted to go.

"Nothing like that is going to happen this time Daddy, she got in so much trouble last time...her Grandma will be there the whole time..." She pleaded.

"Meaning what? That Grandma left a bunch of 12 year olds home alone last time?!? I'm sure Grandma was "home" last time too Katie, the answer is still no."

The "discussion" quickly escalated to "argument", my answer went from not just "no" to "HELL NO"!

As I looked around me I saw on the faces of the people surrounding us both sympathy and annoyance. I realized I had become "that" parent.

Tall for her age, Katie looked older than she was. Almost as tall as her 5'9" mother.

About this time she was in full "lose my fucking mind" teenager mode. Said something about being old enough to make her own decisions, and I can't stop her and blah, blah, blah!!! All this accompanied by the 

"Ghetto head weave" and ended with her nose about an inch from mine...my daughter is definitely not scared to poke the bear!

I was furious...my first inclination was to just wipe her right off her feet...probably illegal and too many witnesses. Instead, I brought my forehead forward and down, right into hers...hard.

She took a step backwards rubbing her head.

"Oooooooowwww" she said "that hurt!"

My turn to step in.

"You do that to me again, and next time I will knock your stupid...ass...out!!! You understand me?!?

"yeah..."

"What? I didn't hear that?!?"

"YES, I said...geez!!!"

"You're not going to that god damn party, and I don't want to hear another fucking word about it. Clear?"

"Clear" she said sullenly

As the rage dissipated and I looked around again...

The guy behind us was chuckling, when I met his eyes he gave me a nod. A couple women around us were covering smiles with their hands, studiously looking anywhere but at me...and no one was calling 911! Whew.

The only person not at least a little amused was Mama Bear!!! After receiving the "look of death" I knew I'd be hearing about this later...

On the plus side, 9 years later not once has she ever done that to me again...I say "lesson learned"!

Be Well Folks!

Beastly Bear

The struggle continues

Den of the Beastly Bear

Hi Folks!

I'm a little pushed for time today, so I'll try to be brief!

A lot of you are going through struggles with your weight, hopefully you're keeping up that new years resolution!

I feel your pain!

I've struggled almost my whole life with being heavy, to downright fat! Yeah, I said the "F" word...

It cracks me up when someone wants to argue with you and they pull out the "fat ass" card....REALLY?

You think that bothers me?!? Like I didn't know...I've wandered around my whole life an never realized until YOUR laser sharp insight brought it to my attention?

I graduated high school in 1981 at 255 lbs. at 5'11" tall.

While that may sound big to you, I was quite solid...wearing 36" in pants, and XXL shirts...not for the belly but for chest and shoulders.

Fast forward to 2003...still solid and "strong like bull" but with WAY to much padding over that hardbody!

When I blew my knee out at work, between time off my feet, anti inflammatory steroids, and eating like I was still working I put on even MORE weight. I didn't know how much though as our scale topped out at 300lbs. and I'd been pegging that bad boy for YEARS...

Our friend Jenny called us in a panic, her dog Molly had gotten into the rhubarb! 

If you didn't know rhubarb leaves are poisonous to dogs!

Molly was too big for Jenny to move or carry so she called us. We took Molly to the emergency Vet and I carried her in.

"How much does Molly weigh?" The girl behind the counter asked.

"I...I don't know.." Jenny said "just please help her!"

"We need to know how much she weighs so we know how much medication to give her...sir, step on that floor scale and we'll weigh you both, we'll take Molly, then weigh you to get her weight." She offered.

"How high does the scale go?" I asked

"500 lbs." She said.

I stepped up, Molly still in my arms...the weight was recorded and I laid Molly on a gurney to go back.

Then I stepped back on the scale.

As the numbers settled I heard soft gasps behind me as Jenny and my wife saw the number 387.8 lbs.!

Kathy and Jenny had been doing Weight Watchers to good effect. I told Kathy when I started back to work in July I would work the program with her but I wasn't going to no damn meetings!

In the first two months I dropped 60 lbs. !!! I only knew that as I had a Dr.s appointment and got weighed before...

I mean, I thought my clothes were looser but put it down to wishful thinking!

By Christmas I was down 80...

I used to take Kathy to her meetings on Thursday night, wait in the car and read until she was done and then we'd go out for dinner.

One night she brought the woman that ran the meetings out to meet me, she had told her of how well I was doing and she'd wanted to meet me.

Long story short she talked me into coming to meetings as there were few men and she wanted me to show them it worked.

Once I was below 300 lbs. my doctor allowed me to join a gym and start working out...more about THAT another day.

In eighteen months I dropped 153 lbs. was down to 34" pants (from 58") and XL/XXL shirts depending on manufacturer.

This is Kathy and I at a friends wedding.

She had lost 65 lbs. herself, we were stylin'.

At 234 lbs. I still had not reached my personal goal of getting below 200!

It was around this time at one of our meetings that an older gentleman had reached his goal weight, and maintained it for a month.

We always celebrated when someone reached their goal, part of the benefit of "going" was the support and motivation, sharing recipes and such.

Now no one ever knows what anyone else weighs, what their goal is, or where they started. But if someone did particularly well they may announce:

"Mary lost 7 lbs. this week!!!"

So when you reach goal, you are invited to speak to the class if you'd like.

So this fella, we'll call him Bill...got up to address the class. Bill was in his late sixties or very early seventies.

To look at the man you would never suspect he'd ever had a weight problem. At 5'8" he probably weighed 135-140.

He spoke at length about his "lifelong" struggle with weight. How until he started here he had never been able to shed the excess weight that had "ruined" his life, how he wished he had done this 50 years ago.

He thanked us profusely for our help and support in this struggle, and that he'd never have been able to do it without us...he choked up. Around the room tears were falling... What an inspiration!

"Yes...without you. I'd never have been able to drop those 25 lbs. that have plagued me my whole life!"

Wait a minute...wait a GOD DAMN minute! Did he just say twenty-five pounds? TWENTY-FIVE FUCKING POUNDS?!?!? I LOST 25 POUNDS IN MY LEFT ARM! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME????

His whole life he's SUFFERED over 25 lbs?!?!?

You piece of shit!!! I was LIVID!!!

You wanna talk suffer asshole, try waiting in line at Cedar Point for an hour to ride a rollercoaster only to find out you don't fit in the seat! Then have to get off and take the walk of shame in front of a couple hundred people that know you're too fucking fat to ride the ride!!! Try not being able to run fast enough to get your daughters kite in the air and see the disappointment in her eyes!!! That is suffering!!! 
You self important, narcissistic ass hat!!!

(Not that I am in ANY way comparing being fat to say, having cancer so you can stop the "You don't know TRUE suffering" comments and emails right now!)

I wanted to kick his ass...and as I looked around the room, the mood had definitely shifted...I wasn't the only one! Realizing he'd lost his audience Bill wisely chose to sit down and shut up!

I never did reach my goal. Change of jobs brought increased stress, decreased activity...since 2006 because of a lack of dedication on my part I'm back up to 267...

How could I let that happen you ask?
To have come so far...

I have no excuse. Though from experience I will tell you it goes back on a hell of a lot faster than it comes off. Now at 51 it's that much harder.

So for all you struggling...it can be done! And once done, never relent!

Ok, this went longer than intended...I do ramble so!

Be Well, and keep at it!

Beastly Bear