Don’t certain dates stand out in your mind? Of course, there are personal dates like your wedding day or the birth of a child that you will never forget. But I am referring to those dates that are outside of your own life but have an impact on you none the less.

For the Greatest Generation, there were VE and VJ Days. For my boomer bunch, we all know where we were the day when JFK was shot and or when Neil Armstrong sauntered on the moon. For many Chicagoans, the embedded memory is the moment in 2005 the White Sox won the World Series–or maybe you remember the 2016 Cubs championship night.  Or the soon to follow 2016 Election coverage.

Yes, all those days are important to me, but October 24th also has a place in my permanent memory. October 24, 1971, to be precise. Why? It was my senior year in high school. I was at a regional event for United Synagogue Youth, the youth group that I had been insanely active with throughout my high school years. I was reconnecting with the young woman who would become my senior year sweetheart and prom date. And a bunch of us had gathered around a transistor radio (Japanese, I presume) listening to a mediocre Bears team play the Detroit Lions at the old Tiger Stadium.

There was just about a minute left on the clock when a Detroit player, 28-year-old wide receiver Chuck Hughes, dropped to the turf. The stadium and broadcasters fell silent. Hughes never moved, he was never resuscitated. This trained athlete, the father of a 23-month-old son, is the only player in the history of the National Football League to die during a  game.

I have never looked at October 24th the same way. The collision of fun and romance with the stark reality of mortality and tragedy made a mark on me that I never fail to reflect on as this day rolls around. No one was assassinated, no one made a memorable quote or won the Presidency, but my memory will always be there. That October 24th girlfriend has long vanished from my life, but the death of Chuck Hughes is something I will never forget.

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I wasn’t going to write about it, didn’t want to jinx it (kina hora.) But it feels like an accomplishment and I feel like celebrating it.

My weight and my blood sugar were creeping up and up. A couple of oral medications hadn’t corraled my hemoglobin A1c (a measure of glucose control over a three-month span) and nothing was helping me corral my BMI. So as my internist and I discussed various pharmaceutical approaches to issue number one, I told her I would like to see a nutritionist for issue number two. A few mouse clicks from Dr. W.  and I  had an electronic referral to the group’s Diabetes Educator.

That appointment was exactly two months ago. And would it be an exaggeration to say it was a life-changer? Meg the registered dietitian and I sat in her office and we talked. A little about life, a little about jobs, and then a little about how and what I ate. There were no aghast looks from her, no reprimands, not even an eye-roll as I cataloged my daily calorie intake. I didn’t need her to tell me that for a smart guy, I had picked up some dumb habits.

Meg made some suggestions.  She thought I should get back on my original glucose medication, though perhaps at a different dosage. She encouraged frequent blood glucose testing, one thing I demurred on. As far as my eating behavior, she suggested cutting some portion sizes, giving up a treat or two, and trying to balance carbs with proteins. She gave me a suggested calorie count, passed on some manuals and sent me on my way. I gave the pamphlets a glance when I got home and then decided that it was time I flipped the switch and got healthy. But like with most things, although I would incorporate what Meg had said, I would do it my way.

So no, I am not on a diet. I’m not paleo’ing, or Mediteranian’ing, or ketogenic’ing. I eat at all hours of the day if I choose to. I take no issue with gluten or lactose or tree nuts and all are part of my daily routine. When someone asks “What can’t I eat anymore,” my answer is “I can eat anything.”

But the bagels have been replaced by flatbreads and sprouted grain English muffins (1/2 of one is the perfect portion size,) the handsful of pretzels substituted for by mixed nuts and fruits (hoping for a long cherry season,) and now, when Barb suggests splitting an entree at a restaurant, my eyes no longer beam death rays at her.

So here I am 61 days later, and 25 pounds lighter. The BMI calculator on my iPhone says I am still in the overweight zone, but not by much. I feel good, I am gearing up for tennis season and a couple of 5Ks, and cravings don’t seem to be a problem.

Can I keep it up? I’m not sure. And it will be another month before I need to check my hemoglobin A1c. But I think I can do it…kina hora.

Speaking of keeping healthy, I am still looking for sponsors for my 5K SEABlue Run for prostate cancer Support, Education, and Advocacy. Here’s the link!

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This month marks four years of my online blogging. What started as “Downsize, Maybe,” a chronicle of Barb and I building our empty-nester home, morphed and metamorphosized in ‘Getting More from Les,” —  topically diffuse, told with different voices, but always with the goal of having at least one reader say “yeah, I get that.” With over 350 posts and 175000 words, I could have written two average novels (that’s average in length, not necessarily in content.) But for immediate feedback, there is little that beats blogging.

When people ask what my favorite post is, I usually say that it is the most recent one, whichever that is. The newest baby is always the freshest, the one with the labor pains foremost in memory. All very subjective. But as to which posts have been most widely read, there is factual and objective evidence via Google Analytics, a program that tracks every hit on the blog site. I may not know who is reading the blog, but I can tell what they are reading.

So looking back over the last four years, here are the ten blogs with the highest readership:

10. Would We Still Want to be on Family Feud? We never got the call, but we KNOW we would have won.

9.  Seven Words Pathologists Should Never Use  A reaction against a surprising story from the CDC.

8. Woodman’s Market. This Wisconsin Invader is Worth a Visit. An unsolicited glowing review of Woodman’s Market. I still shop there.

7. A Middle of the Road Democrat’s Letter to Presiden-Elect Trump. Some pre-inauguration requests from a more naive me.

6. Is Curiosity Worth Losing a Job Over? Lessons from the Jessie (sic) Smollett Affair. A look at how some Northwestern Medical Center  employees fared worse than Jussie Smollett.

5. Trump News Conference: Both Sides Responsible for Solar Eclipse. You never know what he will say next!

4. Is Terry Boer’s Autobiography the Bore of a Lifetime?  My zombie book review. It keeps rising from the dead.

3. An Open Letter to Doug Parker, CEO of American Airlines. Yes I grumbled over having to spend a night in Detroit instead of Miami.

2. Carson’s Department Stores are Closing for Good and I Care. Do You?  Reminiscing over a lifetime with a Chicago icon.

And at #1 on the hit parade, by a wide, wide margin. This post didn’t quite go viral, but it at least went bacterial.

1. It is Time to Repeal and Replace Donald Trump. My feelings during the health care legislation situation. Who thinks my feelings have changed since?

So that, in a nutshell are the highlights of the last four years. I don’t know what’s ahead for the next four years, but I promise to keep writing and do my best. Thanks to all the loyal readers. Keep those cards and letters coming!

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And here is the link!

Hello subscribers–and you know who you are.

For almost three years, my blog had been running in ChicagoNow, the digital media arm of The Chicago Tribune. It’s a fun place to post, with lots of camaraderie among the bloggers. And I was proud to have won several writing awards while there.

For the last month, I have been posting here on WordPress instead, and have gotten a slew of new readers. However, I have found a few technical drawbacks here, including difficulty in editing, poor search engine visibility, and a less powerful analytics engine.

For these reasons, I will resume posting at ChicagoNow. If you are a subscriber here and want to continue to be notified of my new blog posts (and who wouldn’t want to be!) please send your name and email address to me at les.raff@post.com. I will add you to the ChicagoNow subscription list.

Hope to hear from you all in my new (old) space.

Les

lets see if popup subscribe works