My cousin, Fatimah Ali, died last month at the age of 55. A well known journalist, activist, and talk show host in Philadelphia, she was beautiful, brilliant, determined, stubborn, feisty, funny, and generous. She was also uninsured, so when she felt some of the warning signs that often accompany a stroke, she ignored them, fearing large medical bills.
A devout Muslim whose given name was Susan Hughes, she was buried on Friday, January 27th in the rain, lowered into her grave by her husband and other members of the mosque she attended. She leaves behind a stunned community, a grieving family, and 5 beautiful children to cope with a staggering loss.
Her death reminds us of the glaring inequities in our health care system, and angers me as well as saddens me. In a country that was once the wealthiest nation on earth, that prides itself on diversity, creativity, resilience and ingenuity, we are still struggling with the fact that health care is so often a luxury available only to the rich or to some – but not all – corporate employees. There are millions of people like my cousin who work in various capacities for large corporations, but are not covered by health insurance. In addition, there are untold millions who work outside the corporate world as artists, writers, dancers and other performers; caregivers, food service employees, chefs, builders, teachers, etc. etc. etc. So many people who, like my cousin, are uninsured or under-insured, and are therefore reluctant to visit health care providers because they cannot pay for the care or for their medications.
Why can’t we figure this out? Why can other nations get it right but we can’t? Why do our politicians continue to treat the issue of national health insurance as a political “football”, kicking it around every few years or so, without actually solving it?
We need to figure it out, before other peoples’ loved ones die needlessly. We need to make our voices heard, in whatever way we can, by whatever means are necessary.
Until the problem IS solved, we need to take our health matters into our own hands. Until we can change Washington, we need to change our behavior. We need to:
1) Educate ourselves, our children, our communities. We need to know the signs of stroke, of heart attack, of kidney disease, and what to do about them (check the web).
2) Educate ourselves about nutrition, healthy eating, and certainly in this economic climate, proper meal planning on a budget.
3) Advocate for fresh fruits and vegetables in our communities, particularly in inner city areas that have poor access to these vital commodities.
4) Insist that our schools provide nutritious meals for our children, meals that are low in salt, sugar, and empty calories. (NOW, not “phased in gradually over the next 10 years”).
5) Reduce our consumption of fast foods and packaged products that are full of sodium, chemicals and added sugars.
6) Learn to cook for ourselves and our families at home.
7) Integrate exercise into our lives on a daily basis.
8) Give up smoking and excessive drinking.
Back to thoughts of Fatimah Ali, nee Susan Hughes, who was born into a family of doctors, but died because she could not afford medical care.
Despite the contradictions of her passing, hers was truly a life well lived. I like to think that were she alive today to read this, she would approve.
“DO something”. She would have said. “Make some noise. Fight this nonsense. March. Protest. Boycott something. Act UP, Y’all!!”
Amen.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Thursday, January 12, 2012
BODY PARTS
I was lying in bed one night recently, awakened by the tv, at 4 am. Not my usual practice, as I generally fall asleep by midnight and stay asleep, but something on the screen (or someone snoring next to me) woke me up. So I sat up, found the remote, and clicked thru the channels to find something worth watching.
The thing that grabbed my attention, oddly enough, was an infomercial for a fitness DVD package, the name of which escapes me. Not important, since there are many such things available on late night/early morning TV, and countless more on the web.
What intrigued me about this one, however, was that it was really well done, and made sense. The gal had done her homework, and actually had something sensible to say about losing weight, not only from an exercise perspective (she is a celebrity fitness trainer, and some of her celebrity clients were on hand to add authenticity, as well as some Hollywood glamor), but from a nutritional standpoint as well.
What intrigued me more than the content, was the price. “Get the 4 DVDs for only 4 easy payments of only $29.95…but if you act now, we will DROP ONE PAYMENT!! AND we will send you the calorie calculator, the personal diet diary, the miniature veggie chopper, the stretchy bands, AND the workout mat ABSOLUTELY FREE!!”
Hmmmmm, I thought. A rip-off? Maybe. But only for those who send for it, and don’t use it. For those that actually use it, it looked like a good investment.
But what about folks who don’t want to, or cannot, spend the requisite $89.95 ( plus tax plus shipping and handling) for yet another diet and fitness program? We are smart women, aren’t we? We can figure out how to feed the kids, manage the husband, work full time, care for our elders, keep the house clean, run for Congress, finish law school, drive the school bus, and make the cupcakes, so we can figure out on our own how to lose 20 pounds and re-shape our own jiggly butts, can’t we??
Apparently not.
There is an alarming epidemic of obesity in this country, as we know. Our kids, our men, and approximately 60 percent of us, are overweight, and the numbers are getting worse. This fact provides a goldmine of opportunity for people like the young, slim, energetic blonde in the infomercial, people who find endless ways to sell fitness products to those of us who cannot figure it out on our own.
Having recently completed my own fitness trainer certification program (2 years at night school, yes I did!!), I can attest to the fact that there is a lot to learn, and a lot to understand, which is why I did it. I wanted to understand the basics of health and fitness, not only so that I could write about it, but so that I could make sense of it for myself and my family. And the first thing I can say about the subject is…there is NO magic bullet. NO secret formula, no simple routine, no “one method fits all”, which is why so many people have a hard time with it. And why I have a hard time accepting the idea that health and fitness can be bought for 3 easy payments of $29.95 (plus tax, shipping and handling).
If you want to get healthy and re-claim your body, it takes commitment, work, patience, and time. You have to start by “knowing your numbers” (see my last posting), and by taking a good, hard look in the mirror. Evaluate your own body, realistically assess what you want to change, and then tailor an exercise program that will help you tone, trim and strengthen YOUR body, part by part.
Yet I do admit that I was fascinated by the program that the blonde was selling. She had broken it down to four separate DVDs, one for each body part. She recognized that some of us need to work on our core (midsection), others have, yes, a saggy butt. Still others have “thunder thighs”, or huge hips, or weak, flabby arms.
Fortunately, there are resources out there that can help you target your exercise program to specific body areas, whether you work out at a gym, or at home. A good trainer, if you can spend the money for a session or two, can help you focus on the areas that you would like to improve. If you can’t afford a trainer, go to the bookstore (assuming you can find one!) and spend a few dollars on a book. If you can’t decide which one to get, check out the web, or send me an e-mail and I will recommend some of the books I use.
Cut the carbs, give up the soda, get to work. If you want to do it, you can. It won’t be easy, but a better, healthier body is absolutely attainable. For a lot less than $89.95 (plus tax, etc).
Good luck!!
Donna
donna.white790@gmail.com
I was lying in bed one night recently, awakened by the tv, at 4 am. Not my usual practice, as I generally fall asleep by midnight and stay asleep, but something on the screen (or someone snoring next to me) woke me up. So I sat up, found the remote, and clicked thru the channels to find something worth watching.
The thing that grabbed my attention, oddly enough, was an infomercial for a fitness DVD package, the name of which escapes me. Not important, since there are many such things available on late night/early morning TV, and countless more on the web.
What intrigued me about this one, however, was that it was really well done, and made sense. The gal had done her homework, and actually had something sensible to say about losing weight, not only from an exercise perspective (she is a celebrity fitness trainer, and some of her celebrity clients were on hand to add authenticity, as well as some Hollywood glamor), but from a nutritional standpoint as well.
What intrigued me more than the content, was the price. “Get the 4 DVDs for only 4 easy payments of only $29.95…but if you act now, we will DROP ONE PAYMENT!! AND we will send you the calorie calculator, the personal diet diary, the miniature veggie chopper, the stretchy bands, AND the workout mat ABSOLUTELY FREE!!”
Hmmmmm, I thought. A rip-off? Maybe. But only for those who send for it, and don’t use it. For those that actually use it, it looked like a good investment.
But what about folks who don’t want to, or cannot, spend the requisite $89.95 ( plus tax plus shipping and handling) for yet another diet and fitness program? We are smart women, aren’t we? We can figure out how to feed the kids, manage the husband, work full time, care for our elders, keep the house clean, run for Congress, finish law school, drive the school bus, and make the cupcakes, so we can figure out on our own how to lose 20 pounds and re-shape our own jiggly butts, can’t we??
Apparently not.
There is an alarming epidemic of obesity in this country, as we know. Our kids, our men, and approximately 60 percent of us, are overweight, and the numbers are getting worse. This fact provides a goldmine of opportunity for people like the young, slim, energetic blonde in the infomercial, people who find endless ways to sell fitness products to those of us who cannot figure it out on our own.
Having recently completed my own fitness trainer certification program (2 years at night school, yes I did!!), I can attest to the fact that there is a lot to learn, and a lot to understand, which is why I did it. I wanted to understand the basics of health and fitness, not only so that I could write about it, but so that I could make sense of it for myself and my family. And the first thing I can say about the subject is…there is NO magic bullet. NO secret formula, no simple routine, no “one method fits all”, which is why so many people have a hard time with it. And why I have a hard time accepting the idea that health and fitness can be bought for 3 easy payments of $29.95 (plus tax, shipping and handling).
If you want to get healthy and re-claim your body, it takes commitment, work, patience, and time. You have to start by “knowing your numbers” (see my last posting), and by taking a good, hard look in the mirror. Evaluate your own body, realistically assess what you want to change, and then tailor an exercise program that will help you tone, trim and strengthen YOUR body, part by part.
Yet I do admit that I was fascinated by the program that the blonde was selling. She had broken it down to four separate DVDs, one for each body part. She recognized that some of us need to work on our core (midsection), others have, yes, a saggy butt. Still others have “thunder thighs”, or huge hips, or weak, flabby arms.
Fortunately, there are resources out there that can help you target your exercise program to specific body areas, whether you work out at a gym, or at home. A good trainer, if you can spend the money for a session or two, can help you focus on the areas that you would like to improve. If you can’t afford a trainer, go to the bookstore (assuming you can find one!) and spend a few dollars on a book. If you can’t decide which one to get, check out the web, or send me an e-mail and I will recommend some of the books I use.
Cut the carbs, give up the soda, get to work. If you want to do it, you can. It won’t be easy, but a better, healthier body is absolutely attainable. For a lot less than $89.95 (plus tax, etc).
Good luck!!
Donna
donna.white790@gmail.com
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