would i kneel

WOULD I KNEEL

youtube.com

as i watched all this stuff on tv this weekend
thats the question i pondered

actually
i didnt have to ponder very long
the answer is

no

now there was a time several years ago in my younger years
as the vietnam war protests took over
it really gained speed when the vietnam vets who came back
from the war
began to oppose the war
their unsupport pushed the us to eventually leave the war

this war that may of my family friends and neighbors had
to fight in
destroyed a lot of lives
why were we there in the first place

i just didnt feel right about the war
i was disappointed in our country
for all the lives that got destroyed fighting over there

thats why
i use to sit for the national anthem
like many at that time did

now years later
i
knowing
my belief systems
how i feel
i could not kneel

now i am a white southern male
who as far as i know has not ever been discriminated against

when my teenage sons went out at night
i didnt have to worry if they were stopped by the police
i didnt have to worry
well i worried but i didnt have to worry about this

i didnt ever have to
eat in a segregated restaurant ie out the back door
go to an inferior school
not be able to drink water with other races
not be able to do other things that being white allowed me to do

so
i cant really put myself inside the heart of those mostly black players
i havent lived through what they and their families have lived though
but
i can respect them for doing what they feel needs to be done
peacefully

the two most memorable pictures for me from the last weekend
at the national anthem ceremonies at the nfl stadiums
were


wideopencountry.com

meghan linsey
a white country western singer
as she finshed singing the national anthem
both nfl teams stayed in the locker room
she kneeled down
to support
the others right to do so

i must say as i watched her sing the national anthem
a rendition
that as a lover of country western music
just makes me feel tingly inside to have it sang that way
yes
i teared up listening to her sing it


foxnews

the other
was al villanueva
the big ole offensive tackle
a decorated medaled iraq /afghanistan war veteran
he stood at attention
his hand over his heart for the national anthem
still
he supported his teammates right to kneel during the anthem
to protest those indignities that are wrong with race relations
in america
they supported his right to stand outside for the national anthem

so
knowing all i know
knowing how i feel
knowing how others feel
i feel certain that
i would
stand at attention
my left arm would be locked around my fellow teammates right arm
my right arm would be extended down with my right hand
on his shoulder
my black teammate
so he would know that i supported him
then
i would look up to the fluttering flag
knowing what it means to us
listening to the anthem
a good singing of it like meghan linsey did always brings
a tear to my eye
a fluttering in my heart
then when those planes or helicopters fly over
thats when the tears start to flow
the chills come all over my body
i think of those like my uncle shot in ww2
my neighbors killed in vietnam

yes
my answer would be
no
i would stand

the organicgreen doctor

heb texas super bowl commercial, national anthem, heart numbers, summer

HEB TEXAS SUPER BOWL COMMERCIAL

if you are from texas you gotta love this commerical
if not from texas you probably dont care

either way
enjoy it if you have not seen it yet

NATIONAL ANTHEM 
dear nfl commisioner

please...................
just have a choir sing the thing that way you dont have
to rely on just one person to forget the words
then have the fans sing along

problem solved

HEART NUMBERS
alcohol     1 drink a day-excessive use can cause heart disease,
high blood pressure or liver problems

salt     excessive intake can cause high blood pressure
limit to 1.5 gms a day-the average male gets 10.4 gms

sugar      excessive amounts contribute to obesity and diabetes

heart rate    normal rate is 60-100    
usually the lower the numberthe less your heart has to work

exercise      walk 30 minutes 5 times a week and reap the benefits

sleep     need 8 hours a sleep a night

cigarettes     dont

blood sugar     fasting number less than 100 and or a
hemoglobulin a1c <6.0 (gives you a 3 month average of blood sugars)

crp-creactive protein     measures inflammation in the body    
can be elevated in some hi risk cardiovascular patients    
not needed if totally healthy    
is used to decide treatment in some patients
is the least important one in this list

waist circumference     men should have waist <40 inches and
women <35 inches   
people with increased waist size are at increased risk for heart
disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol

bmi     normal numbers are 18.5 to 25  
u r overweight if 25 to 30
u r obese if over 30    
u r morbidly obese if over 40    
it is calculated based on your height and weight    
higher numbers imply  higher risk for several diseases-high blood
pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, sleep
apnea, ....

blood pressure     this is probably the most important one normal
blood pressure is 120/80    
if your blood pressure is not 120/80 its not a normal blood pressure
elevated blood pressure is asymptomatic    
it causes heart disease, stroke, and kidney disease
treatment is cheap      
can use a $4 a month medication if needed
diet and exercise diet and exercise diet and exercise

cholesterol     normal is a total of less than 200    
ldl the bad sucky one is less than 100 or less than 130 is ok for
some people    
hdl greater than 40 in men and greater than 50 in women    
a triglyceride level of less than 150
people with higher numbers (lower numbers for hdl) are at
increased risk of heart disease, artery disease and stroke
diet and exercise is the initial treatment
from yahoo health

SUMMER
according to the old farmers almanac if february give much snow,
then a fine summer it doth foreshow
yes

the organicgreen doctor