Leg muscle/heart rate question? - Page 6 - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

01-15-2005, 03:21 PM

chris c wrote:
> I am 35 going on 20. Weigh 169 (weighed 210 last summer!). Lost it quick
> with cycling and a low fat diet. I eat great now also (try to stick to the
> fruit and veg thing). I am in good shape. I have only some fat that I am
> trying to get rid of on the stomach (love handles). I know cycling wont do
> this. I do crunches.
>
I got to ask if it is diet related but I was up to 200 at 5'7" and now
down to 158, up from 142 before the holiday food fest began, how do you
get love handles? I never had that problem, so is it maybe from beer, or
some dietary thing, or just a personal genetic inheritance?

Not ragging on you but I am 56 and never had that. I have seen some of
the actors on television that were basically in shape but still had
those little rings of fat. Male models too, the 30ish ones.
Bill ??? Baka

01-15-2005, 03:21 PM

chris c wrote:
> I am 35 going on 20. Weigh 169 (weighed 210 last summer!). Lost it quick
> with cycling and a low fat diet. I eat great now also (try to stick to the
> fruit and veg thing). I am in good shape. I have only some fat that I am
> trying to get rid of on the stomach (love handles). I know cycling wont do
> this. I do crunches.
>
I got to ask if it is diet related but I was up to 200 at 5'7" and now
down to 158, up from 142 before the holiday food fest began, how do you
get love handles? I never had that problem, so is it maybe from beer, or
some dietary thing, or just a personal genetic inheritance?

Not ragging on you but I am 56 and never had that. I have seen some of
the actors on television that were basically in shape but still had
those little rings of fat. Male models too, the 30ish ones.
Bill ??? Baka

01-15-2005, 03:33 PM

Jeff Starr wrote:
> On Sat, 15 Jan 2005 13:57:48 GMT, "chris c" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]>
> wrote:
>
>
>>I am 35 going on 20. Weigh 169 (weighed 210 last summer!). Lost it quick
>>with cycling and a low fat diet. I eat great now also (try to stick to the
>>fruit and veg thing). I am in good shape. I have only some fat that I am
>>trying to get rid of on the stomach (love handles). I know cycling wont do
>>this. I do crunches.
>>
>
>
> Hi, crunches won't do it either. Well they will help, and if the fat
> goes away, then you will have muscle to show.Spot reduction doesn't
> work. From what I have read, it seems that we all have areas that the
> fat seems to go to first and comes off of last. A couple of years ago,
> I lost about 40 lbs and I am still struggling to get rid of about
> another 5-10 in the midsection, including the love handles. In the
> last two years I have biked over 5200 miles, I eat healthy [most of
> the time], and work out when not riding. But that last bit of blubber
> is still there. The muscle definition in your legs will come with time
> and lots of riding. I wouldn't worry about pushing harder gears, I
> would just ride.
> You give us your weight, but not height. If over 6ft, then 169 is
> good, but if you are 5'6", well then you have some work to do.

You need to actually work your midsection by doing toe touches and
windmills if you can't do a straight toe touch. Moving the middle of the
body through whatever range of motion you can achieve seems (to me) to
help my loosening things up a bit in the area of concern.
>
> I just turned 50 and I feel better than I did throgh most of my 40s.
> Like you I abused myself with alcohol, drugs, and bad eating. I smoked
> everything but tobacco, for 25 years. Six and a half years ago, I quit
> everything and then started smoking cigars. Well lat year I cut that
> back to about 10 cigars, for the whole year, and I don't get winded
> anymore.
> I use a heart rate monitor and my max has been in the low 170s.

Only low 170s? I am 56 and hit mid to high 180s cut it comes down real fast.

As I
> understand it, one sign of a healthy heart, is how fast it slows down,
> after exertion. If your drops at least 25 beats in three minutes, that
> is good.

Definitely a good sign.

If not, you may have some problems. Depending on how high it
> is, at the start of the three minutes, mine drops 25-40 beats
> regularly.

Keep a watch at the side of your bed and take you pulse before you get
up and you should get a good resting pulse rate. For those of us older
types I keep a blood pressure monitor handy just to track my changes
during the day. A little high before I go out and ride ans sometimes a
bunch low after riding hard, like down to 90/50, as in don't try jumping
up from a comfortable chair.
>
> I agree with the others that you should get a physical, at 35, it's a
> good idea, anyway.

Definitely, help the doctor pay for that Mercedes.

One other thing I do is keep a digital 4 digit thermometer handy and I
have found out that I have a little bit of a weird metabolism. When I
wake up my temp is normally around 95.2, even with an electric blanket.
Once up and about my normal is 97.6, one full degree lower than
'normal'. If I hit 98.6 I am borderline getting sweaty or running a
temperature (for me). Any body else have quirks to their metabolism, or
did I just get the off the wall set? I did hear that a lower body
temperature equals longer life since you are not burning at such a high
rate but that may be just bull.
>
>
> Life is Good!
> Jeff

OK, I'm going now.
Bill Baka

01-15-2005, 03:33 PM

Jeff Starr wrote:
> On Sat, 15 Jan 2005 13:57:48 GMT, "chris c" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]>
> wrote:
>
>
>>I am 35 going on 20. Weigh 169 (weighed 210 last summer!). Lost it quick
>>with cycling and a low fat diet. I eat great now also (try to stick to the
>>fruit and veg thing). I am in good shape. I have only some fat that I am
>>trying to get rid of on the stomach (love handles). I know cycling wont do
>>this. I do crunches.
>>
>
>
> Hi, crunches won't do it either. Well they will help, and if the fat
> goes away, then you will have muscle to show.Spot reduction doesn't
> work. From what I have read, it seems that we all have areas that the
> fat seems to go to first and comes off of last. A couple of years ago,
> I lost about 40 lbs and I am still struggling to get rid of about
> another 5-10 in the midsection, including the love handles. In the
> last two years I have biked over 5200 miles, I eat healthy [most of
> the time], and work out when not riding. But that last bit of blubber
> is still there. The muscle definition in your legs will come with time
> and lots of riding. I wouldn't worry about pushing harder gears, I
> would just ride.
> You give us your weight, but not height. If over 6ft, then 169 is
> good, but if you are 5'6", well then you have some work to do.

You need to actually work your midsection by doing toe touches and
windmills if you can't do a straight toe touch. Moving the middle of the
body through whatever range of motion you can achieve seems (to me) to
help my loosening things up a bit in the area of concern.
>
> I just turned 50 and I feel better than I did throgh most of my 40s.
> Like you I abused myself with alcohol, drugs, and bad eating. I smoked
> everything but tobacco, for 25 years. Six and a half years ago, I quit
> everything and then started smoking cigars. Well lat year I cut that
> back to about 10 cigars, for the whole year, and I don't get winded
> anymore.
> I use a heart rate monitor and my max has been in the low 170s.

Only low 170s? I am 56 and hit mid to high 180s cut it comes down real fast.

As I
> understand it, one sign of a healthy heart, is how fast it slows down,
> after exertion. If your drops at least 25 beats in three minutes, that
> is good.

Definitely a good sign.

If not, you may have some problems. Depending on how high it
> is, at the start of the three minutes, mine drops 25-40 beats
> regularly.

Keep a watch at the side of your bed and take you pulse before you get
up and you should get a good resting pulse rate. For those of us older
types I keep a blood pressure monitor handy just to track my changes
during the day. A little high before I go out and ride ans sometimes a
bunch low after riding hard, like down to 90/50, as in don't try jumping
up from a comfortable chair.
>
> I agree with the others that you should get a physical, at 35, it's a
> good idea, anyway.

Definitely, help the doctor pay for that Mercedes.

One other thing I do is keep a digital 4 digit thermometer handy and I
have found out that I have a little bit of a weird metabolism. When I
wake up my temp is normally around 95.2, even with an electric blanket.
Once up and about my normal is 97.6, one full degree lower than
'normal'. If I hit 98.6 I am borderline getting sweaty or running a
temperature (for me). Any body else have quirks to their metabolism, or
did I just get the off the wall set? I did hear that a lower body
temperature equals longer life since you are not burning at such a high
rate but that may be just bull.
>
>
> Life is Good!
> Jeff

OK, I'm going now.
Bill Baka

01-15-2005, 03:33 PM

Jeff Starr wrote:
> On Sat, 15 Jan 2005 13:57:48 GMT, "chris c" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]>
> wrote:
>
>
>>I am 35 going on 20. Weigh 169 (weighed 210 last summer!). Lost it quick
>>with cycling and a low fat diet. I eat great now also (try to stick to the
>>fruit and veg thing). I am in good shape. I have only some fat that I am
>>trying to get rid of on the stomach (love handles). I know cycling wont do
>>this. I do crunches.
>>
>
>
> Hi, crunches won't do it either. Well they will help, and if the fat
> goes away, then you will have muscle to show.Spot reduction doesn't
> work. From what I have read, it seems that we all have areas that the
> fat seems to go to first and comes off of last. A couple of years ago,
> I lost about 40 lbs and I am still struggling to get rid of about
> another 5-10 in the midsection, including the love handles. In the
> last two years I have biked over 5200 miles, I eat healthy [most of
> the time], and work out when not riding. But that last bit of blubber
> is still there. The muscle definition in your legs will come with time
> and lots of riding. I wouldn't worry about pushing harder gears, I
> would just ride.
> You give us your weight, but not height. If over 6ft, then 169 is
> good, but if you are 5'6", well then you have some work to do.

You need to actually work your midsection by doing toe touches and
windmills if you can't do a straight toe touch. Moving the middle of the
body through whatever range of motion you can achieve seems (to me) to
help my loosening things up a bit in the area of concern.
>
> I just turned 50 and I feel better than I did throgh most of my 40s.
> Like you I abused myself with alcohol, drugs, and bad eating. I smoked
> everything but tobacco, for 25 years. Six and a half years ago, I quit
> everything and then started smoking cigars. Well lat year I cut that
> back to about 10 cigars, for the whole year, and I don't get winded
> anymore.
> I use a heart rate monitor and my max has been in the low 170s.

Only low 170s? I am 56 and hit mid to high 180s cut it comes down real fast.

As I
> understand it, one sign of a healthy heart, is how fast it slows down,
> after exertion. If your drops at least 25 beats in three minutes, that
> is good.

Definitely a good sign.

If not, you may have some problems. Depending on how high it
> is, at the start of the three minutes, mine drops 25-40 beats
> regularly.

Keep a watch at the side of your bed and take you pulse before you get
up and you should get a good resting pulse rate. For those of us older
types I keep a blood pressure monitor handy just to track my changes
during the day. A little high before I go out and ride ans sometimes a
bunch low after riding hard, like down to 90/50, as in don't try jumping
up from a comfortable chair.
>
> I agree with the others that you should get a physical, at 35, it's a
> good idea, anyway.

Definitely, help the doctor pay for that Mercedes.

One other thing I do is keep a digital 4 digit thermometer handy and I
have found out that I have a little bit of a weird metabolism. When I
wake up my temp is normally around 95.2, even with an electric blanket.
Once up and about my normal is 97.6, one full degree lower than
'normal'. If I hit 98.6 I am borderline getting sweaty or running a
temperature (for me). Any body else have quirks to their metabolism, or
did I just get the off the wall set? I did hear that a lower body
temperature equals longer life since you are not burning at such a high
rate but that may be just bull.
>
>
> Life is Good!
> Jeff

OK, I'm going now.
Bill Baka

01-15-2005, 05:17 PM

frank-in-toronto wrote:
> On 15 Jan 2005 05:54:47 -0800, "Maggie" <lbuset@allsecretarial.com>
> wrote:
>
> >
> >frank-in-toronto wrote:
> >> On 14 Jan 2005 11:02:25 -0800, "Maggie"
<lbuset@allsecretarial.com>
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >> <snip a lot of good advice>
> >> ummm. maggie, take this the right way. please. i want to
> >> read what you write. but these old eyes aren't so good.
> >> could you break your responses into paragraphs?
> >> that's all. thanks.
> >> ...thehick
> >
> >If you met me in person you would know that I write the way I speak.
I
> >go on and on and on and on and on....and eventually when I realize I
> >did not breathe for a long time I stop and take a breath. I am the
> >proverbial chatterbox. I never stop talking. I guess that is very
> >evident in the way I write. I will do the paragraph thang... Do
you
> >want indentation or double spacing? ;-)
> not required. thanks for offering tho. and don't ask me to
> capitalize.
> ...thehick

You want paragraphs from a rambler and I can't ask you to capitalize.
OK...fair enough. Life is short. Screw the capitals. I try not to sweat
the small stuff. Half the time I don't sweat the big stuff. I am too
old to do battle with windmills.....I save my evil side for the things
that matter. ;-) Wanna read a great story... Read on if your so
inclined. Remember I work in this field....this could happen to
anyone's child.

Here's a heartwarming story about the bond formed between a little girl

and some construction workers. This will make you believe that we can
make a difference when we give a child the gift of our time.

A young family moved into a house next door to a vacant lot. One day, a

construction crew came in and began building a house on the empty lot.
The family's 5-year-old daughter became interested in all the activity
going on next door and spent much of each day observing the workers.
Eventually, the construction crew, all of them gems-in-the-rough, more
or less adopted her as a project mascot.

They chatted with her, let her sit with them while they took coffee and

lunch breaks, and gave her little jobs todo here and there to make her
feel important.

At the end of the first week, the men presented her with a pay envelope

which contained $2.00. The little girl took this home to her mother,
who
said all the appropriate words of admiration, and suggested that they
take the money she received to the bank to start a savings account.

When they talked to the bank teller, she was equally impressed and
asked
the little girl how she had earned her very own pay check at such a
young age. The child proudly replied, "I worked last week with the crew

building the house next door to us." My goodness gracious, "said the
teller, "and will you be working on the house again this week, too?"
The
little girl replied, "I will if those *******s at HomeDepot ever
deliver
the ****in' sheet rock."
Kinda brings a tear to the eye...doesn't it?

01-15-2005, 05:17 PM

frank-in-toronto wrote:
> On 15 Jan 2005 05:54:47 -0800, "Maggie" <lbuset@allsecretarial.com>
> wrote:
>
> >
> >frank-in-toronto wrote:
> >> On 14 Jan 2005 11:02:25 -0800, "Maggie"
<lbuset@allsecretarial.com>
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >> <snip a lot of good advice>
> >> ummm. maggie, take this the right way. please. i want to
> >> read what you write. but these old eyes aren't so good.
> >> could you break your responses into paragraphs?
> >> that's all. thanks.
> >> ...thehick
> >
> >If you met me in person you would know that I write the way I speak.
I
> >go on and on and on and on and on....and eventually when I realize I
> >did not breathe for a long time I stop and take a breath. I am the
> >proverbial chatterbox. I never stop talking. I guess that is very
> >evident in the way I write. I will do the paragraph thang... Do
you
> >want indentation or double spacing? ;-)
> not required. thanks for offering tho. and don't ask me to
> capitalize.
> ...thehick

You want paragraphs from a rambler and I can't ask you to capitalize.
OK...fair enough. Life is short. Screw the capitals. I try not to sweat
the small stuff. Half the time I don't sweat the big stuff. I am too
old to do battle with windmills.....I save my evil side for the things
that matter. ;-) Wanna read a great story... Read on if your so
inclined. Remember I work in this field....this could happen to
anyone's child.

Here's a heartwarming story about the bond formed between a little girl

and some construction workers. This will make you believe that we can
make a difference when we give a child the gift of our time.

A young family moved into a house next door to a vacant lot. One day, a

construction crew came in and began building a house on the empty lot.
The family's 5-year-old daughter became interested in all the activity
going on next door and spent much of each day observing the workers.
Eventually, the construction crew, all of them gems-in-the-rough, more
or less adopted her as a project mascot.

They chatted with her, let her sit with them while they took coffee and

lunch breaks, and gave her little jobs todo here and there to make her
feel important.

At the end of the first week, the men presented her with a pay envelope

which contained $2.00. The little girl took this home to her mother,
who
said all the appropriate words of admiration, and suggested that they
take the money she received to the bank to start a savings account.

When they talked to the bank teller, she was equally impressed and
asked
the little girl how she had earned her very own pay check at such a
young age. The child proudly replied, "I worked last week with the crew

building the house next door to us." My goodness gracious, "said the
teller, "and will you be working on the house again this week, too?"
The
little girl replied, "I will if those *******s at HomeDepot ever
deliver
the ****in' sheet rock."
Kinda brings a tear to the eye...doesn't it?

01-15-2005, 05:17 PM

frank-in-toronto wrote:
> On 15 Jan 2005 05:54:47 -0800, "Maggie" <lbuset@allsecretarial.com>
> wrote:
>
> >
> >frank-in-toronto wrote:
> >> On 14 Jan 2005 11:02:25 -0800, "Maggie"
<lbuset@allsecretarial.com>
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >> <snip a lot of good advice>
> >> ummm. maggie, take this the right way. please. i want to
> >> read what you write. but these old eyes aren't so good.
> >> could you break your responses into paragraphs?
> >> that's all. thanks.
> >> ...thehick
> >
> >If you met me in person you would know that I write the way I speak.
I
> >go on and on and on and on and on....and eventually when I realize I
> >did not breathe for a long time I stop and take a breath. I am the
> >proverbial chatterbox. I never stop talking. I guess that is very
> >evident in the way I write. I will do the paragraph thang... Do
you
> >want indentation or double spacing? ;-)
> not required. thanks for offering tho. and don't ask me to
> capitalize.
> ...thehick

You want paragraphs from a rambler and I can't ask you to capitalize.
OK...fair enough. Life is short. Screw the capitals. I try not to sweat
the small stuff. Half the time I don't sweat the big stuff. I am too
old to do battle with windmills.....I save my evil side for the things
that matter. ;-) Wanna read a great story... Read on if your so
inclined. Remember I work in this field....this could happen to
anyone's child.

Here's a heartwarming story about the bond formed between a little girl

and some construction workers. This will make you believe that we can
make a difference when we give a child the gift of our time.

A young family moved into a house next door to a vacant lot. One day, a

construction crew came in and began building a house on the empty lot.
The family's 5-year-old daughter became interested in all the activity
going on next door and spent much of each day observing the workers.
Eventually, the construction crew, all of them gems-in-the-rough, more
or less adopted her as a project mascot.

They chatted with her, let her sit with them while they took coffee and

lunch breaks, and gave her little jobs todo here and there to make her
feel important.

At the end of the first week, the men presented her with a pay envelope

which contained $2.00. The little girl took this home to her mother,
who
said all the appropriate words of admiration, and suggested that they
take the money she received to the bank to start a savings account.

When they talked to the bank teller, she was equally impressed and
asked
the little girl how she had earned her very own pay check at such a
young age. The child proudly replied, "I worked last week with the crew

building the house next door to us." My goodness gracious, "said the
teller, "and will you be working on the house again this week, too?"
The
little girl replied, "I will if those *******s at HomeDepot ever
deliver
the ****in' sheet rock."
Kinda brings a tear to the eye...doesn't it?

01-15-2005, 06:50 PM

Maggie wrote:
> frank-in-toronto wrote:
>
>>On 15 Jan 2005 05:54:47 -0800, "Maggie" <lbuset@allsecretarial.com>
>>wrote:
>>
>>
>>>frank-in-toronto wrote:
>>>
>>>>On 14 Jan 2005 11:02:25 -0800, "Maggie"
>
> <lbuset@allsecretarial.com>
>
>>>>wrote:
>>>>
>>>><snip a lot of good advice>
>>>>ummm. maggie, take this the right way. please. i want to
>>>>read what you write. but these old eyes aren't so good.
>>>>could you break your responses into paragraphs?
>>>>that's all. thanks.
>>>>...thehick
>>>
>>>If you met me in person you would know that I write the way I speak.
>
> I
>
>>>go on and on and on and on and on....and eventually when I realize I
>>>did not breathe for a long time I stop and take a breath. I am the
>>>proverbial chatterbox. I never stop talking. I guess that is very
>>>evident in the way I write. I will do the paragraph thang... Do
>
> you
>
>>>want indentation or double spacing? ;-)
>>
>>not required. thanks for offering tho. and don't ask me to
>>capitalize.
>>...thehick
>
>
>
> You want paragraphs from a rambler and I can't ask you to capitalize.
> OK...fair enough. Life is short. Screw the capitals. I try not to sweat
> the small stuff. Half the time I don't sweat the big stuff. I am too
> old to do battle with windmills.....I save my evil side for the things
> that matter. ;-) Wanna read a great story... Read on if your so
> inclined. Remember I work in this field....this could happen to
> anyone's child.
>
> Here's a heartwarming story about the bond formed between a little girl
>
> and some construction workers. This will make you believe that we can
> make a difference when we give a child the gift of our time.
>
> A young family moved into a house next door to a vacant lot. One day, a
>
> construction crew came in and began building a house on the empty lot.
> The family's 5-year-old daughter became interested in all the activity
> going on next door and spent much of each day observing the workers.
> Eventually, the construction crew, all of them gems-in-the-rough, more
> or less adopted her as a project mascot.
>
> They chatted with her, let her sit with them while they took coffee and
>
> lunch breaks, and gave her little jobs todo here and there to make her
> feel important.
>
> At the end of the first week, the men presented her with a pay envelope
>
> which contained $2.00. The little girl took this home to her mother,
> who
> said all the appropriate words of admiration, and suggested that they
> take the money she received to the bank to start a savings account.
>
> When they talked to the bank teller, she was equally impressed and
> asked
> the little girl how she had earned her very own pay check at such a
> young age. The child proudly replied, "I worked last week with the crew
>
> building the house next door to us." My goodness gracious, "said the
> teller, "and will you be working on the house again this week, too?"
> The
> little girl replied, "I will if those *******s at HomeDepot ever
> deliver
> the ****in' sheet rock."
> Kinda brings a tear to the eye...doesn't it?
>
ROTFLOL!
Good one Maggie.
I kind of bonded with some of my little girl groupies that tagged along
with me and my granddaughter on Friday. We all had bikes and I was as
usual the pack mule with the back pack and drink holders on the bike.

One of them mentioned that we should ride by the flea market, which is
only open on Sundays and I gave in. They wanted to see what had been
discarded that had not been sold, and there was usually a dumpster there
with all kinds of 'stuff' in and around it. I didn't have anything
better planned so I said "Sure, why not?" and we pedaled over there.

No dumpster.

Now think 4 girls from 9 to 11 not getting to do what they wanted,
usually a disaster, but one came up with dirt riding since there were
some hills just right for their size. Little 2 foot hills of sand and
pea gravel. Two little hills later and the lead rider yells "Hey, you
guys gotta see this.", so we all go over there to check it out.

Big pile of clothes, clean, almost new, like somebody just set them
there to be discovered. Between me and all the girls being slightly
different sizes there was something for all to wear for our outdoor slip
and slides in the winter goo that is a California winter. We came back
with my back pack full of clothes, and everyone was wearing an extra
shirt or jacket plus carrying stuff.

When we got back we got some strange looks and all parents immediately
dumped our booty into the washing machine on extra hot to get the
'Cooties' off.

We didn't ride much, but the kids acted as if we had hit a gold mine, so
it was worth it in that respect. 4 little faces all lit up instead of
that usual bored look, all because we were in the right spot at the
right time.

I just know somebody is going to say why not just go to the store and
buy them all clothes, but it is the post-Christmas broke season, and
they had more fun finding a treasure than they ever would have in the
store with mom and dad watching.
Made my day. I have been dubbed the best grandfather, a nice title.
Bill Baka

01-15-2005, 06:50 PM

Maggie wrote:
> frank-in-toronto wrote:
>
>>On 15 Jan 2005 05:54:47 -0800, "Maggie" <lbuset@allsecretarial.com>
>>wrote:
>>
>>
>>>frank-in-toronto wrote:
>>>
>>>>On 14 Jan 2005 11:02:25 -0800, "Maggie"
>
> <lbuset@allsecretarial.com>
>
>>>>wrote:
>>>>
>>>><snip a lot of good advice>
>>>>ummm. maggie, take this the right way. please. i want to
>>>>read what you write. but these old eyes aren't so good.
>>>>could you break your responses into paragraphs?
>>>>that's all. thanks.
>>>>...thehick
>>>
>>>If you met me in person you would know that I write the way I speak.
>
> I
>
>>>go on and on and on and on and on....and eventually when I realize I
>>>did not breathe for a long time I stop and take a breath. I am the
>>>proverbial chatterbox. I never stop talking. I guess that is very
>>>evident in the way I write. I will do the paragraph thang... Do
>
> you
>
>>>want indentation or double spacing? ;-)
>>
>>not required. thanks for offering tho. and don't ask me to
>>capitalize.
>>...thehick
>
>
>
> You want paragraphs from a rambler and I can't ask you to capitalize.
> OK...fair enough. Life is short. Screw the capitals. I try not to sweat
> the small stuff. Half the time I don't sweat the big stuff. I am too
> old to do battle with windmills.....I save my evil side for the things
> that matter. ;-) Wanna read a great story... Read on if your so
> inclined. Remember I work in this field....this could happen to
> anyone's child.
>
> Here's a heartwarming story about the bond formed between a little girl
>
> and some construction workers. This will make you believe that we can
> make a difference when we give a child the gift of our time.
>
> A young family moved into a house next door to a vacant lot. One day, a
>
> construction crew came in and began building a house on the empty lot.
> The family's 5-year-old daughter became interested in all the activity
> going on next door and spent much of each day observing the workers.
> Eventually, the construction crew, all of them gems-in-the-rough, more
> or less adopted her as a project mascot.
>
> They chatted with her, let her sit with them while they took coffee and
>
> lunch breaks, and gave her little jobs todo here and there to make her
> feel important.
>
> At the end of the first week, the men presented her with a pay envelope
>
> which contained $2.00. The little girl took this home to her mother,
> who
> said all the appropriate words of admiration, and suggested that they
> take the money she received to the bank to start a savings account.
>
> When they talked to the bank teller, she was equally impressed and
> asked
> the little girl how she had earned her very own pay check at such a
> young age. The child proudly replied, "I worked last week with the crew
>
> building the house next door to us." My goodness gracious, "said the
> teller, "and will you be working on the house again this week, too?"
> The
> little girl replied, "I will if those *******s at HomeDepot ever
> deliver
> the ****in' sheet rock."
> Kinda brings a tear to the eye...doesn't it?
>
ROTFLOL!
Good one Maggie.
I kind of bonded with some of my little girl groupies that tagged along
with me and my granddaughter on Friday. We all had bikes and I was as
usual the pack mule with the back pack and drink holders on the bike.

One of them mentioned that we should ride by the flea market, which is
only open on Sundays and I gave in. They wanted to see what had been
discarded that had not been sold, and there was usually a dumpster there
with all kinds of 'stuff' in and around it. I didn't have anything
better planned so I said "Sure, why not?" and we pedaled over there.

No dumpster.

Now think 4 girls from 9 to 11 not getting to do what they wanted,
usually a disaster, but one came up with dirt riding since there were
some hills just right for their size. Little 2 foot hills of sand and
pea gravel. Two little hills later and the lead rider yells "Hey, you
guys gotta see this.", so we all go over there to check it out.

Big pile of clothes, clean, almost new, like somebody just set them
there to be discovered. Between me and all the girls being slightly
different sizes there was something for all to wear for our outdoor slip
and slides in the winter goo that is a California winter. We came back
with my back pack full of clothes, and everyone was wearing an extra
shirt or jacket plus carrying stuff.

When we got back we got some strange looks and all parents immediately
dumped our booty into the washing machine on extra hot to get the
'Cooties' off.

We didn't ride much, but the kids acted as if we had hit a gold mine, so
it was worth it in that respect. 4 little faces all lit up instead of
that usual bored look, all because we were in the right spot at the
right time.

I just know somebody is going to say why not just go to the store and
buy them all clothes, but it is the post-Christmas broke season, and
they had more fun finding a treasure than they ever would have in the
store with mom and dad watching.
Made my day. I have been dubbed the best grandfather, a nice title.
Bill Baka