Odds and Ends ~ or ~ What Could It Mean?

I was driving to the radiology office to get a mammogram Monday morning, and coming up to a stop light, I noticed 5 white cars stopped around me. I started counting white cars, and by the time I arrived at my destination (7 and 1/2 miles later), I had seen 99 of them! That didn't include white trucks, of which there were about a dozen. When did there get to be so many white cars on the road? Do you see this many where you live? What do you think our choice of car color says about us?

We used to own a white car, in fact we had three of them, and after that I said "No more!". Maybe it has changed now, but back then, the black rubber window gaskets would "bleed" rivulets of color down onto the car's paint and before you knew it, you had a striped car. To avoid that, you had to either wash your car every 3-4 days or use rubbing compound to remove the stains. Do you now - or have you ever owned a white car? Did you have the same problem?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An article in our morning paper says that "Tai Chi may thwart shingles". If you read that as "singles", you're not alone. I had to read it twice to be sure.....LOL.

Alicia Chang, in a story carried by the AP, says:

"Tai Chi is already known as a good low-impact exercise for older people. Now a recent study suggests it offers benefits beyond improving fitness and balance: It may help prevent shingles, a painful skin condition. Researchers found older people who performed the slow, graceful movements of tai chi had a better immune response against the virus that causes shingles than those who only got health education, according to the most rigorous test to date. ........The message is that older people need to maintain healthy behavior" (Duh, I insert!). The study appears in the April issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society and was led by Dr. Michael Irwin of UCLA.

"Who gets shingles? Anyone who has had chickenpox - about 90% of adults - is at risk of developing shingles, which causes intense pain and can lead to scarring, nerve damage, blindness, hearing loss and even death, when it develops in frail patients."

The intense pain I can vouch for, having had shingles about 8-10 years ago. I also found out recently that there is now a vaccine for shingles and doctors are recommending that their patients over 60 get the shots. What they may not tell you up front is that they cost $275 (or thereabouts) and most insurance companies are not covering them. Since I can get free tai chi lessons as a part of my health club membership (which costs less per year than the shot), perhaps that is a better preventative for me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

McDonald's seems to be taking a page from the Bojangle's menu. I saw an ad on TV last night for McDonald's new sweet tea, which you can buy by the gallon as well as in a cup. Last week they were advertising chicken biscuits. What's next? Dirty rice and pinto beans?

They better watch out! Bojangles will start selling hamburgers!