Cancer Survivor, writing about Health and Fitness as you age

Hard to believe but 6 years ago, my little guy started down the path of karate-do.  I posted this way back in 2009 about his first belt test .  That was quite a feeling for me - the beginning of independence for him. At that time, I had no clue how long he would stick with it, or even that I would be doing it myself. Below - there he is just starting out, and his high white belt. This past April, he tested for his brown belt.  Here he is all geared up for sparring which is part of his brown belt test.  I am so proud of him for staying with the program, helping with the younger students (including me), and doing well within the program. I am thankful for his instructors and all the assistants who helped him along the way. It requires discipline and commitment and that is what makes this success so much the sweeter.

This is a picture I took from the plane as I was returning from a recent business trip. The sunset was beautiful, and I was very happy to be getting back to my family. I had also just bought a bag of Mike and Ike for my sons - getting them a little souvenir when we travel is a tradition. "I'd like the Mike and Ike." This is what I told the checkout person when I placed the bag for her to scan. "What..?" I repeated myself. It took three times, before she understood what I was saying. I eventually had to explain. " I decided to buy the Mike and Ike for my kids." It turns out, she wanted to explain, that most people don't speak with her when they cash, they just say "Here" and push the items to her, so she was very confused when I spoke to her and and actually called out the name of what I was buying. It made me feel sad, that folks are so busy that they don't take the time to appreciate, no, just exchange a few words w