Of Trans Fats and a Good Book

"STATE BANS TRANS FATS AT EATERIES"

That was the headline that got me going this morning.
It's tough enough putting up with the confiscatory taxes in the nanny state of California, but now the lame brained liberal, commie, hippies who rule in Sacramento want to control what we ingest.

Just one more reason to head for the border if you ask me. Let me clog my own arteries any damn way I want to...thank you very much! And while you're at it, LEAVE ME ALONE!

There, I feel better.

Turning to page three of the newly "up for sale" San Diego Union-Tribune my gaze falls on the sad news that Randy Pausch has died. Wow, I'd almost forgotten about him.
I hadn't wanted to like him, but...I did. I read his book.
In case you've been out of touch, Randy was a professor at Carnegie Melon University who wrote a national bestseller called: The Last Lecture. It's a dandy. If you haven't read it, DO. It is an amazing story of courage and love that will inspire you and fill you with admiration for a gifted and intelligent man who was handed a death sentence and turned it into a powerful message for the rest of us.

The Last Lecture is one of those books that will stay with you long after you've put it down. As I mentioned, I hadn't wanted to like him. He was a little too "up" for a guy who has been cranky since childhood, but he grew on me as I got into the book.
I know The Last Lecture has caused me to re-think my long tucked away escape plan in the unlikely event that I might hear, "you have six months to live" from my primary care provider. (That's what we call doctors in California.) My original plan involved a short drive to my local Beverages & More! store to re-connect with my old pal the ever faithful, Jack Daniels. We went steady for more than thirty years; it should be easy to fall in love again.
Hmmm. I wonder if Lucky Strike would like to rekindle the old romance?

No...the good professor has much better advice:

His lecture is about achieving your childhood dreams and the importance of overcoming obstacles; of seizing every precious moment you have.

"Obstacles serve a purpose: They give us a chance to show how badly we want something," says Randy Pausch.

"Brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough."

He is humorous, inspirational and intelligent.

Professor Randy Pausch, dead too soon at 47.

Do yourself a favor and read his book.