Tom's Diary

Dear Beejay,

Hi there.

I don’t eat much red meat, but fish, chicken, and to a small degree, pork are still fair game.

Today, I’m at –28 pounds since you last saw me, and still descending.

On the gall bladder: Yes, being overweight can tax the gall bladder to the point where it becomes diseased and must be removed. However, losing weight too rapidly can produce gall stones. [...]

Hey, my sister just arrived. I’ll write more later.

You might want to check out: http://www.drmirkin.com for more on this.

 

Tom Hesley

Dear sister Diane,

I’m coming home for a week, tomorrow. So, I’ll be around for Memorial Day. Looking forward to it. It’ll be good to visit the country scene again, especially with all your pretty flowers around.

All is well. Work is challenging. Having to fight many battles these days. But I’m learning to hold my own very well and it’s good that my management team supports me with great loyalty. I derive much strength from them.

I’ve lost 25 pounds so far this year. Striving to reach the 30-pound mark, but it’s getting harder to lose, as I approach goal weight. Been walking a lot – took a six-mile hike last evening. I had planned on it being a twelve-mile hike. But I simply ran out of energy after six. So I ended up taking the bus back home. Perhaps I’ll walk the other six miles tonight, assuming that the weather holds up.

The weather there sounds like the weather here – dark, gloomy, and rain in the air. We haven’t had rain yet today but they say on the radio that we’ll have spotty showers today. So by the time 5:00 PM rolls around, things could be quite soggy. Will have to play this by ear I suppose.

Well, gotta run. Will talk to you this weekend probably.

 

Later.

Dear   [Beejay],

Welcome to your new home!! Yes, those attributes that catch your eye when first shopping for a home, such as your hardwood floors, can become a pain in the neck once you move in, as you’re finding. But it’s worth it though. You are now much more, “one with the land.” Especially since you have to spend so much time cutting the grass. That will taper off as the summer heats up. Don’t fret. *smile*

 

Tom

Dear Beejay,

Actually, 25 pounds in about 4 months. I began dieting when I returned from Dayton in January, on or about the 27th. So, I’ve been averaging about 1.5 pounds weight loss per week. At first, I was just dieting – I’ve cut out cheese, butter, oils, and all other forms of added fats and sugars. And I aspire to eat only WHOLE foods, and not those that have been cut apart, ground, concentrated, extracted, diluted, or otherwise changed, from their natural forms. So, I avoid all juices. When I want a glass of apple juice, I simply eat a whole apple. I avoid flour and eat lots of vegetables, whole grains, seeds, fruits, and a few nuts here and there. Although on the weekends, I often have a fish or chicken dinner once or twice. But even for the “splurge meals,” the same restrictions apply – namely, to avoid highly processed foods. But, I still do wine, so we can do THAT when we get together in June. I have a physical exam in June to see how this weight loss has affected my internal chemistry. The doctor told me to avoid losing more than about two pounds per week, to avoid any gall bladder problems. I am anxious to get my cholesterol and triglycerides blood values. I’m shooting for an HDL (good cholesterol) reading of greater than 50, an LDL (bad cholesterol) reading of less than 120, and a total cholesterol reading of less than 180. Oh, and triglycerides, I hope to score below 100. Don’t worry, I took no drugs (diet pills and such) to do this. It’s all been just eating the right things, in the right quantities.

 

Tom

Dear   [Rick],

I put the year the song entered the chart (if it did at all), in front of each song you listed. If it did not enter the hot 100, I put four question marks for the year.

???? Anymore by Johnny Ace

1982 Take me down by Alabama

???? Promenade by Lee Allen and his Orchestra

???? My love is gone from me by Ed Ames

1967 Who will answer by Ed Ames

???? It depends on you by Anthony and the Sophomores

???? Gee, but I’d give the world by Anthony and the Sophomores

???? Oldies, Mr. Bee by Anthony and the Sophomores

1966 I’m gonna miss you by Artistics

1979 Spooky by Atlanta Rhythm Section

1962 See see rider by Lavern Baker

1975 Shaving cream by Benny Bell

???? Valentine girl by Tony Bellus

???? Diamonds and pearls by Bluejays

1967 The disadvantages of you by Brass Ring

1966 Theme from “Flight of the Phoenix” by Brass Ring

???? Laura’s theme by Brass Ring

1969 Hot smoke and sasafrss by Bubble Puppy

???? Out of reach by Solomon Burke

???? Moorse code of love by Capris

???? My Father by Judy Collins

1969 Someday soon by Judy Collins

1966 Music to watch girls by by Bob Crewe Generation

1969 Evil woman by Crow

1961 Let’s go tripping by Dick Dale and his Deltones

1962 Baby face by Bobby Darin

1980 It’s hard to be humble by Mac Davis

1964 Hey Dean, Hey Jean by Dean and Jean

1963 Tra la la Suzy by Dean and Jean

1968 Kentucky woman by Deep Purple

1965 Bird Paradise by Jimmy Dickens

1962 My boomerang won’t come back by Charlie Drake

???? Sleep walk by Peter Drake

1962 If I should lose you by Dream Lovers

???? Please forgive me by Du-Ettes

???? Lonely days by Duettes

???? Family of one by Sheena Easton

???? Summer’s over by Sheena Easton

???? Wish you were here tonight by Sheena Easton

1970 My wife the dancer by Eddie and Dutch

???? Alley Cat by Eddie and the Sounds

???? Mexican hat dance by Eddie and the Sounds

???? What’s bugging you baby by El Dorados

1967 Get me to the world on time by Electric Prunes

???? Under the street lamp by Exits

1964 As years go by by Marianne Faithful

???? Top Gun Anthen by Harold Faltermeyer and Steve Stevens

1956 Wisdom of a fool by Five Keys

???? Got to make a comeback by Eddie Floyd

1966 Knocking on wood by Eddie Floyd

???? Magic melody by Formations

???? Fool no more by Four Persuasions

???? Echo by Four Persuasions

1960 I do the Shammy Shammy by Bobby Freeman

???? You don’t understand me by Bobby Freeman

???? Jiving around by Ernie Freeman

1962 A girl has to know by G-clefs

1955 Suddenly there’s a Valley by Gogi Grant

???? Crazy over you by Maureen Gray

1965 The in crowd by Dobie Gray

???? Shootin’ the grease by Jesse Gresham

1979 Morning dance by Spyro Gyra

???? We will make love by Russ Hamilton

1963 Memory Lane by Hippies

1964 I can’t stop now by Honeycombs

1969 In a moment by Intrigues

1968 Whiskey on a Sunday by Irish Rovers

1963 True love goes on and on by Burl Ives

???? One tin soldier by Billy Jack

???? Under your spell again by Jeanne and Janie

???? Margie by Joe Jeffrey Group

1966 Something I want to tell you by Johnny and the Expressions

???? Let go by France Joli

1979 Come to me by France Joli

???? Hambourg Bound by Moe Kaufmann Quartette

1967 You’ve got to pay the price by Al Kent

???? Won’t find better than me by Kit Kats

???? Lost on a country road by Kit Kats

1967 I’ll take good care of your cares by Frankie Laine

1967 Making memories by Frankie Laine

1981 Love on a 2 way street by Stacy Lattisaw

1983 Miracles by Stacy Lattisaw

???? Time will tell by Leapy Lee

???? Auld Lang Syne by Guy Lombardo

???? I wanna girl by Mad Lads

???? Humoresque by Johnny Maddox

1967 Pata Pata by Miriam Makeba

1965 You better go by Derek Martin

???? That old black magic by Robert Maxwell and his Orchestra

1967 Nothing takes the place of you by Toussaint McCall

1969 Back field in motion by Mel and Tim

???? Till then by Mills Brothers

???? It’s because by Mills Brothers

???? Theme from “My Three Sons” by Bob Moore

???? Blue dress by Murmaids

1972 Can’t you hear the song by Wayne Newton

???? One more memory by Wayne Newton

1965 Red Roses for a blue lady by Wayne Newton

???? Rhythm rhapsody by Wayne Newton

???? Chicken dance by John Norris

???? Turn away by Jane Olivor

1978 He’s so fine by Jane Olivor

1965 You can’t be true dear by Patti Page

1967 I wanna testify by Parliament

???? Hey, Senorita by Penguins

1962 She can’t find her keys by Paul Peterson

???? Rainy night in Paris by Frank Pourcel

???? Saint Louis blues by Perez Prado

???? I walked the line by Bill Pursell

1963 What a guy by Raindrops

1958 I believe in you by Robert and Johnny

1959 Believe me by Royal Teens

???? Standing on the outside by Jack Scott

???? Freedom’s star by Serendipity Singers

1971 Jingle bells by Singing Dogs

1957 Rocking pneumonia and the boogie woogi by Huey Smith and the Clown

1967 Some kind of wonderful by Soul Brothers Six

???? Am I asking too much by String-A-Longs

1979 Sing for the day by Styx

1965 I live for the Sun by Sunrays

1966 Andrea by Sunrays

???? Somewhere down the line by Johnny Taylor

???? Boomerang by Tom and Jerrio

???? Dear Mr. Fantsy by Traffic

???? Shake, rattle and roll by Joe Turner

???? You know I love you by Joe Turner

1968 Take me for a little while by Vanilla Fudge

???? You’re gonna be waiting by Thomas Wayne

1957 High school dance by Larry Williams

1957 You bug me baby by Larry Williams

???? Never less than yesterday by Nancy Wilson

???? Grooving with Mr. Bloe by Wind

???? Make believe by Wind

???? Sugar Mountain by Neil Young

1962 What’s a matter baby by Timi Yuro

Tom Hesley

[Rick],

I do not sanction this CD copying that you’re doing. I thought you just wanted to listen to the CD I loaned you. Stop trying to hood-wink me into participating in this copying, when you know I don’t approve of it. You’ll need to get the song titles elsewhere. I cannot provide them. Sorry.

 

Tom Hesley

Dear   [Lynn],

Anyway, on email spam: Often times, the spam email contains a web site that you can visit to unsubscribe. For vendors that offer this link, THIS is the best way to get off their distribution lists. For those thad do not have this option, you can try sending email to ‘postmaster@’ where is the domain name of the company that sent you the spam mail. Include a copy of the spam email with your message, and tell the post master that you do not wish to receive further mailings. If ‘postmaster’ doesn’t work, try sending the email to ‘root’ or ‘administrator’, followed once again by the company’s domain name. Or, you can see if the email has a telephone number to call, call it, and have them take you off their distribution lists. If the spam is really bad, you may need to change your email address to rid yourself of it.

Eudora contains a message filtering option that allows you to set up rules that tell Eudoa what to do with incoming mail that matches certain critera. For instance, if you want to set up Eudora to automatically delete messages from somecompany.com, you would go to the Special–>Make Filter menu option and follow the instructions. You can base the filter on the From: address, the contents of the message body, and numerous other attributes. Check it out. Perhaps you’ll find this feature useful.

Well, as I recall, New England weather was always “cold”. *Yikes*

Good luck.

Tom

Dear   [Lynn],

Ah. Thanks much. I did ask the lady who sold these to me, and she said that she didn’t know what they put in them and could not guarantee that “nothing” was added. Ah well, guess the lesson is: Don’t eat anything that doesn’t have a label, unless you grew it yourself. Yes, these dried cranberries have no (or very little) tartness, but instead are quite sweet. I’ve been taking them with me on my walks as a snack. But my body is reacting to them as though they have lots of sugar. Weight loss has slowed. And, I hate to admit it, but when I have too much sugar, I start biting my nails. It took three decades to realize the connection between nail biting and excess sugar consumption. But for me it definitely holds true. But naturally occurring sugars in fruit – such as in oranges or cherries – does not trigger this nervous habit unless I eat them on an empty stomach. But all sweet things, whether they be natural or man-made, must be moderated when dieting.

Tom

Dear   [Lynn],

Hey,

Can you tell me if cranberries are naturally sweet? I found a store that sells dried cranberries, which taste sweetly divine. But I am suspicious that they have been marinated in sugar water before drying – a no no on my diet. Seems that I bought some cranberry juice from the health food store a couple years ago, that was very bitter tasting – not sweet at all – thus the suspicion that they are NOT naturally sweet. I’ve never eaten a ripe cranberry, fresh off the vine. Thoughts?

Official weight loss since you last saw me: 25 Lbs. and descending.

Tom

[Rick],

Don’t forward me these chain letters. Please. I don’t believe in them and they clutter my mailbox.

Thanks much.

 

Tom