One of the aftereffects of Tim Russert’s sudden death is the intense focus on cardiac health across the country. Waist size has emerged as a leading indicator of heart attack risk. Men should keep their waists 40″ or less. For women it’s 35″ or less. Since I quit smoking my waist, as well as the rest of me, has ballooned a bit. So contemplating getting out that tape measure is an exercise in stress induction, which makes your belly fatter, which presses on your other organs which puts strain on your heart. You see the problem here, don’t you.
On top of that, your waist should be no wider around than half your height. Now, I’m five foot nothing. Not even another half inch to play with. That means my waist should be no more than thirty inches across. Damn! These two skinny minis they interviewed on TV had twenty-nine inch waists, so I have no shot whatsoever.
Luckily I stopped smoking long enough ago that I feel ready to diet off those extra pounds.
And speaking of Tim Russert, it is said that after Bruce Springsteen’s ukelele strumming version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow was played at his funeral, mourners walked out to see . . . a rainbow.
Here’s a tribute to Tim . . .
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBddo1RGiJU]
