Oakland Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs, Howie Long, and Men's Health

"We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same."– Carlos Castaneda

Yesterday, I mentioned my conversation with Ed Budde, the president of the Kansas City Chiefs alumni Association.  He referred to himself as an old chief and the feedback that I gave was for him to re frame that and call himself a Kansas City Chief Instead.  I wanted him to remove the word “old” so that he could challenge this depiction.  We want to think of ourselves and about ourselves positively and remove words that have a negative connotation.

 I am going to share with you one story about Ed.  Some years ago, on a Sunday, I was watching an NFL program, with past players talking about the current football games.  Howie Long, formerly of the Oakland Raiders, was telling a story about when the Raiders and the Chiefs were playing one Sunday.  Lined up across from Howie for the Kansas City Chiefs was none other than Brad Budde, the eighth overall pick in the draft.  During the game, Howie busted Brad’s nose.  Howie said he heard that Papa Budde was at the game, angry, and was looking to tear up Howie in the tunnel.  Hall of Famer Long said he did not want anything to do with Papa Ed. I am gowing to ask Ed about that story. Ed has a reputation.

A while ago I was writing about Men’s Health.  Ways to improve men’s life expectancy.  Presently, the average life expectancy for men is 77 years, compared to 82 for women.  Some recommendations to increase life expectancy are as follows: 1. Have an annual physical, preventive screening tests, and immunizations. 2.  Do not smoke-men who smoke are about 23 times more likely to develop lung cancer and smoking causes about 90% of lung cancer death in men. 3.  Be physically active-a minimum of 30 minutes most days of the week. 4.  Eat a heart healthy diet-fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, nuts, and foods low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt, and added sugars. 5.  Stay at a healthy weight-balance calories from food and beverages with calories you burn off my physical activities. 6.  Manage your stress-stress, particularly long-term stress can be a factor in the onset or worsening of ill health.  Managing stress is essential to health and well-being and should be practiced daily. 7.  Drink alcohol in moderation-that means no more than two drinks a day.  I.e. 12 ounce bottle of beer, 5 ounce glass of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80 proof distilled spirits. 8. Know your family health history- learn about relatives that are deceased.

Website that might be helpful: us.movember.com/men’s health/.  Remember, these eight recommendations is good advice for everybody. I am doing my part: Digger and I ran an 8 to 9 mile loop incorporating Dead Truck in the process.  I add fruits and vegetables to my morning smoothie.  I also make more than enough and have a least one to two glasses for lunch as well. Be and stay healthy.