Back on Track

By Lynn Difley

A big hello to all those on the road, or about to take off for summer activities.  I’ve been down but not out for a couple of weeks, due to a computer malfunction–as in “she’s done broke”. I’m glad to say I had purchased a long term warranty along with the computer from Circuit City. Oops, Circuit City closed and had their final sale. They are no more. My heart sank at the thought that I would have to buy another computer, and had perhaps lost all the material I had carelessly neglected to back up. Drat and bother, this blankety blank economy.

But wait! The good news for me was that the warranty was still being honored by their warranty contractor. I had to take my computer into Radio Shack, where they helped me wade through a pile of paper work (who says this is a paper free society?) and I sent it off to a repair center. I waited, ok, I was a bit nervous about it, but we checked by Email and all seemed to be progressing normally. A part that was necessary was on backorder–isn’t the one part you need always on backorder? Soon they answered that the computer was in shipment, and the next afternoon I went down to Radio Shack and picked it up. Hooray, it is as good as new, with a new motherboard, whatever that is. Now I’m back on line and in business.

So what did I miss? Do let me know what you were up to, what happened while I was off line and out of contact?  I was relieved the first week it was gone, free of the responsibilities I had taken on and unable to keep up with world wide internet events, surely the personal responsibility of every computer owning citizen. I had lots of extra time to prepare for classes, read and enjoy the summer weather. However, by the third week, somehow all that free time had filled itself and I found myself rushing as much as ever to accomplish my daily list of to do’s. I wonder how it happens. Time is much like a purse, the more room you think you have, the more you find to fill it with, until all of a sudden you have an overwhelming accumulation of questionably important items. So now I have my computer back, where was I?

We all know that water is good for you. It can help you feel fuller, it’s a good replacement for sugary drinks like soda or juice, improves the look of your skin–the list is long. But did you know that drinking water might also help reduce your risk of a heart attack?  Here’s a study that established that participants “who drink five or more glasses of plain water a day have a much lower risk of fatal coronary heart disease compared to those who drink less than two glasses per day.” 

The risk factors associated with coronary heart disease (like blood viscosity) appear to be elevated by dehydration. Study participants were generally healthy (without a history of heart disease, stroke or diabetes) and reduced their risk of dying of a heart attack by half or more. The benefits were not the same if participants drank five or more glasses of other fluids each day. It appears that the reduced risk came with people who drank plain water.

Drinking five glasses of water per day is an easy habit for most people to develop. And who knows what other health benefits you might get from making sure you stay well-hydrated throughout the day! I think I’ll go pour myself a nice cold glass of water. Here’s to your health! Lynn