Fat. Lazy. Self Centered.

I asked for it.
Tree trimmers were in the area cleaning up debris left by a storm with high wind that brought a tree down on top of my neighbor's garage. I asked if they could dump a load of mulch in my yard and they said they would.
They dumped it in our side yard, right where everyone driving by could see it. Sara Jean was furious with me...
"That pile of crap will be there forever!"
I promised her I'd have it gone in almost no time.

So I got out yesterday and started moving it. We have 40+ trees on our 2-1/2 acres, and grass and weeds grow near enough to those trees that we have to get out with a trimmer now and then to clean them up for appearance sake. I pile the mulch around the trees and it controls the problem... no more weeds, and the mulch around the base of the trees actually looks good.

Yesterday was another scorcher.
After fifteen minutes of scooping mulch into the wheelbarrow, then moving to individual trees, I was soaked and shed my shirt.
Another neighbor from down the street drove by with her daughter on board, headed toward town and both waved. When they returned an hour later she slowed and shouted, "It's too hot to be working like that!"
I smiled inside.
She's morbidly obese.
Her daughter is gettin' there.
Yeah, it WOULD BE too hot for them.

Walk with me into town and take a look around at what you see.
In our town, the vast majority of folks are overweight.
A large percentage of those are seriously overweight.
Far too many of them are morbidly obese.
Why?

I know...
This is a subject that's been beaten to death by folks smarter than me...
The availability of fatty, sugar laden foods.
Machines now doing much of the labor we used to have to do.
TV.
Computers.
There's no question all this stuff contributes to the problem.
But a big part of the problem is discipline... or lack thereof.
Doing what I want with this mulch is hard work. And yeah, it's hotter than a firecracker. But it has to be done, and I'm the one that's gotta do it.
GET TO WORK!

When I look around and see the problems facing our country today, so many of them can be related indirectly to the subject of this post...
We've gotten fat, lazy, and we're too self-centered.
And if you're fat, it's even harder to do what is necessary to get the job done.
(Someone else can do it. It's TOO HARD for me!)

Hope and Change.
We voted for a guy who promised it last election.
Problem is, he can't change US, and that's really where the change has to happen, isn't it?

Deep breath...
I'm heavier than I want to be. Whose fault is that? Who can change that?

There's work that needs to be done. I'm sitting here typing on this infernal machine while that pile of mulch is sitting out there mocking me.
Who's gotta move it?
I DO!

Let's get off our butts, my friends.
There truly are important changes that need to be made... in our government... in our personal lives.
Who can make those changes?

I can.
You can.
Do it.
Start now.