The American Appetite

According to TMZ, a popular entertainment news/gossip outfit, Britney Spears loves her fast food. I heard the report on the radio this morning, replayed by the local station that usually provides the soundtrack to the first 30 to 60 minutes of my day. The report contained audio of Spears ordering various value meals and other items at various "quick service" eateries and then provided nutritional content (calories and fat grams) of everything she ordered. The story included some 5000 calories worth of menu items.

I was disgusted.

I was disgusted not by the food and the contents, thereof, but by the fact that I was hearing about it. I was, and am, disgusted by the fact that the message we have sent, as a society, is that we want to know about this. We WANT to know what Britney Spears orders and we WANT to hear someone make fun of her for how fattening it is.

Much is made of Americans' taste for unhealthy foods and our growing waists and weights. Rightly so. We happily poison our bodies by choosing cheap and tasty over wholesome and nutritious all too often.

In much the same way, we should go further out of our way to decry and disown our taste for unhealthy information and our shrinking hearts, souls, and minds. We happily poison those by gobbling up (and therefore communicating our hunger for more of) the "cheap and tasty" dishes served up by TMZ and others like them.

The big difference between our unhealthy food cravings and our unhealthy info cravings is that the gossip is more harmful, by far. Like second-hand smoke, it passes from person to person in the form of "interesting conversation," doing the same damage to everyone who listens and repeats, while a cheeseburger's direct and most profound damage ends with the one who eats it.

Consider, too, the sources of our sinful tastes. While many fast food items are unhealthy, I would say that the process of creating and serving them is far healthier than the process of gathering and distributing gossip news. To make a hamburger is to provide food - a natural human inclination addressing a natural human necessity (and it is, for many, an early chance to learn to work in a professional atmosphere). To make a story about a troubled music star's questionable diet is to go against all that human experience, moral development, and ethical living have taught us about how to treat other people. You can not produce that story without sacrificing goodness, stunting your soul, and polluting a society.

So what do we do? Unfortunately, the best answer is the frustrating one we all got as kids when someone was bothering us. Ignore it. TMZ will be around as long as we will listen. Don't listen to Hollywood gossip and don't talk about it. It doesn't make you smarter, healthier, wealthier, or happier. (In fact, I am often astounded at how unbelievably stupid, assinine, and shallow people sound when they talk about celebrity dogs, relationships, etc.) Instead, it gobbles up the moments of life that could be spent on efforts or people or conversations that are truly important.

Ignore it and help others do the same. You don't have to be a crusader, but it would not be wrong to steer conversations away from insidious topics. It would be considered helpful (if done in the right way) to help someone eat nutritionally and it is just as noble to encourage healthy thought and discussion.

We have control only over ourselves, but we can set the example for others by caring at least as much about the strength and capacity of our hearts and souls as we do about the size of our bellies. Better living leads to better lives. So does reading ZiggyBackRide.

Me and My Purple Car, Vol. 3

This was the scene at 9:13 p.m. Central time on Sunday, October 14th, 2007, just north of mile marker 224 on northbound Interstate 55 in Mississippi. Amid much fanfare, me and my purple car celebrated completion of our 100,000th mile together.*

The drive was a bit nervewracking, as I feared all the pre-milestone hoopla could prove to have been premature and that my outstanding automobile would suffer an untimely demise before reaching the highly anticipated mark. All was well, though, and a celebration befitting the moment was enjoyed by all (read: me).

The big moment even had its own soundtrack, including (I'm gonna be) 500 Miles by The Proclaimers, one of the ZiggyBackRide staff's very favorite songs and the Main Theme from Star Wars, which was playing as the odometer turned. As I pulled the car over to snap the above photo, Texas Fight, the University of Texas fight song, came pouring forth from the speakers and, finally, as the jubilation began to subside and I was able to reflect on what had been accomplished, One Shining Moment played while a retrospective of the car's life played in my head, much like the video scrapbook of each NCAA basketball tournament that accompanies the song as each hoops season comes to its end. I remembered the Accord as a baby, when it was scarcely larger than a Civic** and all the moments between then and now, that have each been such a special part of the ride.

A few facts about the first 100,000 miles...

- Well over 12,000 of the miles have been driven along I-55, between Memphis and Jackson, MS. That is the very same stretch along which the six-digit mark was reached. That is 30 round trips between the two cities - a modest estimate. Often, those trips were part of longer journeys to or from New Orleans or other parts of Louisiana, or Utica, MS. Sometimes, they were specifically Memphis-Jackson.

- I have driven the car in these states: Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, Missouri, Illinois, and Kentucky. I'm pretty sure that's it. Each of those states is or borders one of the two states in which I've lived during my ownership of (though I prefer partnership with) this vehicle. Illinois is the exception. I was there very briefly on December 6, 2006 (see post from that day).

- The city that has never been my actual destination that I have visited most often is Grenada, MS. Located almost exactly half-way between Memphis and Jackson, Grenada is a frequent rest, bathroom, fuel, and/or snack stop for me. Good ol' exit 206 has much to offer the traveler, but besides the array of gas stations, convenience stores, fast food establishments, Super Wal-Mart, and a few other spots along a one-mile stretch just off the Interstate, I have no idea what you might find in this town. I believe there is a lake.

- There is a white cowboy hat in the trunk. It has been in the trunk or in the back seat for at least 40,000 miles. You never know when you might need a big, white cowboy hat.

- The historic tank of gas, described in Volume 2 of this series, did, in fact, get me to - and well beyond - the 100,000 mile mark. The tank yielded 29.015503 miles per gallon. Not bad.

* First of all, me know that this sentence should be about "I" and not "me", but me wanted to stick with the title of the series, so BACK OFF! Second, the car and I didn't spend the whole 100,000 miles together. I believe there were some 60 miles on it already when we became an item.

** The car didn't really start small and grow. That was a lie, but you get nostalgic at times like these, you know?

The journey continues....

Me and My Purple Car, Vol. 2

Welcome to the second in what should be an entertaining and heart-warming series of posts about my automobile, on the occassion of passing the 100,000* mile mark. As it stands, we're at 99,654 with a weekend roadtrip that begins tonight. Depending on whose car is used for part of the trip, the 100k barrier could be broken as soon as tomorrow morning. More likely, we'll reach this historic MILEstone on Sunday afternoon.

I realize, of course, that discussing this right now could jinx the whole damn thing and the car - a 1999 Honda Accord LX, which is technically "raisin pearl" colored - might die at 99,999. Boy, would the staff here at ZiggyBackRide be pissed!**

Today, a mere 353 miles short of the mark, I filled the tank with 13.7 gallons of gasoline. With highway miles coming, that should be the historic fill-up that puts us into six-digit range. That would require an average of 25.766423 (this is no time for rounding) which - ready SUV owners? - should be no problem. For the record, the gasoline was unleaded, 87 octane, and it was purchased at the MAPCO Express at the northeast corner of Summer Avenue and North Perkins Road in Memphis, TN. It cost $2.599/gallon.

Check back for updates on the march*** to 100,000, and for more of the incredible story of "Me and My Purple Car." Upcoming volumes will explore how I came to have a purple car, what me and my purple car have done/where we have gone together, guest drivers, things stored in the trunk, and more! Stay tuned.

* I know what you're thinking: "In keeping with the ZiggyBackRide Hundred tradition, shouldn't we celebrate 100,000 at 101,000?" No.

** Partly because it would mean buying a new car. Mostly because it would put a real damper on upcoming posts in this series. This is meant to be a celebration of life, not a memorial.

*** We will mostly be driving toward 100,000, rather than marching, as I'm lazy and the car, while purple, does not have feet.

Me And My Purple Car, Vol. 1

I have a purple car.

Four Seconds

Does anyone who watched the Texas/Oklahoma football game know what happened to the last four seconds? It was a great game and congratulations to OU, but I thought Texas was about to get one more shot to tie it. Then, all of a sudden (it took about 4 seconds), the remaining time ran off the clock and the referee just sort of shrugged, as if to say, "Wellll.... close enough." And it was over.

Texas had very little chance of doing anything of real consequence and this isn't something I will complain about long-term, but I'm rather curious.

If the time legitimately ran off the clock and Texas was just standing around (which is possible judging by several delay of game penalties to start drives), then shame on us.

It was a very entertaining game and I'm proud of how the Longhorns played. Unfortunately, we blew last week's game, so this one's a killer. Very sad. Did the Littlest Longhorn Fan buy all that orange food and drink (see "The Adventure Begins" - Sept. '07) for nothing? Absolutely not. It was delicious.

Happy Election Day, Memphis. Hope you like crap!*

Today was election day in the great city of Memphis. Inexplicably, the people of Memphis (of which I am not one - I live in Germantown) have re-elected Mayor W.W. Herenton to a record fifth term. He is not a good mayor.

That is not one man's opinion. That is undisputable fact... in one man's opinion. (But many, many other one mans and womans agree. Even, I suspect, many who voted for him.)

Even if no other mayor could have done a better job over the last several years - which I doubt very seriously - any decent leader could have made people feel that they were better represented and that their interests were better served. I'm sorry that the voters of Memphis - driven largely by race, rather than by interest in strong leadership or a better community - have decided to be satisfied with his poor service. Race will be a dividing factor in this city until people stop letting it be. That's it. Plain and simple. Vote for good leaders and good leaders will be elected. That's how it works.

In the process of revising the city charter, there has been a lot of support expressed for term limits for the office of mayor, mostly because of the extreme dissatisfaction with this administration. Assigned the anti-term limits position, I made a group presentation to my peers in a community leadership program in which I argued against the institution of term limits. I argued, and believed in my heart, that term limits also limit the freedom of the citizenry to elect its leaders. They are an easy way out, designed to protect us from ourselves. They are wrong.

I still feel that way in principle, but tonight I am reminded that voters often are not responsible enough to be trusted with the future of their own communities. It is a horrible statement about us, but it is, as evidenced by tonight's returns, regrettably true.

I would be very happy, years from now, to look back and say that I was wrong and that the voters who re-elected the mayor were right. I would be glad to see him and, as a result, our community succeed. I will not, however, be holding my breath. Instead, I call upon every citizen to be committed to building a community where people can safely and happily make a living and make a life. It is, after all, the choices and actions of individuals - not mayors - that determine whether communities are safe and successful or dangerous and deteriorated.

I'll do my best. Please do yours. And spread the word.

*The title of this post comes from a funny Saturday Night Live moment from the 90's. On "Weekend Update, " Norm MacDonald (I think it was Norm) announced that Kenny G had released a new Christmas album and exclaimed, "Happy Birthday, Jesus. Hope you like crap!" Everyone except Kenny G fans thought it was funny. (Translation: Everyone thought it was funny.)

Bicentennial Man

Welcome to the

ZiggyBackRide Bicentennial Celebration!!!

After a long wait, the 202nd post in the history of this historic blog has historically arrived! As you may know, the ZiggyBackRide Centennial was celebrated on the occasion of the 101st post, rather than the 100th, creating the tradition of the ZiggyBackRide hundred equaling 101 (much like a Baker's dozen is 13).

ZiggyBackPride: The Centennial Celebration was just over 20 months ago. Since then, the Ride has made 101 stops and has enjoyed the presence of some 8,800 riders. It has been an historic segment of the history historically presented herein.

In one of the ZBR (ZiggyBackRide) staff's favorite posts, we explored the universe in post #102 ("The Ultimate Insecurity") on February 1, 2006, and we explored less significant questions in posts like the one from Nov. 7, 2006.

We bade fond farewells to friends on Aug. 14, 2007 and Sept. 4, 2006, and we saw (parts of) the world on June 25th and July 3rd of 2007.

We suffered (May 18, 2006 and March 20th and May 17th of 2007) and we healed (June 13, 2006).

Greek was learned, comedy titles were earned.

BrickBreaker and Jewish men's league basketball were played

While hopes for basketball and baseball championships did fade.

Teen basketball and flag football got coached,

and one post, reprinted word for word, was totally poached.

We confronted superstitions on March 25th and October 22nd of 2006, and great tv and movie moments were relived on June 26th, July 28th, and August 22nd of this year. We celebrated America on July 4, 2006.

So much has happened. Look back. Read and enjoy. And don't ever forget where we have been together, for as it is said, "Those who forget the past are doomed to not know what the ZiggyBackRide is talking about when it repeats itself."

Now, we look forward to incredible things to come as we enjoy some historic scenes from the beginning of our history, our founding, 202 posts ago...