New Thing 156, New Thing Every Day: Watch a Waitress Give My Friend Her Phone Number

I think I must be living a more sheltered life than I realized because this really is a New Thing for me. It was pretty funny, really. Leigh and I were ut to dinner with a friend and her college-age son. At one point, our waitress interjected herself into our conversation. Then, when we left, she gave our young dinner companion a message with her phone number, on a receipt. It was very cool.

New Thing 155, New Thing Every Day: Try Golden Kiss Melon

The Golden Kiss melon looks very much like a cantaloupe, but smaller and with ribs down the sides. I like cantaloupe, and Golden Kiss takes like an especially sweet, delicious version. I am definitely eating it more often, and really appreciate Leigh for getting it for me.

New Thing 154, New Thing Every Day: Start Following The Wahls Protocol, for MS

For years, I have refused to consider any kind of nutritional treatment for my MS, and pretty much everything else not prescribed by a physician. My position has always been that there might be value in looking for alternative treatments, but that I do not want to be one of those people who spends hours and hours thinking about what is wrong with me and trying to find ways to heal myself. Instead, I have just done whatever the doctors tell me and then have given it basically no additional thought.

Mostly, I think this is still the right approach for me, because that kind of thinking generally leads to nothing, and focusing on other things helps me keep my positive attitude, which I believe makes a big difference in my physical condition.

I finally took a look at The Wahls Protocol because at least one million people suggested I should.  have long believed that nutrition might make a difference for people with MS, so I was a little more open to it. Once I confirmed that the creator of the protocol recommends staying on MS medication until a physician recommends otherwise, I decided to give it a try. Also, I realized that the worst case scenario is that I will lose a lot of weight and be much healthier.

Here are the key elements of The Wahls Protocol.

• No gluten
• No dairy
• No processed sugar; dramatic reduction in all sugar
• Lots of fresh vegetables
• Plenty of protein

We shall see how it goes.

New Thing 153, New Thing Every Day: Have Brunch at Room 38

As we have seen, I have tried to eat at a few great places before embarking on what could be a lifetime of eating differently (and, at least many months of eating differently and much healthier). Today, Leigh and I decided to try brunch at Room 38, and it was such a good choice. I had Eggs Benedict with pulled pork and chipotle hollandaise sauce, with a side of fried potatoes that were as good as I have ever had. Leigh had a great breakfast burrito with a side of absolutely the best sweet potato fries I have ever eaten.

I definitely recommend the brunch at Room 38.

New Thing 152, New Thing Every Day: Trade Super-Gross Stories at a Wedding

[Warning -- Do not read further if you do not want to read something pretty gross. Seriously, if you are offended by anything you read here, it is your own fault and I don't want to hear about it. Smiley face!  : ) ]

I attended a wedding today, one of the nicest, more fun ones I have attended. For that reason, the day will always have a place in my memory.

It will also have a place in my memory because of the story someone shared with me. She just spent an incredible week in Mexico, everything one could want from a vacation. Sitting on the plane, heading home, she noticed a young woman just within her field of vision, vigorously picking her nose and eating it. She said it was like the scene of a horrible car wreck, where she just could not take her eyes off of what was happening. Finally, after a few minutes, the young woman realized she was being watched, immediately stopped, and tried to pretend like it had not happened.

As nasty as this story is, it reminded me of my own story, from just a few months ago. I was at a conference, waiting to speak to a group of 60 or so high school students about ethical behavior. As I sat and waited, watching students slowly meander in and find seats, a young girl came over and sat right by me and offered to keep me company while we waited to start.

The girl was obviously a kid with special needs, including an unusually low IQ. As we talked, maybe three minutes into the conversation, with maybe 10 minutes left to go until my presentation started, she started picking her nose aggressively, and eating it, sitting maybe three feet from me. I seriously wanted to dry heave, and was not sure how to deal with the situation in a way that the girl's feelings would be protected, and so that others in the room -- also just feet away -- would not know what was happening. The end result was that I got to spend the next ten minutes trying to keep my lunch down, while she basically ate hers, right in front of me. Thank goodness my presentation was about to start, and her back was to the audience.

Today was the first time I had ever traded stories like this at a wedding. Hopefully it was also the last.

New Thing 151, New Thing Every Day: Read Ronald Reagan's Big D-Day Speech

I am working through that list of "25 Speeches That Changed The World" and today's installment was excellent. I am not sure I agree that this was a world-changing speech, but it was awfully good. Reagan really was one of the great communicators of my lifetime.

Here is the speech -- http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/reagan-d-day.htm

Here is the list of "25 Speeches That Changed The World -- http://list25.com/25-speeches-that-changed-the-world/

New Thing 150, New Thing Every Day: Eat My Last Pizza for the Foreseeable Future, Maybe Forever

I am not one for diets. When I want to lose weight, I eat less, more healthily, and I exercise more. I have now decided, though, to start an official diet, one that I may stay on for the rest of my life, and that I will definitely be on for the next 18 months.

For maybe two years, I have been hearing about The Wahls Protocol, a diet designed to help people with MS, with the potential to actually reverse the progression of symptoms. The physician who figured it out actually used to be a wheelchair user (like me), and today she rides a bike.

Finally, I have looked at it, and it is not some kind of new age crap (no offense). Also, importantly, the program is supportive of doctors and the modern medical profession; it just thinks there is room for modern doctors to learn about the power of nutrition.

So I am going to try The Wahls Protocol, which basically eliminates everything that tastes good. I will do it for at least 18 months and will revisit from there. If it works, there will be a significant reversal of my symptoms; if it doesn't, then I will lose a bunch of weight and be in much better shape. Win. Win.