The Rest of the Dirt-Ron Meyer, freelance writer and dirt racing blog

I hate the word obese. It is a hurtful word, and makes me seek solace in a Twinkie. I also hate the words diabetes and arthritis, though apparently not enough. I am not overly fond of the phrase prescription drugs, at least when it applies to the obscene amount Americans have to pay for the medicines they need. Pharmaceutical companies are oil companies without offshore drilling and pipelines.

I love baseball. I have since I was old enough to swing a bat. I miss playing the game, fielding a sharply hit grounder, throwing out the batter at first. I can’t say I miss hitting curve balls. If I hit one when I played ball in the 50’s and 60’s, it was surely by mistake.

I recently discovered that people my age actually play baseball. There are leagues such as the MSBL, or Men’s Senior Baseball League, and there are Over-50, even Over-60 tournaments in places such as Las Vegas, Phoenix, St. Petersburg, and Palm Springs. Even senior baseball cruises. I think attending a fantasy baseball camp might be a good start for me. A week in Yankee pin stripes in January sounds exciting.

I am obese-grossly grosses me out, so I won’t use it. I suffer from Diabetes 2, arthritis, and sleep apnea. If it is related to being overweight, I have it. I quit playing golf because bending over to tee up left me short of breath, so now I am talking about playing baseball? Well, yeah.

And I haven’t been able to lose weight. Finding out I had diabetes should have been a clue I need to lose weight. Wrong. Listening to my doctor tell me my quality of life will suffer if I don’t lose weight, and knowing he is telling the truth because it already suffers, has not been the motivation I need to lose weight. Weight Watchers has worked wonders. I once lost over 30 pounds on the program. Then let one slip move me away from the program, as I methodically gained all those pounds back.

Maybe I’m being too hard on myself though. I figured out that I had only gained an average of 3.5 pounds for every year I have been married. Of course Jane and I will celebrate our 38^th anniversary this August.

The image of me in a baseball uniform one more time is powerful. I am not sure it is powerful enough to keep me on the path I MUST follow, but I hope you will help me. I hope you will encourage me as I start my journey to good health. I will certainly encourage you.

Be a part of the team as I step up to the plate. If you are into baseball, well, I learned to love baseball reading the Sporting News when it read like a baseball paper, looked like a baseball paper, and smelled like a baseball paper. I am a frustrated baseball writer, so believe me there is going to be a lot of baseball in Stepping Up To The Plate.

If you are losing weight, I hope my journey can inspire you, and your journey can inspire me. Part of this blog will be a daily weight loss/exercise journal. And I am not going to avoid talking of my struggles.

Welcome to Stepping Up To The Plate. I hope you will visit often.

About the Rest of the Dirt

In addition to information about me, the site includes an archive of articles, a blog for racing fans, a blog describing a fitness journey I have embarked on, and a blog that is simply me writing about whatever is on my mind. The multimedia page is also for racing fans, and will include audio interviews with drivers, as well as actual race videos sent to me.

I have been an auto race fan since my dad took me to a dusty fairgrounds racetrack near our home in Fremont, Nebraska. I canʼt even remember the exact year. That track is long gone, but my passion for the sport never died. I love the noise, the speed, the color, the excitement, and most especially, I love the people and their stories. I have written scores of articles for seven different racing publications.

I am a sports fan. Anything that has to do with University of Nebraska athletics is as important to me as it is to most people in the Cornhusker State. Duke basketball is basketball played like it should be. I like Green Bay Packer football, and sigh, I am a Chicago Cub fan. I play golf, though I doubt Tiger Woods would recognize the game I play.

As much as I like sports, I remain intrigued by business. I worked for several different corporations in operations and financial management, and would like to put this experience to use as a freelancer. From exporting popcorn to Japan to pouring concrete for a Missouri River bridge, I love writing about how companies work.

For further information on my writing, please email me at brutonnb@yahoo.com. Again, thanks for visiting my website.

Ron Speaks Out

One thing I have no shortage of is opinions. George Bush, Barack Obama, John McClain-yup, I have opinions about each man. Afghanistan and Iraq, the Middle East, China, Pakistan, and the European Economic Union, ditto. Mowing lawns, the internet, American Airlines-not just the airline that stranded me in New York in April, all airlines.

College sports, prescription drugs, tomatoes, vegans, San Francisco, and global warming. You face and my tube, or do I have that wrong? Cell phones, the 2008 British Open without Tiger Woods. Pat Sajak and Vanna White. Want to know what I think?

The price of oil-don't get me started. The absurd salaries of corporate CEO's. Children starving in Africa (yeah, I did mean to place this items side by side). 60's music. Jazz. Standards. Popcorn. McDonald's French fries. Health insurance. Newspapers. The rain forest. Exercising and eating right. Bottled water vs. tap. Hybrid cars. Geronimo.

My wife says my brain is full of facts that aren't worth much.

The Black Hills of South Dakota, and riding in a taxi in New York City. Nebraska is not an intellectual wasteland. Do ghost whisperers, dog whisperers, and horse whisperers have a convention? Racism is big in small towns too. Airport security. Silky terriers-especially ones named Kahlua and Sophie. The Christian right-or maybe not. The cost of a breakfast buffet in a New York hotel. I probably forgot something.

I may be serious. I may be funny. I may be ironic. I will speak out. Blogging is cheaper than a therapist.

Ron Meyer