“We never repent of having eaten too little.”
By Thomas Jefferson

I hope that Thomas Jefferson’s wise statement will help me get through Thanksgiving without blowing my diet completely. I can’t have any chocolate because of Warfarin. I would love to buy a Mrs. Smith’s Mince Pie, but I know I’d eat too much of it. Son Paul and I like rolls, but sometimes we “OD” on them. Daughter Susan and granddaughter Erin like “chip and dip.” I also like mashed potato (a true “Irishman”). Hubby likes turkey and mashed potatoes with gravy on both. He doesn’t get to have gravy very often, so he splurges on the holidays.

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I was rereading some of my old columns. In one of them, former Ch. 5 weatherman Dick Albert painted a gloomy picture of the month of November. It is the second wettest of the year, with the wettest being March. Only 50 percent of November days are sunny, with temperatures averaging in the 40s by days and the 20s at nights. Temperatures vary widely. On Nov. 2, 1959, the thermometer hit 83 degrees; on Nov. 30, 1875, the temp plunged to two below zero.

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Last Saturday, Hubby and I hit the road to visit the “Second Annual Diabetes Expo: Living Well with Diabetes” at Lombardo’s in Randolph. The South Shore Hospital had chosen the date well: it was World Diabetes Day. Dr. Fredrick Banting, along with medical student Charles Best, discovered the hormone insulin. Dr. Banting was knighted by King George V in 1934, and his birthday, Nov. 14, was chosen to be National Diabetes Day.

On reaching Lombardo’s, we parked easily because we were about 15 minutes early for the 8:30 a.m. starting time. We were amazed at how pretty Lombardo’s is. The main chandelier is magnificent. The smaller chandeliers are also very pretty. We signed in and were stamped with red ink on our right hands, showing that we had signed a paper giving permission for hospital personnel to administer health screenings to us. There were samples on the tables everywhere, especially on the second floor. I had hoped to stay until 3 p.m. but I had to do some work on my columns so I had to get home around noon. We went through most of the exhibitor tables. The South Shore Hospital gave each of us a blue tote bag to hold all the info and the small samples of diabetic products. We went into the Regency Room at Lombardo’s to hear the speakers and there we were invited to partake of a complimentary breakfast. There was a lovely assortment of cut-up fruit, yogurt, English muffins, and coffee. I must admit I chose a strawberry yogurt plus the cut-up fruit. It was the first time that I had ever tried yogurt. It tasted to me like l was eating sour cream.

Then it was time for the speakers. Dr. Kristin Helm mentioned the following facts: The pancreas is located behind the stomach and toward the spine. Some 50 percent of Type One diabetics are usually diagnosed before age 20; 90 percent of all diabetics are Type Two diabetics. If I heard the doctor correctly, she said that 40 percent of Chinese and Indian people are diabetic. She also told us how useful the A1C blood test is because it shows the doctor the level of sugar in your blood over the most recent three months. The A1C test is easy to obtain because the patient does not have to be fasting to have blood drawn. She said that five or six new drugs have been introduced on the market for diabetics over the past two years. Americans spend $245 billion each year because of diabetes, she said.

The next doctor to speak was a vascular surgeon, Dr. Saddiqui. He told us that diabetes constricts the blood vessels. He also gave us a strong warning: DO NOT SMOKE! That also restricts blood vessels. The next doctor spoke about wound care. The following one was a cardiologist who mentioned that plaque in the veins, is relatively soft, like cottage cheese. That is why it can break off into the blood stream and cause heart attacks. I hope I have all these facts written correctly. I tried to write as quickly as I could.

This Expo was well worth attending. I am sorry I couldn’t stay longer.
There are several nice events happening next week so the column should be longer.

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Hubby did something very nice last week. He looked through all his travel toiletries and took most of them out of his suitcase. We will never go on that many trips to need them again. I also took out the toiletries from our recent hotel trips. Hubby put them all in a shopping bag along with five bags of seven-ounce plastic cups. He walked into Father Bill’s Place and offered the bag to the man at the front desk. The clerk was delighted to receive all the supplies. Fr. Bill’s is pleased to receive these small-sized toiletries. I am sure that Rosie’s Place would also be happy to receive them.
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Good luck with your Thanksgiving preparations. I remember when Hubby used to take me over to Sully’s at Castle Island for lunch on the Friday after Thanksgiving. (Hot dogs are half price during November until Sully’s closes for the year on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.) We would be so tired from Thanksgiving. After eating one of Sully’s hot dogs, I could go home and finish cleaning all the serving dishes and pots and pans and put them back in the china closet and pantry.
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Here is terrific advice from the late tennis great Arthur Ashe: “Start where you are; use what you have; do what you can!”