He was leather-skinned, taunt, and yet energetic. Agewise, a mid 60's Vietnam Vet I met in line at a grocery store who gruffly pointed out to the lady in front of me that this was a "15 or less" items checkout line and that she was way over the limit. She moved. We struck up a conversation of sorts. He'd had a bad day. Someone had broken into his home, where there were three people on disability (him, wife, son), and stolen $400 and all his medications.
He'd recently had a heart valve "installed" and back surgery. A tough bird. Optimistic that you only get one chance at life, and you do the best you can. Loved his much younger wife. He despised what was going on in Iraq and Afghanistan.
My purchase: wheat gluten flour, broccoli, short grain rice, dijon mustard, bagels (no deli within 30 miles of here), raw cashews, fresh shittake mushrooms, ginseng tea, some seltzer. I glanced at his purchase-to-be while he was talking about his health: a gallon of whole milk, a six pack of some high fructose-based soda, and a large loaf of "white Wonder Bread."
Gawd... I so much wanted to say something. I so much wanted to convey all that I know and believe about reversing heart disease from Ornish and Esselstyn's low fat vegan research, but I believed there was no opening. I wanted to cite the numbers I now know from memory regarding fat, sugar, and salt, veganism, and cardiovascular disease. I wanted to mention Rip. I wanted to direct him to Susan's fat free vegan blog and website.
I'd been through this before. It's not something you just bring up with people, they are often offended, and when I have been able to do so, there's only a tiny time window of opportunity, it was usually a verbal piggyback on my mentioning my diet & heart disease from someone's question that would draw another into the conversation, giving me my opportunity.
But I blew it. I could have asked him to sit with me in the cafe, or talk a minute in the parking lot, and politely explain to him what I knew about a low-fat vegan diet and heart disease, given him some web addresses, and urged him to check it all out. I COULD HAVE TRIED. I could have risked offending him, to help him, but I didn't. I didn't know what to say, what to do, and this haunts me in this morning's early hours. A fine old soul, a fiery beacon of optimism in the face of so much tragedy. I should have done something.
From the short time I interacted with this epitomy of grace under fire, I learned a lot. I'm now resolved that I'll do better next time. Maybe we have to make our opportunities and take that chance, and that we won't be seen as proselytizing, but instead as being compassionate. People need to be made aware of the truth about their health, and then decide what's best for them. It's not fiction, fantasy, nor theory: vegan or not, added fat, sugar, and salt increases your odds of developing any number of biological disorders, particularly heart disease. Moderation kills.
...and so does silence, so does silence.
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