The first few UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) events were pretty crazy. I recall gathering at a friend’s house in middle school to soak in the pay per view event. Giant men. Strange fighting styles. Almost no rules.
It seemed destined to fail. And it almost did. Until the UFC had an amazing resurgence in the early 2000’s.
New money, new rules, and a new generation of athletes.
As the UFC was gaining some renewed traction, one of my BFF’s decided to hop in the ring with pretty much no experience. The next seven years saw a pretty wild ride from bar stool critic to Las Vegas fight nights and national TV.
Lucky for the Dude, Alex “T-Rex” Karalexis took me along for many of the celebrity filled rides. Movie premiers, dinner with UFC champs, Las Vegas penthouse parties. Interesting times.
I’d much rather be hanging with the fam these days, but it was nice to see how the other half live.
Alex has moved on from throwing punches for a living, and he is now helping run Jared Allen’s Foundation for Wounded Warriors. But living vicariously through Alex for a few years has carved out a small spot in my heart for MMA and the UFC.
I stumbled across the below MMA video today, and it grabbed the Dude. I started watching out of respect for my Red Bull fueled UFC nights, but by the end, I was laughing at myself as tears rolled down my cheeks.
Mrs. Dude often refers to me as the Cave Man. How often does the Cave Man tear up? Not often. But this dude is pretty rad.
Garrett “G-Money” Holeve has down syndrome. He is also an MMA fighter.
That is a crazy combination. At first glance, it seems questionable. But to see the confidence that Garrett has in himself is inspirational.
Most of us sell ourselves short on a regular basis. We underestimate our abilities or we don’t push to reach full potentials.
Then someone like Garrett comes along and reminds us how totally awesome we ALL are.
This is definitely worth 13 minutes of your time. Garret “G-Money” Holeve whoops down syndrome MMA style…
Classic Rocky. Indeed, “nature is smarter than people think.” Much smarter.
Here we are, in the heart of cold and flu season. The Man (aka big pharma and the medical establishment) is endlessly beating us down with reminders to poke ourselves with needles. Why? Because they’re smarter than nature?
How have we survived for thousands, nay millions, of years without their needles?
Because nature is smarter than people think. Thank you Mickey.
As you may guess, the Dude is not a fan of the flu shot. Here, give yourself the flu so you won’t get the flu. Uh, OK?
How about I let nature take its course and see where it goes?
I’m sure there are times where vaccines make sense, and I’m not afraid to eat my words, but let’s not be in a rush to get there. Let’s not be so eager to find the next epidemic so big pharma can poke us.
Just chill. And take some precautions.
Here are some good tips from around the intertubes to fight off cold and flu season. But first, a couple reminders that The Man is not your friend…and the flu/cold season is not as dangerous as they’d like you to believe.
Big Flu’s Chosen Six – “Even a ‘pro-vaccine guy’ has told the New York Times that flu shot vaccines are oversold and research shows they are not as effective as the propaganda surrounding them.”
Think for yourself. Don’t let The Man (aka – big media, big government, big business, big pharma, big medical establishment, yada, yada, yada) do your thinking.
Now, with that reminder out of the way, some Dude tips from the webosphere to perform a little Rocky Balboa on cold and flu season’s arse…
[T]he idea is to boost our immune system as much as possible and sooth our symptoms. My solution involves two very common ingredients, Zinc and Lime.
As soon as you start to feel something nasty coming on, follow this protocol:
100mg of Zinc first thing in the morning (I usually take Zinc Gluconate but you can try Chelated Zinc or other forms to see which you tolerate best)
4 Eight Ounce glasses of fresh water with one whole lime squeezed into it
50mg of Zinc right before bed.
I find that this keeps me at 90% or better and I continue this protocol until I feel better. Zinc is a super immune booster as is Lime. Even though lime is a citric acid it has an alkalizing effect in our body and is very cleansing to our systems.
5 steps to staying healthy during cold & flu season from Chris Kresser: Chris is a pretty smart dude. There are some good tips here, but my favorite point – “75% of our immune system is found in the gut.”
I’m realizing more and more that the gut plays a huge role in our daily lives, and major role in many diseases that plague our society. I’m still learning about the gut, but I have a feeling the Dude will have more to say about the gut down the road.
By the way, Chris has a killer 6 part series about acupuncture…well worth the read.
The Ultimate Natural Cold Prevention Guidefrom LifeExtension: This post is focused on natural supplements you can take to boost your immune system. But the main point is this:“Prevention is your best defense against the common cold. Instead of taking a multitude of over-the-counter drugs or supplements when your symptoms kick in, please take measures beforehand!”
10 immune-boosting steps for flu season from Wellness Times: 10 holistic strategies for strengthening your immune system. And, again, the key is prevention by taking action before any sickness kicks into high gear. By the way, the gut is a tip here too.
Family and holidays go together like turkey and naps. (Side note, the Thanksgiving Day Nap is arguably the king of all naps.)
However, as life progresses, family dynamics progress as well.
Growing up, big holidays were spent at the Dude’s grandparents. Birthdays, Easter, and Thanksgiving would shift from time to time, but Christmas Eve was a given. Twenty five years straight, the Dude sat in the “No-no Room” singing Christmas carols, shaking Santa’s hand, and enjoying the company of the extended family.
Then life happened.
Changes in location, changes in career paths, and ultimately, changes in family life brought the Christmas streak to an end a few years ago. Now it’s a struggle to make one holiday with the extended family, never mind a prolonged streak.
Mix in the complexity of alternating holidays between Dude and Mrs. Dude’s families, plus factoring in siblings and their in-laws, and determining a satisfactory holiday schedule is nothing short of a miracle.
As families grow and life marches on, priorities adjust. The family focus that helped create my identity is shifting. I have great holiday memories of family dropping their everyday concerns and coming together to strengthen bonds that have developed over generations. Mrs. Dude and I now have the opportunity to create these memories for our kids. But roles are chaning. My parents are now the Grandparents that can’t say “no.” My sister and brother-in-law are now the fun aunt and uncle. And so on.
And while priorities change, the definition of family remains constant. The bond that families share, and strengthen by coming together to celebrate life and the company of loved ones, is not sacrificed. It’s fortified. A new generation is added to the familial chain. The bonds passed through the ancestry are extended once again.
While we can’t always share the holidays with each and every member of our family, the love persists. The pride and comfort of knowing who we are and where we came from carry on, and more importantly, are shared with new faces.
Happy holidays from the Dude Family to our family and friends. You may not be in our direct line of vision, but you’ll always remain in our hearts. We are very thankful to have you in our lives.
So, with that prelude complete…
We hit the road last Wednesday in search of some turkey. We’re alternating Thanksgiving and Christmas between Dude and Mrs. Dude’s families, and this year was a Dude Turkey Day. We went to stay with The Lady in the Shoe (as in “the lady in the shoe had so many kids she didn’t know what to do”), aka the Dude’s sister, and we had a blast. Lots of great food, wine, football, jokes, and time spent with the ones we love.
We went to Thanksgiving and…
I learned a few things:
My mother will sleep on a pull out couch in the middle of the house knowing there are two infants getting up throughout the night and four other kids up by 7:00 AM, and then she’ll change every diaper, run every bath, change every outfit, read every book, draw every picture, put the babies down for naps, with zero naps for herself, and bring four pies to Thanksgiving dinner…all to spend every waking moment with her grandkids. In all fairness, Papa Dude does most of this as well, but that Grandma motivation is hard to duplicate. I guess I’ve always known this, but it’s still impressive to witness.
Despite that fact that The Lady in the Shoe has four kids under 6 pooping in one house and a mountain of diaper experience, she made the bold statement that Little Dude’s poop is the stinkiest she has ever smelled! Can you believe that? Could this be?Given the wretched smell of the formula we use for his reflux, and the nasty stench of the spit up, I suppose I can believe it. But I wasn’t expecting this. I just assumed that horrible odor was natural for babies on formula. I guess I’m pleased to know it’s not normal to smell that bad, but the downside is that we now have the stinky kid.
Lastly, I learned that my Dad is crazy enough to sincerely ask the clerk at The Dollar Tree how much items cost! And, according to everyone at the festivities, I’m just like my Dad. Mrs. Dude, get ready for some absurd quirkiness as we grow old together.
But most importantly, we went to Thanksgiving and…
A rave/dance-fight broke out!
This video pretty much sums up the chaos that 6 kids under 6 can create when bottled up in one house.
The first few UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) events were pretty crazy. I recall gathering at a friend’s house in middle school to soak in the pay per view event. Giant men. Strange fighting styles. Almost no rules.