A (New) Focus On Health

From Stubborn Avoidance to Conscious Care

Like most men I know, I’ve spent a good chunk of my life treating doctors and dentists like vampires: best avoided unless they’re in a book, film, or tv show.

If it didn’t hurt, bleed, or interfere with daily life, I mostly ignored it.

Preventative care? Not typically on my radar.
Annual check-ups? I’ve only rarely made it that far.

Part of it is the cost. Navigating healthcare in the US can be a financial headache and nightmare. Even with insurance, I’m left wondering if the diagnosis is worth the bill.

But if I’m being honest, a bigger part of my avoidance is sheer stubbornness.

Some of it comes from that old-school “tough it out” mentality. Some from fear—of bad news, of not being in control, of becoming the patient. And some of it is pride, that dangerous cocktail of independence and invincibility I pretend not to drink.

But I’m rethinking things.

Lately, I’ve been tuning in to the signals my body’s been sending. Not just the sharp pains or the sleepless nights, but the smaller cues: fatigue that doesn’t go away with rest. Digestive stuff I used to brush off. A tooth I’ve been ignoring for months.

Maybe it's aging. Maybe it's wisdom. Maybe it’s watching too many people I care about go through health crises that started with something “small.”

Whatever it is, I’m finally, slowly taking small steps toward being more proactive about my physical and mental health.

After a chat last night with a friend fighting diabetes, I realized I also shared many of his symptoms and challenges. He suggested I order a glucose testing kit. Which I did as soon as I hung up the phone. The kit arrived first thing this morning, and based on my first test, it looks like my blood sugar levels are relatively normal.

Bloody, pricked fingers crossed they stay that way.
I’ll be tracking for the next few weeks just to be sure.

Next up is to get my diet and exercise on track. Even if I don’t have diabetes, I could use an overhaul in the diet and fitness departments. I’ve fought a losing battle with obesity since I was a kid. It’s time I started eating better and moving more. I know it would help me feel better.

While I’m working on those things, I’ll be making some appointments—with a doctor, a dentist, and an optometrist. It’s been too long on all three fronts.

I’ll also be drinking more water, improving my sleep “hygiene,” and listening more—to my body and to people who’ve already walked this road.

This isn’t a dramatic reinvention. I’m not running marathons or doing juice cleanses. But I am shifting my mindset. Thinking less about illness and more about wellness. Less about what could go wrong, and more about what I can do right now to stay well.

Health isn’t just about surviving—it’s about feeling good while you’re alive. And maybe, just maybe, it’s worth facing a little discomfort, a little expense, and a little ego-bruising if it means getting a few more good years.

So here’s to finding a new kind of strength—the kind that checks in, speaks up, and isn’t afraid of a follow-up appointment.

Wishing you health, wealth, and happiness!
Clint 🌈✌️

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ON THIS DAY = APRIL 16

BIRTHDAYS

• 1867 = Wilbur Wright = American inventor

• 1889 = Charlie Chaplin = English actor and filmmaker

• 1919 = Merce Cunningham = American dancer and choreographer 🌈

• 1921 = Peter Ustinov = English actor and filmmaker

• 1924 = Henry Mancini = American composer and conductor

• 1927 = Edie Adams = American actor and singer

• 1929 = Ed Townsend = American singer-songwriter and producer

• 1934 = Robert Stigwood = Australian-born British-resident music entrepreneur, film producer, and impresario 🌈

• 1939 = Dusty Springfield = English singer 🌈

• 1947 = Kareem Abdul-Jabbar = American basketball player and coach

• 1954 = Ellen Barkin = American actor

• 1957 = Essex Hemphill = American poet and activist 🌈

• 1963 = Jimmy Osmond = American singer

• 1965 = Jon Cryer = American actor and filmmaker

• 1965 = Martin Lawrence = American actor and filmmaker

• 1971 = Selena = American singer-songwriter, actor, and fashion designer

• 1972 = Raymond Chan Chi-chuen = Hongkongese politician and host 🌈

• 1976 = Lukas Haas = American actor and musician

• 1984 = Amelia Atwater-Rhodes = American writer 🌈

• 1984 = Claire Foy = English actor

EVENTS

• 1061 = The first recorded same-sex wedding occurs between Pedro Díaz and Muño Vandilaz in the Galician municipality of Rairiz de Veiga. They are married by a priest at a small chapel. The historic documents about the church wedding were found at Monastery of San Salvador de Celanova.

• 1908 = Natural Bridges National Monument is established in Utah.

• 1910 = The oldest existing indoor ice hockey arena still used for the sport in the 21st century, Boston Arena, opens for the first time.

• 1943 = Albert Hofmann accidentally discovers the hallucinogenic effects of the research drug LSD. He intentionally takes the drug three days later on April 19.

HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES

• National Banana Day

• National Bean Counter Day

• National Healthcare Decisions Day

• National Orchid Day

PORTRAIT + QUOTES OF THE DAY

“Nothing is permanent in this wicked world - not even our troubles.”
Charlie Chaplin

“The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish.”
Charlie Chaplin

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