[Griff]

I just spent a weekend among a large group of recreational and professional cyclists. One friend really was too lean, she was sick recently and had no reserves to get her through the period where she couldn't eat. The bulk of the group was fit and active, as I intend to be as long as I can. A fifty year old woman won the womens cat 3-4 race on Saturday, on the bike she could have passed for late twenties. Americans are generally fat eating a lot of crap and getting little or no exercise. As a choice, thats fine people should be able to choose to be however they want to be. Unfortunately, (oh oh here he goes again) we don't have a free market in health care so the "public" has a vested interest in controlling other peoples lifestyle choices from tobacco to sexual activity to the Big Mac. Our Puritan streak gets justified by cost analyses. So if you smoke or are 30+ pounds overweight and wish to remain so, don't let me catch you voting for Teddy Kennedy. Take responsibility for yourself. [starts looking for a bomb shelter]