The Golden (Fallen) Arches

The lectionary Gospel lesson for a few weeks is from John 6 -- and we addressed some of that in the July 26 sermon. I thought I'd continue that today with a few words about food.

......First up: A guest in a posh hotel's restaurant called the headwaiter over one morning and place the following order. "I'd like one egg undercooked so it's runny and one egg overcooked so it's tough and hard to eat. And I'd also like grilled bacon that's a bit on the cold side, burnt toast, butter straight from the freezer so it's impossible to spread and a pot of very weak, lukewarm coffee."

....."That's a complicated order, sir," said the bewildered waiter. "It might be quite difficult."

.....To which the guest replied sarcastically, "It can't be that difficult -- that's exactly what you brought me yesterday!"

h h h h h h

.....The second item is much more serious: You may be familiar with Morgan Spurlock who did his experiment of eating 3 meals a day at McKevorkian's ... er ... I mean, McDonald's, for 30 days. At the end of those 30 days, he was 24 lbs. heavier, and his cholesterol had shot up 65 points. In his own words, here's what Spurlock learned from his experience.

.....Over the course of my McDiet, I consumed 30 pounds of sugar from their food. That's a pound a day. On top of that, I also took in 12 lbs. of fat. Now, I know what you're saying. You're saying nobody's supposed to eat this food three times a day. No wonder all this stuff happened to you. But the scary part is: There are people who eat this food regularly. Some people even eat it every day. So, while my experiment may have been a little extreme, it's not that crazy. But here is a crazy idea: Why not do away with your super-size options? Who needs 42 ounces of Coke? A half pound of fries? And why not give me a choice besides french fries or french fries? That would be a great start. But why should these companies want to change? Their loyalty isn't to you, it's to the stockholders. The bottom line: They're a business, no matter what they say. And by selling you unhealthy food, they make millions. And no company wants to stop doing that. If this ever-growing paradigm is going to shift, it's up to you. But if you decide to keep living this way, go ahead. Over time, you may find yourself getting as sick as I did. And you may wind up here [in the Crittenden Health Systems] emergency room, or here in [Mapleview] Cemetery.