Seeing Heart Disease

I just watched Good Morning America’s report on what eating unhealthy food does to your arteries.  The reporter ate something like 8,000 calories and more than 180 grams of saturated fat.  She did it with someone else.  The story showed the difference in the blood both before and after eating – it was disgusting, but eye opening.  The blood was clear before and cloudy after.  The reporter’s heartbeat sounded normal before and much quicker after eating the fatty foods.

I realize that I don’t always eat what they were eating and I certainly wouldn’t have deep fried mac n cheese followed by a bacon cheeseburger wrapped in a burrito with a ice cream cookie dessert, but watching that truly made me a believer.

In February, I started going to the gym on a regular basis.  I’ve lost 10 pounds but more importantly, feel like my heart is healthier.  Running for me was the most important.  I have heart disease in my family and for the sake of my wife and 3 kids, want to stay around as long as possible.  The story on GMA certainly helped!

Thoughts?  e-mail me at kenworthy@wews.com or comment below.

Pete

Favorite time of year

No question that spring wins in the favorite time of year category.  It has everything going for it that I love.  Sure the temperatures right now could be a little higher, but you can still get out and golf with weather in the 50s.  You can still play outside with the kids in this weather – and it’s only going to get better.  74 degrees is just about perfect for everything for me.

On top of the weather, it’s a great time sports-wise.  March Madness is wrapping up and baseball is about ready to begin.  It’s hard to find true baseball fans these days, but I was brought up with a scorebook in hand and love the game.  I’d go to the ballpark every day if I could.

Eating right

For probably the 5th or 6th time in my life, I joined a gym again recently.  I figured that the older I get, the more I have to be aware of my fitness – especially with heart attacks in my family. 

Here’s the thing though, while cardio health feels like the right thing to do – we all want visual results.  I’ve lost 5-8 pounds (depending on the day) but can’t really see any difference.  The main problem?  I still like food.  Sure, I’ve cut back on portions but there’s still the snacking.  I love peanut M&Ms and other things that aren’t exactly conducive to losing weight.

I guess the main thing to focus on is that I was eating all of these things BEFORE starting back at the gym so that’s a positive. 

Some people say things like, “I can eat this cheesesteak because I went to the gym and ran already.”  My problem is, I tend to say, “that cheesesteak just ruined by trip to the gym.”

Comments?  Click on the comment link below or e-mail me at kenworthy@wews.com

Pete

Facebook, Twitter, where does it end?

When a friend first told me about Facebook, I was pretty skeptical about joining.  In fact, I didn’t for well over a year.  Then, when I did create an account, I, like many others, was hooked.  It was incredible to catch up with people who I hadn’t heard from in 15 or 20 years.  To be able to read a little about each person and see pictures of what they and their kids looked like – unbelievable.

But I wonder when enough is enough?  I put plenty of information on my Facebook page, but I’m pretty hard to find.  You either have to be “friends” with one of my “friends” or have gone to school with me at some point.  Many other people put plenty of pictures on their pages, information and other material that they probably wouldn’t want their mothers to see – and yet, these are the people with hundreds, if not thousands of “friends.”

Have we become too secure posting things online?  I’m not sure if that’s a little too paranoid or not – just wondering.  There’s an old adage about not posting anything, texting or e-mailing anything that you wouldn’t want the world to see/read.  I’m not saying I’m innocent of the offense – just that we all should probably be a little more careful.  Right?

Comments?  Click on the comment link below or e-mail me at kenworthy@newsnet5.com

Great place to work

One of our co-workers wrote on her facebook page today that she loves the people she works with.  How about that?  It’s not very often that you get to hear that from someone with whom you work – but it’s refreshing, isn’t it?

I’ve worked at three different stations in my career with various people coming and going and I can honestly say that I’ve never been more pleased with a group of co-workers than I am right now.  From the top to the bottom, the crew that puts together Good Morning Cleveland every day is passionate and puts in a great deal of effort every day.  Maybe I need to tell them that more often.

We’re all pretty worried about what’s going on in this economy and I think that everyone is concerned about their jobs – so why not do what we can?  Give someone a pat on the back.  Tell someone that you appreciate the work that they’re doing.  Praise a co-worker for something that they’ve done everyday.  I know I like it when someone tells me that I’ve done a good job.

Appreciation is effortless.  Try it, you may like it.  I know the other person will.

Comments?  Click on the link below or e-mail me at kenworthy@newsnet5.com

Conjoined Twins

Isn’t this story incredible?  Conjoined twins - separated and reportedly doing well in Pittsburgh.  It always makes me wonder how many other medical miracles are happening all over the country and world that we don’t always hear about.  We’re been covering the Lee girls because they’re from Cleveland, but it’s likely that there are plenty of incredible medical stories out there that we know nothing about.  I love them and can’t get enough of them.

If you know about one locally, let me know in the comment box below, or e-mail me at kenworthy@newsnet5.com

Pete

Buffalo Connection

Before coming to work here at WEWS, I spent four years at WKBW in Buffalo as the morning anchor there.  The people there and friends outside of work were immediately on my mind this morning when I learned about the tragic plane crash in Clarence Center – just outside of Buffalo.

My first thought as I walked into the newsroom this morning and saw “Plane Crash in Buffalo” on the TV – and then later seeing Clarence Center – was that the area where the plane crashed is one of the most upscale of the Buffalo suburbs.  Professional athletes live there – the richest of the rich. 

I then started thinking about my old newsroom in Buffalo.  What must be happening there at 4am?  Glancing across our newsroom, I saw a monitor that was tuned to the ABC affiliate in Buffalo (my old station) and I saw the main anchor team (Keith Radford and Joanna Pasceri) still broadcasting live!  They had apparently been on the air since 11pm Thursday night.  Pasceri and I had spent 2+ years anchoring the morning news together and I thought to myself – she’s a perfect person to be anchoring this type of news – a consummate professional.  I thought about how tired they must be while I watched for a moment.

Then, I began thinking about the fact that I would surely know someone who knew someone on the plane.  Buffalo is such a tight-knit city that it seems like wherever you go, you run into people who already know each other.  Inevitably, I’ll hear a story in the coming days.  A friend of mine from college already contacted me to say that a former colleague of his was on the plane.

That’s when the news becomes reality for many people.  When you can actually put a face to the story.  When it’s not just 50 people killed in a plane – when you actually know someone or know someone who knew someone.  The story is tragic either way – but it becomes real when you can actually identify with it.

While it is horrible that 50 people were killed, it is a miracle that 2 of the 3 people inside the home that was hit, actually survived.  The stories that lie ahead are sure to be sad.  I don’t look forward to hearing them.  Here’s hoping something is learned from whatever caused this tragedy.

Thoughts?  Please leave them in the comment box below or e-mail me at kenworthy@newsnet5.com

Pete

Weather Observations

Temperatures are in the upper 50’s today which sure is a relief from temperatures below zero. It’s been a rough year so far as we almost broke a record for snow fall in January. It was the first time in my life that I’ve ever felt temperatures so cold. I’m often asked if the weather has been hard to adjust to moving to Cleveland from South Carolina. The answer is YES but not totally in a bad way. Believe it or not, I enjoy the snow tremendously. It’s the cold and cloudy days that are hard to take and they seem to last forever. It’s been great to experience all four seasons. I think Fall is my favorite though Summer is nice too it just seems short. In South Carolina it’s either 100 degrees in the shade or just a little chilly. Today is a nice day in Cleveland. Even though the sun isn’t shining temperatures will be near 60 degrees. We’re expecting snow before weeks end so I guess the saying is true that if you don’t like the weather wait a few minutes and it will change.

Kimberly Gill

Splash Landing

As I watch Diane and Robin on “Good Morning America” talk to the crew of flight 1549 – and the passengers who were on board on that day that the plane splashed into the Hudson River, I have tears in my eyes.  How incredible is this story?

We have now seen incredible pictures and audio tapes of the event.  Now, we see text messages that were hastily sent to loved ones as the plane was going down.  Many of the passengers thought they were going to die.  They all owe their lives to Captain Sully.  And while they all say as much, he’s as humble as they come – not taking an ounce of credit for saving lives – instead, attributing it all to training.

We’ve also now heard about how some of the passengers appreciate life more now than they did before the landing.  Why does it always take something like this?  I’m as guilty as the next person but it’s true that we take things for granted and when a tragedy takes place, we appreciate everyday things and people much more.  I wish I could always have that appreciation but I know that it always tends to fade with time.

Here’s hoping it doesn’t.  What an incredible story all of the people on flight 1549 have to tell.  To me, it’s like seeing Niagara Falls, I can’t ever get enough of it and it’s always incredible.

Any thoughts?  Post them in the comment box below.  Be sure to check out our new GMC page at newsnet5.com as well: http://www.newsnet5.com/gmc/index.html

Accidents

Every morning during the current weather conditions, we talk about accidents all over the viewing area. 

One person we work with told me a story this morning about his commute into work.  He said that an SUV sped past him at about 70 mph.  That SUV then spun on some ice, did a couple of 360s before coming to a stop.  My co-worker passed the SUV as it was stopped.  A few minutes later, the SUV again went flying my co-worker at 70 mph.

It’s true that we get repetitive when we warn people to take is slow on the area roadways – but we do so because of stories like the one above.   For some reason, there are drivers who think that they aren’t the ones who will get in the accident.  Unfortunately, those drivers usually involve other drivers as well – when they do get into accidents.

You don’t need to hear it from me but – SLOW DOWN!  We don’t like to report injuries and death in the morning or on any newscast.