"Why"? Why Not?

Now we fin'ly come to the last "W", which stands fer what is, perhaps, the single greatest question in human history. It is a question that has been asked, 'n' is still asked, by scientists, doctors, lawyers, philosophers, 'n' theologians. It is the question asked by children o' their parents 'n' parents o' their children. It is the question asked by teachers o' their students 'n' students o' their teachers. It is a question shouted from the pulpit 'n' whispered from the pews. It is a question that ever'one has asked at least once in their life but few seem able to answer. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to find that it was the ver' first question asked by the ver' first person who was ever able to ask a question when they asked the ver' first question.

That "W" stands fer, 'n' that question is, "Why?" Think of all the great whys that have been asked since the beginning o' time 'n' asked again by ever' new generation. "Why are we here?" "Why did that happen?" "Why is the sky blue?" "Why me?" "Why now?" "Why not?" The greatest intellectual undertakings in human existence began with one o' those questions er one not far removed from 'em.

Kind o' makes a question like "Why is A Random Child eating an apple a day?" seem rather unimportant 'n' inconsequential, don't it? Well, as unimportant 'n' inconsequential as it may seem, it is still a valid question 'n' one deserving of an answer. 'N' the answer is fairly simple: 'Cause it's something I can do.

See, I ain't the fastest reader in the world, 'n' I ain't got hours a day I can spend just sitting 'round with my nose in a book. So trying to do something like read an entire encyclopedia in one year was out o' the question. 'N' I ain't got the kind o' money where I can go out buying things like lobsters 'n' big slabs o' lamb er butter, 'n' I ain't got hours a day I can spend in the kitchen. So trying to do something like cook ever' recipe listed in a cookbook in one year was out o' the question. But eating apples ever' day ... now that's something I figger I can do fer one year.

'Sides, as I pointed out yeste'day, the timing fer an undertaking like this just seems right. 'N' not just 'cause o' apples being on sale 'n' the political climate being what it is right now, but also from a personal perspective. I ain't as young as I used to be, 'n' I gave up cigarettes some years back, so my health ain't nearly as good as it used to be when I was younger 'n' still free to smoke. So I need something to try 'n' get back a little bit o' the edge I used to have with youth 'n' nicotine.

They ain't no use to bore you with all the partic'lars up front. After all, we got a whole year ahead of us fer me to bore you with the partic'lars. But just as a summary, at some time er t'other, I suffer from such things as: muscle tension, tension headaches, tinnitus, vision problems, lower back pains, a nerve in my lower left back causing problems with my left hip 'n' leg, gas, breathing problems, sinus infection, flu-like symptoms, some type o' dermatitis, diarrhea, constipation, bloody stool, 'n' a change in body odor over the past couple o' months.

Now, that may all seem like a lot o' things fer one feller to have wrong with him at once, 'n' it would be a lot fer one feller to have wrong with him at once. But, on the fortunate side, only a couple o' those things are persistent in my case. Most o' them just kind o' come 'n' go on some schedule o' their own choosing. On the unfortunate side, however, the doctor cain't help much with the more transient complaints since, as I'm sure almost all o' you know from personal experience, by the time the doctor can finally get around to seeing you 'bout one o' those complaints, all you can do is tell him what you had since you ain't got it no more.

Plus there's the fact that the majority o' the health care industry seems more geared to the diagnosis 'n' "treatment" o' health problems. There just don't seem to be much in the way o' prevention er even plain old curing of ailments no more. Which makes perfect sense from their point o' view. They can make more money off o' letting you get sick 'n' then treating you than they can make off o' keeping you from getting sick in the first place. 'N' the longer they can treat you, the more money they can make. Once they cure you, they stop making money off you.

So I'm hoping this apple a day thing can serve two purposes. Firstly, taking care of a lot o' the little things that just seem to come 'n' go before anyone gets a chance to look at 'em. Secondly, acting as either a preventative er a cure fer one er more o' my ailments. 'Sides, it's cheaper than insurance. If you figger 'bout four apples to the pound at 'bout one dollar a pound, then you're looking at paying less than 10 dollars a month fer something that prevents 'n'/er cures the problem as opposed to paying a dang sight more than that fer something that only wants to "treat" the problem in such a way that I wind up paying even more fer it.