| Taking a walk on the Rooney side
You ever wonder how Andy Rooney comes up with ideas for columns? I couldn't answer that, but I've often envied the way he can craft a full column out of a series of questions. So for this week, humor me as I try the Andy Rooney approach. You ever wonder why people spend years wringing their hands over whether a historic site such as the Alms House at Broome Community College can be saved? The historic site-buffs form committees and sign petitions, and college leaders and legislators argue about budget restrictions. Meanwhile, every Sunday night on "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" you see a community strip an old house down to the ground and rebuild it in a week! Couldn't the repairs be done for a beloved building like the Alms House if the community chipped in and expended some good 'ole elbow grease? Geesh, even the Amish build barns in a day! You ever wonder why people would want to fill their bellies with fried chicken at 4 a.m.? If you ask me, they're just asking for acid reflux -- no matter how wonderful the recipe.
Former first lady died of heart disease
ALBUQUERQUE -- Medical investigators have determined heart disease killed former first lady Dee Johnson who was found dead in her cabin at Taos shortly before Christmas. The Office of the Medical Investigator reported Johnson died of hypertensive cardiovascular disease, and there was evidence of a prior heart attack. Only therapeutic levels of prescription drugs were found in her system. Johnson, remember as a woman full of heart, succumbed to what is now the No. 1 killer of American women. But unfortunately it was heart disease that killed her and it is sadly ironic that OMI has release the cause of her death during a month dedicated to women's heart health. About 500,000 women die of heart disease each year. It has killed more women than men for the past 20 years.
Esophageal Cancer Rates Climb with Obesity; Esophagectomy Safe in Obese Patients
The rapidly climbing obesity rates in the United States have created a higher risk of esophageal cancer linked to reflux disease. According to a new study at the University of Michigan Health System, obese patients who underwent a procedure called transhiatal esophagectomy primarily for esophageal cancer had outcomes similar to their lean counterparts. .
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