Radioman

My name is Chris. I am working through the pre-surgery tests, etc. I am 60 years old and would love to be 60 years young. I can lose weight and exercise easily but am unable to sustain that so I am looking forward to lap band to give me a boost. I finally realized that I was not able to do this myself and finally surrendered. Both of my paternal grandparents, two uncles (of three uncles and one aunt) died of heart attacks in their early 60s. My father had a silent heart attack at age 61. They were all skinny and I did not have to be a rocket scientist to figure out where I was headed. I am six foot tall with a medium to small frame and I weigh 276. Co-morbid conditions (don't you just love that term) include coronary artery disease, a stroke, sleep apnea, high cholesterol, very low HDL cholesterol and gastric reflux disease. And my feet stink! So I need this and I need your support. Thanks to all of you!

My wife and I moved here in 1992 from Virginia Beach. The folks here are a mixture of country folk and university educated professionals (because of Virginia Tech). The county population is about 17,000. There are three small towns -- Pearisburg (county seat), Narrows and Pembroke. There are other towns, too, but they are really small! The county has four or five stoplights. There is a lot of national forest land in the county and much of the remainder is taken up by farming -- almost all hay and cattle farming. Taxes are very low compared to most of the United States. Recreation -- nice golf course in Pembroke. Fitness club near Pearisburg. Two swimming pools. Appalachian Trail goes through Pearisburg. Great hiking with the Trail and a nice little two mile uphill hike to a 45 foot waterfall in Pembroke. Fishing in the New River for muskies (state record fish from that river), bass, crappy, sunfish. Trout fishing in two streams. Hunting is a huge sport for county residents -- deer, turkey, black bear. The start of deer season is a big event here. Country-western and mountain music is very popular. Anna's Restaurant, in Narrows, has a mountain music jam every Thursday evening. Main employers -- Virginia Tech (the biggest employer), Celanese plant in Narrows (factory), Radford Army Ammunition Plant. Schools seem to be fine. Don't know much about them. The Giles High School -- in Pearisburg -- football team is a perennial powerhouse in single A competition. The other high school is in Narrows. We live on the eastern side of the county and are only 17 minutes from Blacksburg and Virginia Tech so we feel like we have our feet in both communities. Hope this helps. cwalter@pemtel.net