I'm sure there are very few of us who think about sitting down to a plate of phytochemicals or antioxidants. Yet, if there are fruits or vegetables on your plate, that's exactly what you're doing. The miracle of antioxidants is all contained in the foods found in the produce department of your grocery store. The most studied antioxidants are the ACE vitamins.

Last week Bob Flores’ letter to the editor inspired me to do some investigative reporting. It has been five weeks since the Masons, Scouts and high school students picked up the roadside north of town along 281. On Thursday, February 16, Wayne and I “policed” the same roadside from the Adopt-A-Highway sign to the motel.

Heart talk and “sweet nothings” come easy; but research takes time, money, and effort. The results are worth our attention. We all know about life’s guarantees: death, taxes, and the sun rising in the east. Let’s add another one: eating well ensures a long and healthy life. For years, mounting evidence has pointed to the role of a diet high in fruits and vegetables in reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Remember that this coming Saturday, February 25, our annual membership meeting will be held at the Masonic Lodge at 2 p.m. We will vote on a new Constitution and Bylaws and we will have election of Directors. You will also be “caught up” on events since last May. Today we begin the “D” section.

Blanco is green. The recent rain has brightened our landscape. City employees are thinking “green.” Trash Talk’s award for Thriftiness and Outstanding Recycling goes to the City of Blanco. Together, Nathan and Bobbie acquired seating for the Byars Building - no more folding chairs for court and council meetings. The padded benches were purchased through government surplus and actually came from Randolph Air Force Base.

Part 28 in a series For the next couple of weeks we will continue to remind you of our annual Blanco Historic Cemetery Association member meeting. Please mark the date of February 25. The meeting is at 2 p.m. at the Blanco Masonic Lodge. We hope you will be able to attend. The last Who’s Who in the Blanco Cemetery was misnumbered.

“U.S. Economy Picks Up Steam” was a headline in this past weekend’s Wall Street Journal. The article continued to state that the U.S. economy grew at its fastest pace in 18 months for the fourth quarter as companies re-stocked their shelves. U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), which is the value of all goods and services and a barometer of the nation’s economic health, grew at an annual rate of 2.8% in the final quarter of the year, the Commerce Department reported this past Friday.

Your heart tells you when you are in love, when you are afraid, when you excited, and when you hurt; but it doesn’t tell you when you have heart disease. According to the American Heart Association every 29 seconds an American suffers a coronary event and nearly every minute someone dies from one.

Remember that our annual membership meeting is set for Saturday, February 25, 2012. It is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. to allow time for people to come in from out-of-town and enjoy Blanco. The place is the Masonic Lodge on Highway 281. Please help spread the word so that everyone knows about it. This week we cover Section 3C. Kimberly Sue Romero (Feb.

Have you noticed the different varieties and colors of fresh, raw, ripe fruit and vegetables? They form a veritable rainbow. These colors are the key to good nutrition and the different antioxidants in the foods. What is an “antioxidant”, anyway? When we burn oxygen, we get by-products: smoke with fire, rust with iron, and free radicals with exercise, or just with breathing.

The Roman Empire’s Justinian Code laid the foundation for much of Riparian Rights, setting forth the idea that water is a public good and should not be diverted from its natural course (nor abused in any way). Are you an owner of riparian land? Don’t know? A person who owns land adjacent to a body of water is considered to be a riparian owner.

This week we will report on 4C. There are several unknowns in this section. There are also more old headstones and markers that are very close to unreadable. A very old funeral marker is laying in the back of this section that says “The Hombach’s”. Does anyone remember this family? In this row we also have Sample Brown (1872-1915) and Alice A.

“The fat you eat will soon become the fat you wear!” states John McDougall, M.D. After years of learning to treat fat as the enemy, it’s strange to hear nutritionists advocate that we put some fats back into our diets. Recent studies show that we actually do better if we augment our diets with moderate amounts of healthy unsaturated fats.

We are the wealthiest nation on earth… yet among the sickest people. Today I would like to focus on one of the factors behind this sad fact… so we can start on the road to recovery. We make poor food choices, eating too much of the “bad” food and not enough of the “good” food.

With the New Year of 2012, many of us are make those New Year’s resolutions. Some of the most common resolutions have to do with our health. We start with great expectations and honest determination; but something happens. All those good intentions fall by the wayside. We need to help and encourage one another to “keep up the good work.” With a series of articles and some lively discussions, we can do just that. There are approximately 6 billion people living on earth.