Considering the cost of military life

I looked at the recently published military death tolls in Iraq and Afghanistan and considered the ongoing cost of military life.

We salute our military men and women for the hard work and sacrifice that go along with protecting our country. The sacrifice is great. The hours are long. They move from place to place, are sent to war at a moment's notice, leave behind a spouse and children for long periods of time and hope that things will be okay. The phone calls and e-mails are brief if they come at all.

And the men and women know they can't return home for birthdays, school plays, runny noses or high fevers. They leave behind spouses, children, mothers and fathers. Only a completed tour or the death of an immediate family member will allow them to return home.

I am one of the many military spouses who has shed tears on deployments, praised God on returns, prayed at night that God would keep my spouse safe. I am one of the many, assuring my children that God will protect. I support my spouse, yet I don't like war. We have lost a lot, but we still have our freedom, right?

Not in this woman's world

I came across an online cartoon "web series" presented by Baked LAY'S, FLAT EARTH and SMARTFOOD snacks called "Only in a Woman's World." The (intended-to-be-viral) web videos are billed as "light-hearted" and "comical," but I'm not laughing.

That's because the real humor is in Frito-Lay's press release about its new campaign targeting women. Among other things, the press release states that Frito-Lay wants women to "feel supported in their feelings about diets, beauty, snacking, exercise and body confidence" and goes on to say:

Women often struggle between choosing indulgent, great-tasting snacks and snacks that are better-for-her. Frito-Lay’s portfolio of products gives women both.

“It may sound cliché, but women are different. Science tells us women’s brains are uniquely wired,” said Becky Frankiewicz, vice president, portfolio marketing, Frito-Lay North America. “‘Only in a Woman’s World’ humorously addresses and even celebrates the universal conflicts women feel. At least when it comes to snacking, we want women to know that they don’t have to compromise – they can have their snacks and eat them, too.”

The site encourages visitors to "Share a LOL" by e-mailing friends with a link to "this great new web site" "full of funny moments we can all relate to."

So I'm supposed to relate to women cartoon characters who lament their "unwanted bulges" and who celebrate the fact that being sick, and thereby unable to eat, helped one of them fit into her "skinny jeans?"

Get a clue, Frito-Lay.

Vegetarianism: teen eating disorder?

A new study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association shows a high number of teens use vegetarianism to mask an eating disorder. Now, let's be clear, the study does not mean if you are vegetarian then you have an eating disorder. Rather the study indicates teens will use an all-veggie-no-meat diet as a cloak...a way to hide their illness...an excuse not to eat.

Clearly, it is socially acceptable to limit your diet through vegetarianism. Perhaps, you don't eat meat for religious, political or health reasons. You are Hindu or Buddhist. You suffered a heart attack. You are an animal rights activist. Indeed, the vegetarian diet is healthy, environmentally friendly, good for animals, better for the planet and great for the heart. And many of my vegetarian friends speak about their balanced diets and their love for food.

But let's look at this from a different perspective...the teen who wants to hide an illness. Perhaps, an anorexic 8th grader feels she won't be judged, if she opts for a socially acceptable eating preference. "I can't eat meatloaf, Mom, because I am vegetarian" will certainly work better than "I don't want to eat meatloaf, Mom, because I don't want to eat."

Some vegetarians, of course, are irked by the study. (So, let's be careful here. )

One Digg user commented: "Such articles only serve to encourage people to ridicule those who have chosen to become vegetarians . . . Sad but yet another facet of life that has been maligned because of big-business interests."

Another Digg user (and proclaimed non-meat eater) offered a more blunt reaction, "As a fatass vegetarian, I call bullshit."

Even so, I remember watching a classmate declare herself vegetarian, pick at her plate of carrots and count the number of chews. Was she a true vegetarian? Probably not. (She carried plenty of leather designer bags and shoes.) Was she anorexic? In fact, yes. She found treatment, recovered and now eats plenty of meat.