GURGITATE, PURA VIDA, BON APPETIT

In keeping with my previous post of food gluttony as an official American competitive sport, I am now sharing a shit load of world records that are currently held by the best gurgitators in the world. 

Not only are the variety of food world records in eating so vast in their culinary range, but these skilled athletes (almost all are thin due to their relentless training regimen) are having fun eating great food and making big sums of prize money for a few minutes of their time.


Do NOT try this at home or unsupervised unless you are a professional eater as this could cause permanent damage to your body, including blindness, permanent attachment to the toilet seat from one end or the other, and many other fartitious disorders.


Besides my favorite Joey "Jaws" Chestnut, with Sonya "Black Widow" Thomas who holds many of the women's records, there is the renowned, Patrick Bertoletti from Chicago who holds more world eating records than anyone else.


Patrick Bertoletti (click on his name for a list of his records) has been eating competitively since January 2006:
Patrick Bertoletti


Patrick has shown a tremendous surge in power on the eating circuit, and has defeated every other gurgitator. Most notably, Bertoletti has shown a fortitude possessed by few, if any, other competitors with his victories at the La Costena "Feel the Heat" Jalapeno Eating Championships. With his current jalapeno record of 275 in 8-minute, Pat Bertoletti has cemented his name in the competitive eating history books.


Pat started out as sweet specialist, but quickly molded into a threat across all disciplines. Case in point: no one on the planet holds more world records than Bertoletti (see below). 

Click on the winners name after each of the varied gourmet competitive eating contests below for more information on these superb athletes who not only love to eat, but eat for money. Major League Eating is the undisputed authority on competitive eating worldwide. All official eating contests listed below are sanctioned by MLE and MLE maintains all official eating records. Following are recent records:  16" Pizza 47 Slices Big Apple Pizza/Battle at the Big Apple World Pizza Eating Championship 10 Minutes/November 8, 2008 Patrick Bertoletti

24" Pizza 7 1/2 Extra Large Bacci Pizza Slices 15 Minutes/ July 9, 2005 Richard LeFevre
7-Eleven Sports Slurpee 22 oz Sports Slurpee/7-Eleven Sports Slurping Time Trials 9 seconds/April 15, 2010 Patrick Bertoletti Armour Vienna Sausage 8.31 pounds Armour Vienna Sausage /Lowe's Motor Speedway Charlotte 10 Minutes/ May 28, 2005 Sonya Thomas
Asparagus 9 lbs 5.2 oz Deep Fried Aspargus Spears/ Stockton Asparagus Fe 10 minutes/ Apr. 16, 2011 Joey Chestnut Baby Back Ribs (short form) 5.24 lbs Baby Back Ribs/Ribfest Chicago 8 minuntes / June 10, 2011 Patrick Bertoletti
Baked Beans, Long Course 8.4 Pounds Baked Beans/ 84 Lumber 2 minutes 47 seconds/ Aug. 7, 2004 Sonya Thomas
Beef Brisket BBQ Sandwich 34.75 Beef Brisket BBQ Sandwiches/Cherokee Casino 10 Minutes/July 26, 2008 Bob Shoudt Beef Tongue 3 pound 3 ounces pickled beef tongue whole 12 minutes Dominic Cardo
Beef Tri-Tip 4 lbs 11 ounces/Colusa Casino World Tri-Tip Eating Challenge 12 minutes/June 28, 2009 Hall Hunt Birthday Cake Five Pounds/ TripRewards 1st Birthday 11 Minutes, 26 Seconds/ May 10, 2005 Richard LeFevre
Blueberry Pie (Hands-Free) 9.17 lbs blueberry pie/Stand By Me World Pie Eating Championship 8 minutes/July 28, 2007 Patrick Bertoletti Bologna 2.76 Pounds Pork & Chicken Bologna/Eats of Strength Six Minutes/May 6, 2006 Don Lerman
Bonless Buffalo Wings 9 lbs/Isle Boonville World Boneless Buffalo Wing Eating Championship 10 minutes/May 7, 2011 Patrick Bertoletti Brats 58 Johnsonville Brats / Brat Days 10 Minutes/ Aug. 5, 2006 Takeru Kobayashi
Buffalo Chicken Tenders 6.93 lbs/Binga 10 Minutess/March 27, 2010 Sonya Thomas Buffet 5 1/2 pounds of buffet food 12 minutes Crazy Legs Conti Burritos, Long Form 11.81 lbs burritos/Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill 10 Minutes/Sep. 22, 2007 Tim "Eater X" Janu
Burritos 15 BurritoVille burritos 8 minutes Eric Booker
Butter 7 quarter-pound sticks, salted butter 5 minutes Don Lerman Cabbage 6 pounds 9 ounces giant cabbage 9 minutes Charles Hardy
Candy Bars Two Pounds Chocolate Candy Bars 6 minutes Eric Booker Cannoli 32 large cannoli-Gennaro Festival 6 minutes/Sept. 15, 2011 Patrick Bertoletti
Catfish 7.5 pounds Fried Catfish/Rhythm City Casino World Catfish Eating Championship 10 minutes/Mar 19, 2011 Patrick Bertoletti Cheesecake 11 pounds Downtown Atlantic Cheesecake 9 minutes/ Sept. 26, 2004 Sonya Thomas
Cherrystone Clams 26 dozen / Peter's Clam Bar 6 minutes / May 31, 2010 Sonya Thomas Chicken Nuggets 80 Chicken Nuggets 5 Minutes Sonya Thomas
Chicken Wings, 12 minutes 7.5 lbs Buffalo Chicken Wings 12 minutes/ May 21, 2007 Joey Chestnut Chicken Wings, Long form 182 chicken wings 30 minutes Joey Chestnut Chicken Fried steak 6 11-ounce chicken fried steaks with country gravy/ Lone Star Cafe 12 minutes/ Nov. 2, 2003 Cookie Jarvis
Chicken Wings, Short form 2 pounds, 2.5 ounces Hooter's Chicken Wings 5 minutes Cookie Jarvis
Chili 2 gallons Ben's Chili Bowl Beef Chili / Taste of DC 6 minutes / October 9, 2011 Joey Chestnut Chili Cheese Fries 8 lbs, 2 oz Wienerschnitzel Chili Cheese Fries at the Queen Mary 10 minutes/February 11, 2006 Sonya Thomas
Chili Spaghetti 13.9 lbs Skyline Chili Spaghetti/Kings Island 10 Minutes/September 7, 2009 Bob Shoudt Chocolate 1 lb, 15.5 oz Chicago Chocolate Hearts 7 minutes/Feb. 13, 2006 Patrick Bertoletti
Corn Dogs 12 Fletcher's Corny Dogs/ State Fair of Texas 10 minutes/ Sept. 28, 2003 Richard LeFevre Corned Beef & Cabbage 10.63 lbs Corned Beef & Cabbage 10 Minutes/ Mar. 16, 2007 Patrick Bertoletti
Corned Beef Hash 4 pounds of hash 1 minute 58 seconds Eric Booker Corned Beef Sandwiches 20 8-oz sandwiches/TooJay's World Class Corned Beef Eating Championship 10 minutes/March 17, 2012 Joey Chestnut
Cow Brains 57 (17.7 pounds) 15 minutes Takeru Kobayashi Crab Cakes 46 Phillips Crab Cakes/Baltimore Waterfront Festival 10 Minutes/ April 29, 2006 Sonya Thomas
Cranberry Sauce, Jellied 13.23 lbs jellied cranberry sauce/Spike TV's MLE Chowdown 8 Minutes/Nov. 22, 2007 Juliet Lee Crawfish 6.5 pounds/Rouses World Crawfish Eating Championship 10 minutes/April 10, 2010 Sonya Thomas
Cupcakes 72 cupcakes / Isle Waterloo World Cupcake Eating Championship 6 minutes / April 14, 2012 Patrick Bertoletti Date Nut Bread 29.5 Chock Full O'Nuts Date Nut Bread and Cream Cheese Sandwiches 8 minutes/December 20, 2006 Patrick Bertoletti
Deep-Fried Calamari 6.625 pounds Mallie's Sports Grill World Calamari Eating Championship 10 Minutes/ May 30, 2009 Patrick Bertoletti Deep-Fried Okra 9.75 lbs Deep Fried Okra/GoldenPalace.net at the Oklahoma State Fair 10 Minutes/Sept. 16, 2006 Sonya Thomas
Doughnuts 49 glazed doughnuts 8 minutes/October 2, 2002 Eric Booker Doughnuts, Cream-filled 47 Glazed and Cream-filled Doughnuts/MLE St. Patrick's Day Chowdown 5 minutes/March 17, 2007 Patrick Bertoletti
Dumplings 91 Chinese dumplings 8 minutes Cookie Jarvis Eggs 65 Hard Boiled Eggs 6 minutes, 40 seconds Sonya Thomas
Flautas 65 flautas/World Flauta Eating Championship 10 minutes/Dec. 6, 2009 Ben Monson French Fries 4.46 pounds Nathan's Famous Crinkle Cut Fries Six Minutes/ March 31, 2005 Cookie Jarvis
French Fries 7.9 lbs Curley's French Fries / Curley's Fries Eating Championship @ Morey's Piers 10 minutes / May 31, 2010 Bob Shoudt Fruit Basket (short form) Edible Arrangements Fruit Basket/Phantom Gourmet Food Fest 3 minutes 52 seconds / September 24, 2011 Pete Davekos     Funnel Cake 5.9 lbs / Kings Dominion 10 minutes / May 23, 2009 Joey Chestnut
Fruitcake 4 pounds, 14 1/4 ounces Wegmans Fruitcake 10 minutes/ Dec. 30, 2003 Sonya Thomas
Garlicky Greens 7.5 lbs / b.good Garlicky Greens Eating Championship 5 Minutes/Oct. 3, 2009 Pete Davekos Grapes 8 Pounds, 15 Ounces Grapes/ Smirnoff Twisted V Wild Grape 10 Minutes/ Nov. 1, 2005 Cookie Jarvis
Green Beans, French Cut 2.71 Pounds Green Beans Six Minutes Crazy Legs Conti Grilled Cheese Sandwiches 47 grilled cheese sandwiches 10 Minutes/ June 10, 2006 Joey Chestnut
Grits 21 lbs of Grits at Harrah's Louisiana Downs 10 minutes/Sept. 29, 2007 Patrick Bertoletti Gyoza 264 Day-Lee gyoza/Los Angeles Nisei Week 10 minutes/August 20, 2011 Patrick Bertoletti
Gyros 21.5 8-oz Gyros/Niko Niko 10 Minutes/May 15, 201 Joey Chestnut Haggis 3 pounds Haggis 8 Minutes/Oct 8, 2008 Eric Livingston
Ham &Potatoes 6 pounds of Easter Feaster meal 12 minutes Cookie Jarvis Ham, sliced 2 lbs, 10 oz. holiday spiral sliced ham 5 minutes/Dec. 15, 2006 Seaver Miller
Hamburger: Big Daddy Burger 9 pound cheeseburger/ Plaza Hotel Casino 27 minutes, 0 seconds/ Jan. 21, 2006 Sonya Thomas Hamburgers 11 1/4 Burgers (1/4 pound) "Cloud Burgers" 10 minutes Don Lerman
Hamburgers 7 Burgers (3/4 pound) "Thickburgers" 10 minutes Sonya Thomas Hamburgers: Krystals 103 Krystal Burgers 8 minutes/October 28, 2007 Joey Chestnut
Hamentaschen 50 traditional Purim cookies 6 minutes Eric Booker Hard Boiled Eggs (short form) 20 hard boiled eggs / Battleship record, USS Fitzgerald 84 seconds / August 13, 2011 Adrian Morgan
Horseshoe Sandwiches 6 lbs, 5 oz horseshoe sandwiches 12 minutes Joey Chestnut Hot Dogs 68 Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs and Buns 10 minutes/ July 4, 2012 Joey Chestnut
Huevos Rancheros 7.75 lbs Huevos Rancheros 10 minutes/March 18, 2006 Richard LeFevre Ice Cream 1 gallon, 9 ounces of vanilla ice cream 12 minutes Cookie Jarvis
Ice Cream, Short form 1.75 Gallons Brooklyn Vanilla Ice Cream 8 minutes/May 26, 2006 Patrick Bertoletti Jalapeno Poppers 118 Jalapeno Poppers/University of Arizona 10 minutes/April 8, 2006 Joey Chestnut
Jalapenos, Pickled 275 Pickled Jalapeno Peppers/La Costena "Feel the Heat" Jalapeno Eating Championship 8 Minutes/May 1, 2011 Patrick Bertoletti Jalapenos, Pickled, Short-Form 191 Pickled Jalapeno Peppers/La Costena "Feel the Heat" Jalapeno Eating Challenge 6.5 Minutes/Sept. 16, 2007 Patrick Bertoletti
Jambalaya 9 Pounds Crawfish Jambalaya/ LuLu's Mardi Gras 10 Minutes/ Feb. 24, 2004 Sonya Thomas Key Lime Pie 10.8 pounds Key Lime Pie 8 minutes/Mar. 21, 2006 Patrick Bertoletti
King Cake 14 cakes (10.5 lbs)/Showboat AC Casino 8 minutes/Feb 16, 2010 Patrick Bertoletti Kolache Factory Kolaches 56 Sausage and Cheese Kolaches/Kolache Factory in Houston, TX 8 Minutes/Sept. 14, 2007 Joey Chestnut
Kolaches 44 Cherry Kolaches/GoldenPalace.net at the Nebraska State Fair 8 Minutes/Sept. 2, 2007 Patrick Bertoletti Krystal Hamburgers, 2 minutes 39 Krystal Hamburgers 2 minutes/September 2007 Bob Shoudt
Lobster Rolls 41 Lobster Rolls in Boston challenge 10 minutes/Sept. 23, 2006 Takeru Kobayashi Maid-Rite Sandwiches 26 Maid-Rite Sandwiches / Isle Casino Hotel Bettendorf 10 minutes / November 6, 2010 Patrick Bertoletti
Maine Lobster/ Kennebunk 44 Maine Lobsters (11.3 Pounds of meat) from the shell 12 minutes/ Aug. 13, 2005 Sonya Thomas Mars Bars 38 bars/Red Faction Mars Bar Eating World Championship 5 Minutes/July 22, 2010 Patrick Bertoletti
Matzo Balls 21 baseball-sized matzo balls 5 minutes, 25 seconds Eric Booker Mayonnaise 4 32-ounce bowls mayonnaise 8 minutes Oleg Zhornitskiy
Meat Pies 16 six-ounce meat pies 10 minues Boyd Bulot Meatballs 10 pounds, 3 Ounces Meatballs/ Carmine's Restaurant at Tropicana Hotel Casino 12 minutes/ Dec. 3, 2005 Sonya Thomas
Mince Pie 46 Mince Pies at the Wookey Hole Big Eat in Somerset, England 10 minutes/Nov. 29, 2006 Sonya Thomas Moon Pies 60 Moon Pies / Lady Luck Caruthersville Moon Pie Eating World Championship 8 minutes / October 15, 2011 Patrick Bertoletti
Native American Fry Bread 9.75 Fry Breads 8 Minutes/October 28, 2006 Erik The Red Denmark Nigiri Sushi 141 pieces of Nigiri Sushi/MLE: The Game Promotion 6 Minutes/April 11, 2008 Tim "Eater X" Janus
Onions 8.5 ounces Maui Onions (three onions)/ Whalers Village 1 minute/ Aug. 8, 2004 Eric Booker Oysters 46 Dozen Acme Oysters/ Acme Oyster House 10 Minutes/ Mar. 20, 2005 Sonya Thomas
Oysters, Short Form 39 dozen Acme oysters/New Orleans Oyster Festival, New Orleans 8 Minutes/June 5, 2011 Patrick Bertoletti Pancakes 3 1/2 pounds pancakes & bacon 12 minutes Crazy Legs Conti
Pasta 6 2/3 pounds linguini (no. 115) 10 minutes Cookie Jarvis Peanut Butter & Banana Sandwiches 36 Sandwiches/The Isle Casino Hotel Biloxi 10 minutes/Jan 9, 2010 Bob Shoudt
Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches J&M Corps International 10 minutes/Aug. 8, 2007 Patrick Bertoletti Peas 9.5 one-pound bowls 12 minutes Eric Booker
Pelemeni 274 Russian dumplings 6 minutes Dale Boone Pepperoni Rolls 30.5 pepperoni rolls/WV Three Rivers Festival 10 minutes / May 28, 2011 Patrick Bertoletti
Pepperoni with Cheese 252 slices (2.25 lbs) Armour Pepperoni with Cheese 6 minutes / May 19, 2011 Patrick Bertoletti   Philly CheeseSteaks 23 6" sandwiches / Dorney Park 10 minutes / May 14, 2011 Joey Chestnut
Pickles, Sour 5 lbs 11.2 oz / Isle Casino Pompano Park World Pickle Eating Championship 6 Minutes / September 12, 2010 Patrick Bertoletti Pickles, Vinegar 2.7 Pounds Kosher Dills Six Minutes Brian Seiken
Pigs' Feet and Knuckles 2.89 lbs pigs' feet meat/State Fair Meadowland's 10 minutes/June 23, 2007 Arturo Rios, Jr. Pizza Hut P'Zones 7.5 Pizza Hut P'Zones/Pizza Hut  Chow-Lenge @ Spike Guys Choice Awards 10 minutes/June 4, 2011 Joey Chestnut
Pomme Frites 2 pounds 9 ounces of Pomme Frites 8 minutes Cookie Jarvis Pork and Beans 84 ounces of baked beans 58 seconds/Oct 8, 2008 Micah Collins Pork, Pulled 9 Pounds, 6 Ounces Smoked, Pulled Pork/ Horseshoe Casino Council Bluffs 10 Minutes/ Sept. 16, 2006 Joey Chestnut
Pork Ribs 9.8 pounds pork rib meat/ John Ascuaga's Nugget Casino Resort 12 minutes/August 27, 2008 Joey Chestnut
Pork, Pulled Sandwiches 45 pulled pork sandwiches 10 minutes/ Sept. 1, 2007 Joey Chestnut Posole 9 lbs, 3 ounces Posole/ Sky City Casino 12 Minutes/ Nov. 18, 2006 Patrick Bertoletti
Potato Wedges 3.74 lbs Buffalo Wild Wings Potato Wedges/Spike TV's MLE Chowdown 8 minutes/October 18, 2007 Gravy Brown Poutine 13 lbs / Smoke's Poutinerie World Poutine Eating Championship 10 minutes/May 22, 2010 Patrick Bertoletti
Pumpkin Pies 4-3/8 Entenmann's Pumpkin Pies 12 Minutes/ Nov. 22, 2004 Eric Booker Quesadilla 31.5 4-inch Cheese Quesadilla 5 minutes Sonya Thomas
Ramen Noodles 10.5 lbs Ramen Noodles/NARUTO: Clash of Ninja Revolution for Nintedo Wii 8 minutes/October 27, 2007 Tim "Eater X" Janus
Rice Balls 20 pounds rice balls 30 minutes Takeru Kobayashi
Rocky Mountain Oyster 3 lbs 11.75 oz / Isle Black Hawk World Rocky Mountain Oyster Eating Championship 10 minutes / August 28, 2010 Patrick Bertoletti Salmon Chowder 312 fl oz; 23.4 lbs/The Slammin' Salmon World Chowder Eating Contest 6 minutes/Dec. 3, 2009 Bob Shoudt
Salt Potatoes 13 lbs Salt Potatoes / Wild Carp Week 10 minutes / May 14, 2011 Joey Chestnut Sausage Sandwiches 13.25 Gianelli Sausage Sandwiches/New York State Fair 12 minutes/Aug. 26, 2006 ChipBurger Simpson
Shoo-Fly Pie 11.1 Pounds Shoo-Fly Pie/ Rockvale Outlets 8 Minutes/ June 23, 2007 Patrick Bertoletti
Shrimp Wontons 390 shrimp wontons/CP Biggest Eater Competition 2011-12 8 Minutes/February 11, 2012 Joey Chestnut SPAM 6 pounds of SPAM from the can/ SPAMARAMA 12 minutes/ Apr. 3, 2004 Richard LeFevre
Steeplechase/Chowdown Championship Pork burgers, Beef ribeye sandwiches, Turkey Legs, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Cupcakes/Indiana State Fair August 19, 2006 Bob Shoudt Steeplechase/Ultimate Eating Tournament Shrimp, Pralines, Hot Dogs, Nachos, Gelato/Broadway at the Beach 10 minutes/ Apr. 22, 2006 Bob Shoudt
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie 7.9 lbs Strawberry Rhubarb Pie 8 minutes/July 29, 2006 Patrick Bertoletti Strawberry Shortcake 15.25 lbs Strawberry Shortcake/Mattituck Lions Club Strawberry Festival 8 Minutes/June 17, 2007 Patrick Bertoletti
Sweet Corn 46 ears sweet corn/ Sweet Corn Fiesta 12 minutes/ Apr. 25, 2010 Joe LaRue Sweet Potato Casserole 8.62 pounds/ NC State Fair 11 minutes/ Oct. 20, 2004 Sonya Thomas
Tacos 48 soft chicken tacos/ Zocalo Restaurant 11 minutes/ Sept. 29, 2004 Sonya Thomas Tamales 71 Tamales/Old Town Lewisville/Dallas Tortilla & Tamale Factory 12 Minutes/Sept. 1, 2007 Tim "Eater X" Janus
Tex Mex Rolls 30 Tex Mex Rolls/ GameWorks at Great Lakes Crossing 12 minutes/ Mar. 12, 2005 Richard LeFevre Tiramisu 4 pounds tiramisu/ Verducci's Market 6 minutes/ Mar. 5, 2005 Tim "Eater X" Janus
Toasted Ravioli 4 pounds toasted ravioli by Charlie Gitto's at Harrah's St. Louis 12 Minutes/ Nov. 20, 2004 Sonya Thomas Turducken 7 3/4 pounds Turducken.com Thanksgiving Dinner 12 minutes/ Nov. 26, 2003 Sonya Thomas
Ultimate Eating Tournament (Various Foods) 7 minutes, 13 seconds/April 19, 2008. Juliet Lee Waffles 29 Waffles (8 oz.)/ Waffle House 10 Minutes/ Oct. 7, 2007 Patrick Bertoletti
Watermelon 13.22 pounds Watermelon/ Brookville Community Picnic 15 minutes/ July 30, 2005 Jim Reeves Whole Turkey 5.25 lbs whole turkey / Wild Turkey 81 Eating World Championship 10 minutes / November 22, 2011 Sonya Thomas
Whole Turkey (12 mins) 4 pounds, 12.8 ounces roast turkey meat/Thanksgiving Invitational 12 minutes/ Nov. 22, 2006 Patrick Bertoletti
XXX Hot Bhut Wings 52 Bhut Wings / Jake Melnick's Battle of the Bhut 5 minutes / November 6, 2011 Patrick Bertoletti Whole Turkey, Short Form 6.91 lbs roast turkey meat/Spike TV 8 Minutes/Nov. 22, 2007 Patrick Bertoletti So there you have it for now. There are many  more categories of foods just waiting for new champions to emerge. Think about it, you may be the next champion of eating most criadillas =  bull testicles  which is a coveted dish as there are only one pair per bull. (By the way, there is an old Costa Rican legend about a habitual restaurant customer in Santa Elena, Monteverde, who used to reserve one pair every week and was surprised when he was eventually served a quail-sized pair. When protesting, the waiter could only answer that not always is the bull the loser). BON APPETIT!

JAWS CHESTNUT, BROOKLYN AND HOT DOGS

Okay, so who is Joey "Jaws" Chestnut? None other than the world reigning champion  of the most hot dogs (frankfurters) , buns included, ingested in 10 minutes. 

 This year Joey Chestnut won his sixth straight Mustard Belt, downing 68 hot dogs and buns. Chestnut from San Jose, CA.  has won every contest at Nathan’s since 2007 and in 2009 set the world record with 68 hot dogs.

Any way you look at it, Chestnut ate almost 7 hot dogs per minute and a total of over 18,500 calories consumed in 10 minutes is incredible!

It is an amazing but vomitatiously obscene sight to behold. Human beings stuffing as many hot dogs and buns down their throat within 10 minutes. 

Known as a "sport" called competitive eating in which surprisingly, mostly very thin people are the best at this skill.

It wouldn’t be the Fourth of July without hot dogs,or more specifically, hot dog eating contests. Every year at Nathan’s Famous in Coney Island, competitive eaters race to see who can down the most hot dogs and buns in ten minutes. 

This is  an annual competition held in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York that attracts 40,000 fans and is broadcast on ESPN to nearly two million viewers nationwide.




He tells the AP that he was trying to break his world record but a bad minute halfway into the competition ruined his shot. “I’m a little bummed out that I didn’t get to 70, Chestnut said".

Nathan’s wasn’t the only place to see hot dog champions stuff sausages down their gullets. At Crif Dog in Bushwick, former world champion Takeru Kobayashi held his own event. Kobayashi, who, like Chestnut, has won six Mustard Belts — was banned from the Nathan’s event in 2010 after a contract dispute with "Major League Eating". 

Yep, "Major League Eating" is the world governing body that oversees all eating competitions.

Sonya Thomas, from Alexandria, VA, also won the woman's contest at Nathan's Famous. Thomas who goes by the nickname "Black Widow," downed 45 dogs to win the women's competition.

Both Chestnut and Thomas take home $10,000 as this year's champions.Second place went to Tim Janus with 52 hot dogs, who takes home $5,000. He was third last year. Juliet Lee came in 2nd in the women's contest, eating 33 in the time allotted. She won $5,000 for her effort.The Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest has been a city tradition for 97 years.

Every year, on the Fourth of July, Americans eat hot dogs. A lot of hot dogs. According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council (yes, such a thing exists), 150 million of them, to be exact, enough to stretch from Washington D.C. to Los Angeles over five times.

But this small group of people eat a whole lot more hot dogs than the rest of us on July 4. They are the contestants of Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest,  Competitive eater   Joey Chestnut as I said holds the official world record for eating 68 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes.  

All of this begs the question, what are the effects on the body of eating so much in so little time. First, a look at the basics: According to nutrition facts listed on the Nathan's website, each hot dog packs 290 calories, 17 grams of fat and 710 milligrams of sodium. That means chowing through 68 hot dogs provides almost enough calories as someone on a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet would need in ten days.  

Very little research exists surrounding the effects of competitive eating on the body, mainly because so few people are compelled to stuff their faces for a living. 

But one study remains the most commonly-cited reference whenever the topic comes up, as it seems to each year when the hot dog eating contest rolls around.  

A team of radiologists and gastroenterologists published the study in 2007 in the American Journal of Roentgenology. They had 29-year-old competitive eater, Tim Janus (as part of a National Geographic special), and a 35-year-old male control eater eat as many hot dogs as they could in 12 minutes, and then performed a series of stomach scans to see how both men handled all those dogs. (Click over to the study to see photos of the scans.)  

The regular eater finished seven hot dogs before he tapped out; the competitive eater ate 36 before the researchers said he could stop, they had seen enough. His abdomen, which had appeared flat before the eating began, now "protruded enough to create the distinct impression of a developing intrauterine pregnancy," the researchers wrote, while the average eater's stomach appeared just as it had before. "Normally, the upper stomach expands to accept the food," Dr. David C. Metz, one of the co-authors of the study, and a professor of medicine in the division of gastroenterology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. "The muscles relax to receive the food and that increases the volume of food you can put into it without increasing pressure." As pressure increases in the average person's stomach, they burp, experience nausea or even vomit. "Our hypothesis became that [competitive eaters] have the ability to relax their stomachs to such a degree that they can just eat and eat until you and I would be ready to pop." 

Metz offers the following analogy: While eating, the average person's stomach may expand to hold two or three liters, he imagines, whereas a competitive eater's may expand to hold six or seven. There hasn't been any research into how competitive eaters come to react this way. Metz believes it's a combination of nature and nurture. 

Many are probably born with an innate ability to relax the stomach so they never seem to reach a point of feeling full, but they also probably train themselves to expand their stomachs even larger, he says. Janus indeed told 

Metz and his colleagues that he didn't feel full during the experiment,or ever. Instead, he avoided gaining weight by measuring portions of food and resisting the temptation to indulge in seconds. While this self-discipline has kept him trim and fit until now, the researchers wrote, "It is easy to envision a scenario in which aging speed eaters lose their willpower and engage in chronic binge eating because they never feel sated."  

But, in fact, the majority of the successful eaters on the professional circuit aren't morbidly obese. The thinking goes that thinner people have the advantage because their stomachs can expand with less fat pushing against the organ, ABC News reported. To stay in competitive shape, though, requires training -- and not just sitting around and eating. "The new generation of eaters is interested in weight lifting, running," Jason Fagone, who followed competitive eaters to write "Horseman of the Esophagus" told CNN. "They have more athletic body types than the old generation." He said competitive eaters liken an annual hot dog eating competition to running a marathon, yes, both are stresses to the body as it is pushed to the extreme, but they are occasional ones. 

Chestnut himself detailed some of what goes into this training to WebMD, saying about once a week he eats a whole bunch of whatever food is up next on his competitive circuit to "slowly make my body adapt to my goal." He'll also drink a gallon of milk in one sitting to train his stomach to expand. "Psychologically, I like to go in hungry," he told the website. "If I see on the scale that I have dropped weight, I can easily imagine an enormous amount of food inside me." That's why he says he sticks to protein supplements in the days before an event. He also goes back to supplements for a day or two after an event or a training session as his stomach empties out.  

And what about for those watching at home? Eating competitions can "send a message to spectators that going hog wild with food is not a big deal," American Dietetic Association spokesman and nutritionist Milton Stokes told Web MD. "It's like magic, a magical American myth," Adrienne Rose Johnson, a doctorate student at Stanford, told GOOD. Johnson wrote a paper called "Magic Metabolisms: Competitive Eating and the Formation of an American Bodily Idea." "I think it speaks to people suffering from literal and symbolic consequences of consumerism.” 

Metz agrees. Humans are hard-wired to seek out food and eat as much of it as possible, stemming from an age when food was less available and we didn't always know when we could expect our next meal. But now that food is so accessible and those genetic tendencies still remain, our waistlines are continuously growing. Not to mention, there are tremendous risks associated with stuffing the stomach to its capacity, even just one time, like rupturing the stomach, he says. "Make sure the public knows not to try this at home." 

With a sample size of only one, the researchers acknowledge that their results, for now, are only speculative. But they conclude that the glory of winning the Mustard Belt may not outweigh the serious health risks:A chronically dilated, flaccid stomach may eventually decompensate, so that it becomes an enormous sac incapable of shrinking to its original size and incapable of peristalsing or emptying solid food. If this happens, long-term competitive speed eaters ultimately could develop intractable nausea and vomiting, necessitating a partial or total gastrectomy to relieve their symptoms and restore their ability to eat. 

Thus, speed eating is a potentially self-destructive form of behavior that over time could lead to morbid obesity, intractable nausea and vomiting, and even the need for gastric surgery.

It may be potentially dangerous to eat a shit load of all this food, but these people are having fun, making a lot of money in a matter of 10 minutes, and there are much worse ways to poison your body. 

Me, I say, Yo, Joey "Jaws" Chestnut, Sonya "Black Widow' Thomas, and the other "athletes" of eating, go for it! 

Eat and let live, these American heroes of gluttony, perhaps it will even eventually become a world Olympics Sport. 

And it all began in my beloved Brooklyn, as it  should be!

Leiby Kletzky-Sunday July 1, 2012 Marks First Yahrtzeit Anniversary Of Leiby Kletzky

 

 

 REST IN PEACE LEIBY KLETZKY


Leiby Kletzky was murdered last year at 8 years of age:
- Leiby can never laugh again.
- Leiby can never play with his five sisters again.
- Leiby can never give his mother and father a goodnight kiss anymore.
- Leiby can never flash his sweet smile to anyone anymore.
- Leiby can never bring home another report card.
- Leiby can never become Bar-Mitzvah.
- Leiby can never pray anymore.
- Leiby can never receive a graduation diploma.
- Leiby can never turn into a mature young man and marry.
- Leiby can never have and hold any children.
- Leiby can never have a home to invite guests over to for a meal.
- Leiby can never offer money to a needy person anymore.
 -Leiby will never be able to do all the acts of charity and kindness he would have done had he been granted more years to live.

Sunday July 1, 2012 Marks First Yahrtzeit Of Leiby Kletzky

On Sunday 11th Tammuz,  5772, marks the First Yahrtzeit of Leiby Kletzky, ZT"L according to the Hebrew calendar. 

July, 12, 2012 is twelve months since his passing.

One month ago on June 3, 2012 an unveiling (Matzevah) took place of his headstone at the site of his kever (grave) at the Washington Cemetery in Deans, NJ.Leiby’s father, Reb Nachman Kletzky, accompanied by his rov (Rabbi), Rav Binyomin Eisenberger, mara d’asra of Khal Heichal HaTefillah of Boro Park, led a group of about 25 men to the kever (grave), where Tehillim was said and Keil Molei Rachamim was recited.


                 The matzeivah - with an acrostic identifying him by his name, Yehudah ben Nachman - describes Leiby as a “yeled nechmad vena’im yorei vetomim,” calling him a “korban tzibbur” and describing how all of Klal Yisroel was moved totefillah and teshuvah as a result of his heartbreaking petirah. May Leiby’s neshamah continue to have an aliyah, and may Reb Nachman and Esther Kletzky, along with their children and extended family, have a nechamah. Hamakom yeracheim eleim veyotzi’eim mitzarah lirvacha umei’afeilah le’orah.          The following message from Reb Nachman and Esther Kletzky was provided to Matzav.com: "A year has passed since the tragic death of our dear son Leiby. With the approach of the first anniversary of his death on July 1st, comes deep reflection upon an innocent life cut so short. The pain surrounding our loss is more tangible than ever, as we vividly recall the final agonizing moments of Leiby’s short lifetime. With his yahrtzeit upon us, the struggle to comprehend and cope with this tragedy gets increasingly stronger.  The Leiby Kletzky Memorial Fund was formed as a way to bring solace to all and ensure his memory would live on. The Fund is dedicated to helping families that are facing medical, tragic, or other urgent crises. Leiby Kletzky Camp Fund, a division of the Memorial Fund was organized to protect children from abusive homes. Children that come from abusive or troubled homes are often neglected and forced to fend for themselves. These children are confused and distressed, not knowing a carefree youth or feeling the affection of someone close. They face a constant threat of danger, at the place they call home and at the hands of the very people who are supposed to love and protect them. For these unfortunate children, summer camp is a safe haven - a desperately needed respite. For these children camp is not a luxury, but an absolute necessity that literally changes their lives. For these kids, summer vacation isn’t just freedom from school, homework and tests. It is freedom from abuse, isolation and neglect. These children are provided for with care, affection, and fun, that unlike most children, they don’t experience all year long. The Leiby Kletzky Camp Fund provides these children with clothing, shoes, bedding - whatever they lack - due to a lifetime of deprivation. The benefits of summer camp last a lifetime and are means by which these children can learn and grow. Leiby was a little boy too innocent to be aware of any danger, and we lost him in a manner so beyond our control and one that we were so helpless to prevent. But we are very aware of youths in troubled homes and the lurking dangers they face. We can can rescue them! We are in a position to help prevent them from suffering a tragic fate. But we desperately need your help. Summer camps are not subsidized by government aid, so it is critical that each and every one of us reaches out to support this cause. We appeal to your generosity for the sake of these innocent, precious children. In the merit of protecting our less fortunate young ones, may G-d bless you with good health and tidings and may your children bring you pride and joy always.                 Donations to THE LEIBY KLETZKY MEMORIAL FUND FOR CHILDREN established by his family Nachman and Esther Kletzky and daughters IN memory of Leiby may be made online at: http://creedofnoah.blogspot.com/2011/07/official-leiby-kletzky-memorial-fund.html, or mailed to: THE LEIBY KLETZKY MEMORIAL FUND 1448 56th Street Brooklyn, New York 11219. The Leiby Kletzky Memorial Fund is an I.R.S. recognized 501(c)(3) Tax Exempt charity ID #20-1312102.

You can ALSO  make a donation online at www.leibykletzkymemorialfund.com 

or by  check payable to the Leiby Kletzky Memorial Fund and send it to:

Nachman & Esther Kletzky c/o Rabbi Binyamin Eisenberger 1448 56th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11219

                          The Fund will be managed by Leiby's parents, Nachman and Esther Kletzky, who will oversee distribution of funds along with their esteemed  Rabbi Binyomin Eisenberger shlit"a.     -----------------------------------------------------      CLICK HERE FOR FULL STORY OF 8 YEAR OLD LEIBY KLETZKY MURDERED.   -----------------------------------------------------        In keeping to my promise to honor the memory of murdered 8 year old Leiby Kletzky, I will continue to post on my Blog, all stories related to this tragedy until the case is closed.  

VULTURES-A LESSON LEARNED ABOUT YOUR CHILDREN

I remind myself everyday to never take what you have for granted. So stop pissing, whining about stupid insignificant things and focus on the really important things in your life, if you are a parent, that means your children. Sometimes easier said than done with our busy lives these days.

June 21st will forever be the worst day of my life, the day my amazing, wonderful son Steven Nathaniel Wolkoff was taken from us and his life stolen from him at the age of 30 by the negligent acts of others who don't care about what they did to him.  

I will never be at peace, or have any peace as I fear Steven remains forever in limbo, perhaps never will he be able to rest in peace. I wish peace was something  that could be bottled and sold, as I would purchase the entire inventory and send it to Steven, my family, myself.


I have done and will continue to do the very best I can to obtain Justice for Steven. Sadly, it appears that there will never be any Justice for Steven, as the many Entities and people who are in political, judicial, legal power are vultures in a myriad of corrupt, vile, toxic, dysfunctional systems which they cowardly hide behind to manipulate, interpret, and use in ways that allow them to circumvent the sworn duties they have to uphold our Laws. It is all about their covering up and avoiding being held accountable for their actions, inactions, lies, and sub human behavior.


The life and death of my son Steven means absolutely nothing to those who prey on innocent victims as they hold zero value for a human life, instead trying to protect their own asses from being held responsible for their deadly negligence.
 

The Judge is simply supposed to rule on July 11th whether our case has any merit to go forward in the legal process and that it is not frivolous as claimed by the County, State and Ambulance Company. That is all he is charged to do, simply determining yes or no that there is the minimum, even tiniest possibility of negligence on their part, thereby allowing our case to proceed. 

Clearly our case is not frivolous, it more than meets the criteria of having merit, which should allow the Case to proceed to a Jury trial, where jurors will decide based on the facts, whether what happened was wrong, and that we suffered deep emotional grief from what was done. It is called due process and every citizen of the United States is guaranteed it under the Constitution.


Instead we have an unfeeling, cowardly San Mateo County community "circling their wagons", with a Judge who will likely rule once again against us, totally ignoring the facts, inappropriately expanding his own powers to be the Judge, jury, and decision maker, simply because he can. 

Pisses the shit out of me. What a fucking circus, a shit hole of laws made to be stretched, bent, twisted, broken by those who don't give a damn about providing Justice for victims or following the Laws according to the way they are written. if the Judge rules against us, our case is dead.


In particular, the Court, Legal System, "Privacy Laws" such as HIPPA and Public Health Coroners laws have been bastardized by the Insurance Co's, Coroners, politicians, and the long list of scumbags to be used to deny regular people of their human rights, especially those who are legitimately entitled to have their privacy protected, obtain justice, receive the rights intended to be provided by these Laws.


A perfect example is Steven's case where we are not able to get  critical info on the Paramedics, their Supervisors, their follow-up meetings discussing the negligence of all of them, and many other critical pieces of information  denied to us because "it would violate the HIPPA Law" which were designed to protect individuals such as Steven, ourselves. Instead these prick cowards ironically use this same law for them to hide behind so they can avoid being held accountable for killing Steven. What a sham, they won't release the information to us because "it would violate Steven's right to privacy", but they can kill him and withold this information by claiming they cannot violate Steven's privacy. Makes sense right, not really, but it is legal and misused all the time to protect those who have committed acts that kill people. 

These injustices are taking place throughout our Country, this so called Democracy called the United States of America, a Nation that has become a joke when it comes to the reality of protecting it's citizens, and providing freedom. It is all a phony mirage of propaganda that falsely claims we are a Country of Laws, a model of Democracy, when the truth is our Country is a cesspool of corruption, controlled by those in power who have no intention of doing what is best for we the people.


The Coroner owns your body, not you, not your next of kin as we all believe. No, the Laws as to what a Coroner can and cannot do are written deliberately in a weak, poorly defined, ambiguous way so that the limits of what a Coroner can do are almost unlimited. The Coroners powers derived from these laws are specifically written this way by certain politicians who are "owned" by special interest groups, in consciously NOT saying very much what the Coroners Office cannot do, thereby making just about anything they do legal by default, because it is not specified in the Laws as being prohibited.


In Steven's case the defendants San Mateo County, The great State of California, and American Medical Response desecrated Steven's brain by having their private pathologist remove Steven's remains to her own private place of work, from the protective custody of the Coroner. She then dissected Steven's brain into 20 pieces, this all taking place without our permission as Steven's parents, 2 years after the Coroner of San Mateo County issued his final findings and closed the case.


All this was done in response to our legal suit against them and in an attempt on their part to prove that their Para-Medics did not kill Steven. In the end they were never able to prove that because the truth medically beyond a doubt is in the Coroners report performed by his own Pathologist that the Para Medics did kill Steven by negligence of missing his airway, instead mistakenly pumping 60 pounds of pressurized air into his chest cavity, literally causing Steven to explode, a horrifically, painful slow death for my son. 

I have seen the pictures of Steven after he exploded, they are indescribably horrific, forever embedded in my brain. I cannot forget that image, it would haunt any human being yet these bastards who killed Steven are able to somehow not feel the evil they have done. I do not how they can live with themselves knowing what they have done.


Certainly this is more than enough to prove that our legal action is not a frivolous legal case but so far the Judge disagrees with us. We appealed his decision and his response will come on July 11th.


I received an e-mail in response to one of my Blog posts "Shame on San Mateo County from a person that I will call "anonymous". I don't know this person but it speaks volumes about the way human life is erased by those in Government who instead of helping us, will do anything, including murdering its citizens, to escape their being held responsible for fairly, equally, applying to the laws of the land to all of us, instead of only those they decide to use in their getting away with breaking the Laws, including the taking of a human life, mutilation, desecration of those in life and in death, whatever it takes for them to avoid being found guilty of violating the Law.

-----Original Message-----

From:

To:

Sent:

Subject: your son

Jerry,

 

I read your blog and  you are not alone.  My dad was buried in 2010 without his brain, and I never learned of this until after his burial.  There was no reason at all to keep it. None.  Every time I visit his grave, I have terrible imagery. I am so very sorry for your loss and for the insult upon the injury.

 

The pathologist who made that decision was Dr.------------------------------------ in California. He was ruled incompetent by the California State Bar in 2006 and was fired many times and traveled the nation doing negligent work.  


A Frontline documentary called "Post Mortem " uncovered a huge mess in the coroner system in the  U.S.  If you have not seen it, I suggest you watch it.  It helps to know that there are those out there working hard to change the system that hurt you and your family and so many others.

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/post-mortem/

 

Very powerful writing from another victim and family who feel what we are going through, have experienced the same indifference, ARROGANCE OF THE LAW in ignoring innocent victims, erasing facts, erasing human lives, families scarred forever by these acts of depravity.  New laws need to be passed but it is doubtful that this will happen, as self interest groups rule our country.

There are thousands of victims families who have been treated in this inhuman, illegal manner because those in power can do whatever they want without being afraid of being prosecuted by the system. They make the laws and break the laws with impunity, but hold the rest of us to a different standard when we are accused of breaking a law.

All of us have many different stresses and demands made upon ourselves as part of daily life. As a result there are so many difficulties in balancing our commitments to work, children, family, and even ourselves.


Putting things into perspective is a hard thing for people to understand but it is one of the most important things we can do to maintain our sanity.


It can be best understood by a comment I made on my son Steven Nathaniel Wolkoff's Memorial Page in September 23, 2011 and a recent reply dated June 29, 2012 June 29th 2012 .


Dear Steven:
         Today, September 23, 2011 is your 34th birthday.
It has been 3 and a half years since you were killed.


I remember when you were born and the magical, feelings of being there, watching you, my first child, as you breathed life as part of the miraculous moments of birth. I remember the happy times we all had being together as a family, experiencing the precious baby, child, teenager, and man you became.


I remember how you always asked me as a child to tell you a story before going to sleep, in particular you wanted to hear story’s about my own childhood. No sooner did I finish the story, you would lovingly say to me “tell me the story again”. I remember so much more, I will never forget you, and the unique love we shared as son and father.


I remember how proud you always made me feel that you were more than any father could ever want in a son.
I miss you more than anything I can say in words. I love you more than anything can describe that I feel. It was 30 years of love and happiness that you gave to all of your family. You taught me how to love and the meaning of what is important about life.


You will never be 34, never be all that you would have become in embracing a full life if you had been allowed to live.


The brutal reality is that every single day and night you are not here, and I am sorry for your life being stolen from you, that you cannot feel the sun, rain, snow, air, laughter, be with those you love, and enjoy the simple every day experiences of life.


I hope you feel no fear, no pain any more, that you are not lost, or alone, and I often wonder if you are here, in some way your soul still living, perhaps the red Robin that often perches on the tree limb outside of my window, or in the wind as it touches my face. I want to comfort you, touch you, talk to you, there is so much catching up to do, but none of this is possible.


I think of you almost all the time. I see your face everywhere, I hear your voice all the time as young men come and go and it is as if you were just with me, my hugging you and kissing your cheeks.


I think of you when I hear the song “Tears In Heaven”, it makes me wonder, ask unanswered questions, and sometimes cry. I dedicate it to you, forever, my beloved first born, my Stevie.
                             TEARS IN HEAVEN

                         The pain of your death gets worse every day that goes by. There is no Steven to touch anymore. I know this was not how it was meant to be. In this part of life we were all supposed to be smiling. Steven should be with his family, friends, loved ones, at the ballgame. He should be across the table at holidays, eating, blowing out the candles on his birthday cake. He should be living, not being written about being dead. I miss you so very much as only a parent who has lost a child can describe of an emptiness, feelings that never goes away, of the deepest, darkest, most painful hole inside our gut. I said it often to you, that I LOVE YOU STEVEN, and you ALWAYS responded to me ” I LOVE YOU TOO DAD”. I so miss the words, the feelings, the hello’s and the goodbye’s. I never knew that you would not return, that it was the last time we would see each other, talk on on the phone, and say the words of our love. It breaks my heart. I LOVE YOU STEVEN but there is no response anymore. Love-Dad.

Today almost a year after that post a beautiful reply written from someone by the name of Kristen who I also do not know, was posted to Steven's Memorial Page. Her reply (see below) certainly puts life in perspective and gives me hope that some good things can come from the horrific death of my son Steven.

Reply To My Comment:

Kristen Says:June 29, 2012 at 10:30 pm

"To the parents of Steven, I stumbled upon this webpage, saw the picture of your son and started to read your comments. I can’t even imagine the pain you feel inside! I can’t stop crying…my heart is breaking for you! I am grateful to have read your words about how you loved your son because I am a mother of 4 young children and I am having difficulty enjoying time with them and playing with them and just snuggling with them…life seems so busy and overwhelming! Tomorrow and every day after, I will make time to do the things I want to do with my children. Thank you for reminding me to cherish my children EVERY day! I am so sorry that your heart aches everyday for Steven! I hope you both find peace very soon!"

Her words deeply affected me and I needed to write her back (see below):

My Reply To Kristen:

Jerry Wolkoff Says: June 30, 2012 at 12:43 am

"Dear Kristen- I don’t know who you are but the feelings expressed in your comment have had a deep impact on me. I appreciate your understanding that Steven and our family have suffered a horrific loss that will never allow us to live in peace, there will never be closure. I cherish the 2 children I still have and am grateful every day for them being a central part of my life. Life is unpredictable and we all need to prioritize what is important for us to focus on. Our children are the legacy that we leave on this earth and there is only a limited time that we have to be a part of their lives. It is comforting to know that something good can come out of the tragic loss of my son Steven when a parent such as yourself realizes the importance of making themselves available to spend more time to be with their children. Tell your children every day how much you love them, cherish , feel, teach, and learn how irreplaceable your children are. Never think that losing a child happens only to ”other families”. It happened to us, and will sadly happen to many others like us who never ever imagined burying their own child. No parent should have to bury their child but it happens all the time, every day and night. Take nothing for granted and live each day making your kids a central part of your life. Your willingness in sharing personal feelings within you that were evoked by my above post recognizes the pain, suffering of our family.  We will never forget our beloved Steven Nathaniel Wolkoff, but he is gone forever. We will always have wonderful memories of the great times spent with him as a young child and young brilliant man. People such as yourself can also keep his memory alive by learning from our tragedy the importance of their own kids. As Steven’s father, I thank you for caring".                 The biggest shortcoming of most most decent people is their failing to usually appreciate the things in our life that are taken for granted. The next time you feel that your life, job,whatever sucks, or that your personal "issues" are more important than those of your children, wake yourself up, take your head out of your ass and learn to not sweat the small stuff and focus on what is important.    You never know what the next minute, hour, day will bring, life change happens in a nano second, there is no time left when forever dead is at your door, there are no do overs.