L LEDGERWOODLAW GROUP

January 2016 No. 28

Ledgerwood Law Group ■■ 1385 Ridgewood Drive ■■ Suite 106 ■■ Chico, CA 95973 ■■ Toll Free: 888-761-7383 ■■ www.ThomasLedgerwood.com ■■ 1

Safe Harbor

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A monthly newsletter published by the Ledgerwood Law Group dedicated to the rights of injured workers,Social Security Disability claimants, food, travel, gardening, fishing, camping and life on the open road.

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Belker, the family dog was not doingso well. This sad, ten-year-old Irishwolfhound was dying of cancer. Athoughtful vet offered to euthanize himat home for his humans; Ron, Lisa andtheir six-year-old son, Shane.

The next day, Belker peacefullyslipped away while surrounded by lovingcompany. After they all had said theirgoodbyes and he was gone, the adultswere wondering aloud about the sadbrevity of animal lives compared to thoseof humans. To everyone’s astonishment,Shane piped up and advised the assembledadults that he knew the answer:

“People are born so that they canlearn how to live a good life—

like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?

Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don’t

have to stay as long.”*I could imagine what it would be likewalking on a lonely coastal trail in Ire-land. I could picture rolling hills, clearblue skies, brisk, salty ocean air and wind-swept green pastures undulating to the seato a bonny ocean horizon.

Well, we were not in Ireland, but itwas the closest thing we would experi-ence to the Emerald Isle today. This willbe epically so when this land warms up ina couple months. The Tomales Peninsulasits upon the San Andreas Fault, where it

Years ago, I was reading an edition ofNational Geographic in our lobby andcame across a killer article written byone of their contributors, Dan Buettner.His piece talked about the relationshipbetween caloric restriction andlongevity. He assembled an impressivegroup of leading medical researchers,anthropologists, dietitians, demogra-phers and epidemiologists. Theyscoured the planet in search of placeswhere the oldest living human beingswere. He went on to write many booksabout these people and why they livedso long.

100How to Live To BeSo Short?

A  Soulful  Sojourn  on  the  

DogsWhy Are the Lives of

Tomales Point Trail

Years Old

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Soulful Sojourn continued from page 1

How to L:ive to be 100 years Old continued from page 1

His researchers circled areas on theglobe with a blue marker when theyfound a “hot spot of longevity.” This ishow the “blue zone” label came about.They found that the humans who livedthe longest were located in: Ikaria,Greece, Okinawa, Japan, the OgliastraRegion, Sardinia, the Nicoya Peninsulaof Costa Rica, and right here in LomaLinda, California!

Intrigued, I went down to Barnes andNoble and purchased one of Buettner’sbooks entitled The Blue Zone Solution,Eating and Living Like the World’sHealthiest People. For those of us that arenow paying penance for our excess holi-day eating, it is a very timely read. If youwant to save twenty six bucks, here is theLLG “Readers Digest” summary of whythese people live so long:

1. Eat Wisely. Blue Zone centenariansrestricted their caloric intake. Period.This appears to be a key component totheir longevity. Their diets had a “plantslant”; in other words, they did not eata lot of meat. They imbibed in moderatealcohol consumption (about two glassesof wine per day).

first. They lived at home and were in-dependent pretty much to the end oftheir days. They were always sur-rounded and cared for by loved ones.

The handsome golfer you see at thetop of this article was our dad, Jim. Hewas an unrepentant rascal. My wife andI called my mom “Saint Rita” for puttingup with his antics for _____years. Afterhis first heart attack in___, she literallysaved his live by preparing all meals rightout of the American Heart Associationcookbook. Occasionally, they had modesthappy hours. We all regularly went forlong walks together. This lifestyle notonly made a huge difference for both ofthem, but every child, grandchild andgreat-grandchild they got to enjoy. It wasa crazy, wonderful, long ride for all of us.No, they did not make it to 100, but camemighty close. While our experience isonly anecdotal, we can tell you, in no un-certain terms, that we have seen our ownlittle Blue Zone play out right here inNorthern California.

May you enjoy a happy and healthy New Year!

Tom & Crew

2) Move Naturally. Centenarians engagein moderate exercise every day. I am nottalking about a gym membership here. Iam talking about a lot of leisurely walkingto where you need to be, and doing mod-erate physical chores (like enjoying anawesome day in your garden).

3. Have the Right Outlook. Blue Zonecentenarians have a purpose in life, “areason why they wake up in the morn-ing” that goes well beyond work. Theyalso have routines to head off stress,such as meditation, naps and happyhours!

4. Belonging. The majority of centenar-ians interviewed belonged to a faith-based community; the denominationdid not matter. They put their familiesfirst. They kept their aging parents andgrandparents at home or close to home

I, my brother Jim, Sisters Dorothy andMary Ann, have been very lucky sib-lings. We got to watch Buettner’s find-ings in real time. Our parents lived wellinto their 90s. They were a solid, de-pression-era couple who did a stellarjob raising us. Family always came

dramatically plunges into the PacificOcean. It is about 37 miles north of SanFrancisco.

The Tomales Point Trail will bringyou to the tip of the Tomales Peninsula.It is part of the Point Reyes NationalSeashore. The hike out to the end of thepeninsula is a timeless one. This is notonly because of the tectonic geologicalhistory of the area, but as a location forthe historic dairies that cover it in a patch-work of working farms dating back to themid-1850s.

Your attorney turned sixty on thisday. I did not want a big party; I simplywanted to spend time with my family ina really special place. The Tomales PointTrail was it for me. Outdoor guru, TomStienstra, gives the trail a 10 out 10 in hisbook California Hiking (Moon Out-door). It was about six miles round-trip. Continued on page 4

Stienstra gives this hike an exertional rat-ing of “one—suitable for hikers of allabilities including young children.” (Andsixty year-old gomers.)

This is a wonderful walk that willtreat you to prodigious, sweeping viewsof the Pacific Ocean, Tomales Bay,Bodega Bay and the tiny berg of DillonBeach. You will see numerous red-tailed

hawks and perhaps one wily coyote, as wedid. As an extra added bonus, I might note,the peninsula is home to a herd of trans-planted Roosevelt elk that number around500. At sunset, I spent a good half-hourgingerly stalking these beasts off the trailwith my old Nikon 3000. I came up-closeand personal to a huge, twelve point bullwith his harem, as well as the bachelor

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Ranch Dog Wisdom: Enjoy the simple pleasures of a long walk on a gravel road.Run and play daily, don’t worry about the mud.Be loyal, faithful, and quick to forgive.Always drink plenty of water (even the nasty stuff out of the pond and on specialoccasions the toilet).Sometimes it is best to sit close and listen.Follow your instincts.Keep digging until you find what you want.Accept all of life’s treats with gratitude.Love unconditionally.

Happy New Year!

Holly, Elsa and Rosie—Ranch DogsJanuary 1, 2016,

Butte Valley California

*http://weruletheinternet.com/2011/05/24/a-dogs-purpose-according-to-a-6-year-old/

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1385 Ridgewood Drive ■ Suite 106Chico, CA 95973

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troop on the other side of a knoll, and survived to tellthis tale.

We packed a shepherd’s lunch of three yummycheeses that we purchased at the Cowgirl Creameryearlier that morning, along with two freshly bakedloaves of sourdough bread from Brick Maiden Breads.Both stores are located in the hip Marin hamlet of

Point Reyes Station. About half-way down the peninsula, we found a wonderful spotbelow a huge rock outcropping that overlooked the Pacific to have a “second lunch”and watch the sun set into the Pacific. It was simply a perfect day.

Secret note to single guys & husbands who want to score points: Valentine’sDay is coming up, dudes. You will be up to bat soon! For a really romantic get-away, drive up the vineyard encrusted Silverado Trail from Napa on the less trav-eled east side of the valley. You can do some wine tasting (if you like) and find ahotel in Calistoga with hot mineral water baths. After a good soak, bring yoursweetie to Brannan’s for dinner. The next day, have a killer breakfast at the CaféSarafornia and beat it on to Point Reyes Station. There, you can get some greatcheese and bread at the Cowgirl Creamery. Make sure you have supplementedyour picnic lunch with a bottle of red wine, and go on this hike!!

How to get there: Plot a course to Point Reyes Station. Stock up on suppliesat the Cowgirl Creamery and the well-stocked Palace Market. Highway One blowsthrough town. You just need to follow it south until it intersects with Sir FrancisDrake Boulevard. Turn right on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, and this will takeyou to the town of Inverness. About five miles past Inverness, you will come to a

fork in the road. Turn right and followPierce Point Road going north for ninemiles to the Pierce Point Ranch parkinglot. It is a crazy, winding drive with lotsof potholes. Take it all the way to wayto the historic Pierce Ranch Dairy(which is now a really cool viewablehistoric structure). On the north end ofthe ranch, you will find the TomalesPoint Trail. It can be mysteriously foggyand cold on this trail, so pack somewarm duds. Here is a great Google mapthat will help you on your journey:https://www.google.com/maps/@38.066698,-122.8079406,15zHappy Trials,Tom

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