For this interview, I chose to pose questions to a long-time family friend, whom I will refer to as Sam. Sam, who is now 46 years old, was born in 1969. The Vietnam War was at its height in the late 1960s, and early 1970s. Sam informed me that his father was nearly drafted to serve in Vietnam. However, as his father had high blood pressure, he failed his physical exam, and was not drafted into the armed forces. However, Sam told me that his mother worked in an ordnance plant that manufactured various types of ammunition, such as mortars, as well as land mines. He even told me that his mother had witnessed an explosion during her work shift – an explosion that killed two people who also worked at the ordnance plant. I can only conclude that the Vietnam War directly affected those who were part of the domestic war effort.
Sam is an interesting person who has a lot of stories to tell. For example, he is an avid weightlifter, and fitness trainer. He is also a licensed physical therapist. After asking him to describe his favorite part of his job, he replied that he enjoyed “getting people to feel good again”. His specialty is providing dry needling to people with back injuries. According to Ries (2015), the technique uses a type of needle that punctures the skin at a “trigger point”, and causes the muscle at the point to relax. In addition, no one quite knows how this type of therapy works, but it has met with excellent results (Ries). However, many physical therapists are reluctant to state that dry needling is a cure-all (Ries). There are simply not enough scientific studies to back up all of those claims (Ries). At any rate, Sam tried to explain the technique to me, and said that it is very similar to acupuncture. When he compared this part of his job description to acupuncture, I understood very well, and thought it was amazing that the modern medical system uses such an ancient healing technique.
Sam explained to me that his goal as a professional fitness trainer is very similar to his goal as a physical therapist. He said, “I just want to help people feel better, and I have found out through personal experience that regular exercise, especially aerobic exercise, is the best way for anyone to improve the way they feel about themselves, plus it helps their heart, and all of a person’s internal organs, really.”
In fact, Sam works out regularly himself, and his body mass index (BMI) is less than 10%. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2016), BMI is a way to determine a person’s fatness, or the degree to which a person is overweight. Sam added that a lot of problems are caused by being overweight, and that a lot of his clients are young, and overweight. Not only does being overweight, Sam added, contribute to heart and blood pressure problems, but he also said that some studies link obesity to cancer. Sam also said that many of the younger, overweight people he sees have chronic joint problems.
A big part of the problem, he said, is that a lot of people lead “sedentary” lifestyles. That is, they usually have jobs that require that they sit at a computer monitor all day long. As a result, they do not exercise enough. Sam also explained that many people do not eat right. For example, he recommended that people eat much more fresh fruits and vegetables and lean meats, as opposed to processed foods. He also said that he and his family eat only organic produce, meats, and dairy. Thus, all of his food intake is farm-fresh, grown and/or raised without herbicides or pesticides, according to strict standards, He also explained that, although organic food costs more, it is well worth the cost, in terms of overall health benefits. I thought about the point that he made, and I am now determined to add more organic produce to my diet.
Sam is a very interesting person, but I believe that what makes him “interesting” is that he has such a diversity of interests, He is also a big music fan, and even plays the guitar, an instrument he has been playing since he was 13 years old. He told me that he used to listen to a lot of “old punk bands”, especially from the 1980s. Many of the bands he named were bands that I had never heard of, such as The Ramones, The Misfits, Black Flag, True Sounds of Liberty, and a few others.
However, I was familiar with The Clash, and a couple of their songs. I went on YouTube to listen to some of the music that he grew up with, and discovered that I liked much “punk rock” as well, especially The Ramones. Sam told me that he used to play in a band when he was in his 20s and early 30s, but since his marriage, and the birth of his two sons, he does not have the time to play guitar, or look for bandmates.
Finally, I discovered that there was much more to my old family friend, Sam, than I could have ever imagined. I always found him to be very well-rounded and knowledgeable about a lot of topics, but after this interview, I discovered that he was more like a teacher, or even a guru. Not only was our interview fun, but I learned a lot. Mostly, I learned that there are a lot more dimensions to people you “know” than you could ever comprehend. Thus, Sam was not just a two-dimensional person with a job, and two kids. He has interesting stories to tell about his past, but he also is an educator about the things he currently does, such as fitness training and specialized physical therapy using dry needling techniques. Fortunately, this man consented to be my interviewee. Moreover, I am extremely grateful to count him as one of my very close friends. This interview was much more of a learning experience than I had previously anticipated.
Works Cited
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “About Adult BMI.” 2016. Web. 18 Apr, 2016.
Ries, Eric. “Dry Needling: Getting to the Point.” PT in Motion. May, 2015. Web. 18 Apr, 2016.
