Politics, Weight Loss Make Strange Bedfellows

Democrat State Sen. Glenn Reese recognized my weight loss with letter

Before I started blogging about my 180-pound low-carb weight loss success story at the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog, I was an active part of the Republican Party working on behalf of candidates in grassroots efforts on the local, state and federal level as well as writing about politics on the Internet at CommonVoice.com and in other places.

I guess this revelation should come as no surprise to regular readers of my blog that I wrote a LOT of articles discussing the various political and social issues of the day. After all, it was my passion for politics that compelled me to go to Regent University in Virginia Beach, Virginia for graduate school to get my Master of Arts degree in Public Policy. At one point, I thought that's what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

But after I lost my weight on the low-carb lifestyle in 2004, something rather odd happened. I noticed my previous zeal for politics began to wane for the first time as another topic began to interest me even more -- weight loss! I guess that's what happens to you when you lose a ton of pounds. It can change your priorities and lead your life in another direction. And so it has for me and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Anywho, I got a letter in the mail this week that crossed both my political past with my weight loss present in a very interesting way. The letter was from South Carolina State Sen. Glenn Reese, a Democrat elected to Senatorial District #11. He congratulated me on my weight loss story being featured recently in our local newspaper, The Spartanburg Herald-Journal.

Here's what Sen. Reese wrote in his letter:

Dear Mr. Moore:

It gives me pleasure to congratulate you on being featured in a recent article regarding your amazing weight loss. You are truly an inspiration. I'm sure you will motivate other (sic) to folow in your footsteps. Your accomplishments are to be commended and I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors.

If I can ever be of any assistance to you, please do not hesitate to let me know.

Sincerely,

Glenn G. Reese
South Carolina Senate

WOW, that was a nice and unexpected letter that came out of the blue!

But I must admit to you it was strange receiving the letter for several reasons:

1. Sen. Glenn Reese is NOT my state Senator.

It might be understandable to get a letter like this from your own state Senator, but Sen. Reese is not in my district. That distinction belongs to Republican Sen. John Hawkins. How about that? The ONLY Democratic state senator in Spartanburg County sends a letter to me about my weight loss while my own REPUBLICAN senator does not. That's quite telling, wouldn't you say? Even still, I am thankful for Sen. Reese's recognition and awareness of what one of his neighboring constituents is doing to raise awareness about diet, health, and nutrition. THANK YOU for that, Sen. Reese! Sen. Hawkins, are you taking notes? :D

2. I campaigned AGAINST Sen. Glenn Reese in 2004.

How's this for an ironic twist? In 2004, I worked on behalf of Sen. Reese's Republican opponent, Steve Parker, to defeat Reese as the incumbent state senator. While it was nothing personal against Sen. Reese, I believed strongly enough in the change that Mr. Parker would bring to the South Carolina State Senate that I wanted to see him get elected. But Parker lost that election and Sen. Reese was put back in for another term. Now I get this letter from Sen. Reese and I wonder if he even realizes I didn't support him in the last election. It's funny how politics and weight loss can make such strange bedfellows, eh?

3. Sen. Glenn Reese owns Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

While the first two reasons were interesting, this third one is probably the funniest part of getting this letter from Sen. Reese. His family has owned and operated the local Krispy Kreme doughnuts franchise in Spartanburg, South Carolina for decades. DOUGHNUTS! So here's a DOUGHNUT businessman thanking a low-carb weight loss success for sharing his story. Kinda twisted, don't you think? Don't tell Sen. Reese what I think about doughnuts or Krispy Kreme though. LOL!

Even as peculiar as it was to receive a letter from Sen. Glenn Reese this week, I cannot thank him and his staff enough for showing me all the respect for my weight loss success that they have. Politics aside, I am grateful for the recognition.

In fact, can you as the readers and supporters of my blog do something for me? Can you send Sen. Glenn Reese a THANK YOU e-mail for being kind enough to write this letter to me? In this world of backbiting politics and bickering partisanship, Sen. Reese has shown a refreshing glimpse of class and dignity with what he has done. His e-mail address is GR@scsenate.org. I would REALLY appreciate it!