April 3, 2025 • 38 mins
Today, Doug Pike interviews Dr. John Higgins about energy drinks. Pike also speaks with the owner of Berryhill Wendy Brooks about her restaurant.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Remember when it was impossible to misplace the TV remote
because you were the TV remote. Remember when music sounded
like this? Remember when social media was truly social?
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Hey John, how's it going today?
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Well?
Speaker 2 (00:20):
This show is all about you, only the good die.
This is fifty plus with Doug Pike.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Helpful information on your finances, good health, and what to
do for fun. Fifty plus brought to you by the
UT Health Houston Institute on Aging, Informed Decisions for a healthier,
happier life.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
And now fifty plus with Doug Pike.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
All right, off we go to segment one of fifty plus.
Thank you all for listening. I brought my headphones in here.
Now I don't know what I've done with them. I'm
gonna have to use these backup headphones that have about
a forty foot cord on them. I could go all
the way back to my desk and keep these on.
Will you realize that, stand by, I've gotta plug this in.
Speaker 5 (01:08):
But then you would only be able to hear me.
You wouldn't be able to talk.
Speaker 4 (01:12):
Yeah, but you'd have to talk. You've said you could
do this. No, you said you could just take over
at anytime. Why don't you do six or eight minutes,
real quick, Welcome to fifty plus Thursday edition. Where Nobody
puts Baby in the Corner. You remember that line?
Speaker 2 (01:29):
You don't.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
You didn't see that movie, did you?
Speaker 5 (01:32):
Nobody Baby in the corner? I don't think so.
Speaker 4 (01:36):
That's from Flash Dance back in nineteen and eighty seven,
delivered by the character Johnny Castle, who was portrayed by
Patrick Swayze. Great line, great movie from back then. Anyway,
there you go. Maybe I'll start opening the show with
a line most of you will remember from the movies
we saw as kids and young adults. Bring a little
(01:58):
flash back in the honor of Flash Dance. And if
you don't remember what movie these lines are from, as
it's bound to be the case for a few of
us at our age, I love, I'll go ahead and
fill in the blanks because I'm looking them up. I'm
gonna look them up. I'm gonna get the name of
the movie. I'm gonna get the name of the actor
who delivered it, and a little background on it. And
(02:20):
Flash Dance shouldn't need a lot of background.
Speaker 6 (02:23):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (02:23):
Will and I had a discussion yesterday, by the way,
about the relevance of weather and market reports in this
segment of the show, and unless a whole lot of
you try to talk us out of it, I think
we're gonna We're gonna let Fox News market report that
precedes us cover Wall Street and maybe just to look
out the windows serve as weather news moving forward, anybody
(02:44):
who qualifies chronologically for this audience and has has lived
here more than a couple of years probably has a
pretty good idea what to expect on the day. And
if you need details you've always got you can listen for,
or a more detailed report you can look for one
on your phone. But yeah, I don't think I really
(03:05):
need to dwell too much until we get into the
storm season, which we've still got a couple of months
before we have to worry about that. But once we
get there, I will be paying close attention to tropical
weather every day. I can't help myself but look at
the National Weather Service and a couple of other sites
that I monitor to find out what's going on, where
(03:26):
these things are.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Headed, what.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
Tragedy they're going to drop on us, what their magnitude
might be, and hopefully we hopefully don't get things that
have magnitudes that would be earthquakes, and there was that
one over in what was it in Thailand?
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Will is that correct?
Speaker 4 (03:47):
I think it was recently, Yeah, like this week the
big hotel over there that was shaking so violently that
it's roof topling, a big tall hotel rooftop pool was
dumping water down on the street like twenty thirty floors below.
And one of the most disturbing scenes I saw didn't
(04:08):
have anything to do with anybody getting seriously hurt, but
it just it made me cringe a little bit. So
I'm watching this video of water just cascating down onto
the street level where there are little motorbikes and a
couple of cars I think, and a lot of people
walking around, and this just cascade of water just comes
(04:33):
pounding down, knocking people down. And it wasn't like a
tidal way, but it was just like a sudden dump
of shower water and from twenty thirty four yars up
it it knocked a few people down.
Speaker 7 (04:47):
Yes, it was in Mianmar and it was a seven
point seven magnitude earthquake, and this current death toll is
three forty five.
Speaker 4 (04:57):
Tragedy, tragedy all around there. That's not what I saw
though it's horrible that three thousand plus people had died
in this thing. What I saw, though, was this water
coming out of a swimming pool way way up in
the air, and it splashes down, and this woman gets
knocked down in the street, okay, and her belongings are
kind of scattered next to her, And there are people
(05:19):
running across the street, running from kind of where the
water really is flashing out of there the worst and
to an area across the street where it's not so bad.
And I watched one young woman it appeared to be,
as she runs toward the older woman who has fallen
in the street and has all her belongings scattered in
(05:39):
front of her. The one running across the street reaches down,
picks up what I believe to be either her wallet
or her phone, and keeps running, just taking full advantage
of someone who has been knocked down and could use
a break, takes advantage of that situation to steal from her.
(06:01):
That's very telling about people in some parts of the world,
and right here in some instances never look a gift
horse in the mouth, I guess is what the way
they wake up in the morning, What do you think
about that will what is your reaction to that story?
Speaker 5 (06:18):
Oh, I mean, it's awful.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
It is awful, isn't it. It really is. There's just
no reason for that, just no reason for that. So
moving into I can't help it territory, because it's all
anybody's talking about this morning on the news. President Trump's
impending tariffs that for the first time in a long time,
will at least narrow the gaps between tariffs imposed by
(06:42):
other countries and tariffs we impose on them. It's still
not close to even stephen across the board, and it
may take a little time for this tree to bear fruit.
But when foreign companies are investing trillions of dollars in
manufacturing here, that's not a bad thing. They're doing that
to avoid these tariffs. And when the jobless rate is falling,
which it is, We're employment is up, not down, that
(07:06):
also is not a bad thing. I said it a
couple of days ago, and I'll say it again before
we go to the first break. You know, it hurts
when you wake up from a major surgery, most of
us do, anyway, and then it still hurts for a
few days or even a couple of weeks afterward, as
your body heels from being sliced and diced and having
bad stuff to remove from it. Well, that's where we
(07:27):
are right now. It's gonna hurt a little bit and
it's gonna take a little time to get well, but
these are the steps necessary to get us well. And
that's I've looked at it pretty closely, and i feel
very confident in saying that it's gonna take a little while,
but we're on a better track than we were, and
I've got more news about that when we get back
(07:49):
from this break. Let's go ahead and take it on
the way out. Ut Health Institute on Aging. I can't
say enough good things about this group. They are, and
by day I mean more than a thousand people, collaborative
of providers from every medical discipline, mostly in the med center,
as I've said before, but they also a lot of
them work in outlying areas in Paarland and Kingwood and
(08:09):
the Woodlands and Katie and all points in between. Alvin
even probably there's a couple of work down there every
now and then. They do what they do because they're
passionate about taking care of seniors so much so that
they have gone back and gotten additional training as to
how they can apply their knowledge to us, to seniors.
(08:31):
These are good people who who were willing to do
more to take care of us. Go to the website.
Look at all the resources there. Nothing there's going to
cost you a dime. It's all good, solid information about
how to be a better, happier, healthier, more rounded well
fit rounded, not physically rounded. Go to that website. See
(08:55):
what's going on. Find yourself a provider if you've got
something bothering you that needs to be fixed. Edu slash
agingut dot edu slash aging.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
We'll take a little break here.
Speaker 4 (09:06):
When we get back, I will welcome back a man
who has been away from the program for far too long,
and I was glad to see his name on the
list this week. You'll find out who he is when
we get back. More fifty plus coming up.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
What's life without a nap? I suggest you go to bed,
sleep it off, just wait until the show's over. Sleepy.
Back to Doug Pike as fifty plus continues. All right,
welcome back fifty plus.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
I've got my own headphones on now finally, and it
took me about two minutes to wrap the chord around
the other ones I had on for a minute. Thank
you as always for listening, And we got a call
a minute ago. I made a mistake in my opening
about that line, that line from Dirty Dancing. I mistaken
Lee somehow typed Flash Dance and I have no idea why,
(09:58):
but thank you for the call.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
And yeah, I.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
Could admit it when I make a mistake, that's for sure.
If you've listened to this show for a long time,
you'll recognize the name of my next guest, a renowned
cardiologist at mcgovernment Medical School and sports cardiologists with Houston
Rockets and with Rice Athletics, and the man with whom
I'm going to discuss energy drinks now and what they'll
do to our bodies. And with that, I am absolutely
(10:23):
thrilled to announce the return of the one, the only,
doctor John Higgins to fifty plus.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
Well, thank you so much, Doug I for that lovely
rock star kind of.
Speaker 4 (10:34):
Introduction coming to the stage right now.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
So let's get yeah, let's get to it.
Speaker 4 (10:41):
Though, what exactly do energy drinks do in and to
our bodies?
Speaker 3 (10:47):
So, Doug, there, they have a lot of caffeine in them,
a lot of sugar, and a lot of other herbal
and energy type supplements in them. So the things that
we are finding with energy drinks are because of the stimulants.
They'll often increase someone's heart rate and blood pressure. They
(11:12):
will mess your sleep up, especially if you have them,
you know, not too long before you try to go
to sleep. They can the high caffeine level and other
substances can actually cause a dehydration in some folks. The
but because they have so much sugar in them, you
can get these hives and spikes in blood sugar, and
(11:34):
then when they come down, you know, the person will
be like really amped up, and then when they come
down they can certainly have a low after that. We
know that they can interact with medications, you know, other stimulants.
Medicines that some people might be taking for their heart
certainly get some people very anxious and the jitters, and
(11:57):
also sometimes they can have negative effects on the brain,
you know, in terms of the way people can think.
In fact, the US Navy they actually have a ban
on their pilots having energy drinks for twenty four hours
before they fly because of the concern for that. So
there's a bunch of different things that can happen.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Doug.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
It partly depends on you know how much someone's drinking,
how sensitive they are. You know, some people are more
sensitive to energy drinks than others. And you know, of
course if they have any sort of medical underlying medical
conditions that you know, the energy drinks may make kind
of worse.
Speaker 4 (12:39):
Mercy is there before we go any deeper. Is our
energy drink and sports drink synonymous or are they different classes?
Speaker 3 (12:48):
I'm glad you asked that, Doug. And they are very different. Yeah,
but when you go you wouldn't know that when you
go to the grocery store because they will often have
sports drink, energy drink, energy drink, sports drink, and yeah,
they're often mixed up on the shelves and people go
along and they they think, you know, hey, they're okay.
(13:09):
And then you also have confusion with some of the
energy drinks, like Prime for example, they have a sports
drink and an energy Wow and they look actually very similar.
You know, they're labeling, so it can be quite you
know different. So you know, but what I'm trying to say, Doug,
(13:31):
is that certainly, you know, when most of my patients
that I have or that I recommend to, I say,
look at you're going to be exercising for a shorter period,
just go with water. If you're going to be exercising
sort of more endurance style, or you're sweating a lot,
you know, and you're going out, you know, for an
hour or more. Sports drinks are reasonable to do. They
(13:51):
have a little bit of extra things in them than water.
They have a little bit of glucose in them, or
glucose type to give you a bit of energy. They
have some salts like potassium, sodium you know that you
may be losing when you're sweating, and a bit of chloride.
So they can actually be a good thing and they
are healthy for individuals, especially if they're doing endurance. But
(14:14):
energy drinks are a completely different beast DOUG, and we
currently do not recommend people to use them, especially when
they're doing sports.
Speaker 4 (14:25):
Doctor John Higgins on fifty plus with us again, Finally,
what do you say to the person doc who says, okay,
I'll cut back from one to day to maybe a
couple of weeks.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Does that eliminate the risk? Does it help at all?
Speaker 4 (14:37):
Or do it just need to drop them?
Speaker 3 (14:39):
Well, you know, obviously less is better than more DOUG
in this case, but you know, there have been studies
that have shown someone drinking an energy drink, for example,
on a Monday of the week, just one energy drink,
their blood pressure is going to be slightly elevated for
the rest of that week. So even on that weekend,
(15:02):
they're going to have a slightly higher blood pressure because
of the effect of that energy drink. So you know,
I would say certainly to mitigate the effects, try to
cut back if your drink, especially if you're drinking them
on a regular basis. But you know, if you want
the lowest risk, obviously we would recommend just to avoid
all together.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
Is there any risk at all of addiction to these
Maybe that's too strong a word, dependence maybe upon them.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
There have been some studies dug that have suggested that
some individuals can get a dependence or addiction to the
energy drinks. In fact, there have been some studies showing
that the people that are consuming energy drinks are more
likely to have use of other illicit drugs as well,
(15:54):
you know, down the line. So it could be sort
of like a game. So especially with kids. And and
then the other problem we see doug in in the
younger folks are they will often combine an energy drink
with alcohol that so you're getting yeah, you're getting the
stimulant effects from the energy drink, but the you know,
(16:16):
the depressant effect from the alcohol, and they end up
with what we what we call the toxic drunk and andy.
They sort of they're they're drunk, but they feel like
they're more in command than they really are. And it
can lead to especially in the younger college kids, that
can lead to some pretty risky behavior. You know, there's
(16:36):
been a case of you know, kids jumping off roofs
into into swimming pools and kind of missing and uh,
you know, taking high risks, you know, driving a car
when they're obviously over the limit, but they feel like
they're awake and alert and you know that they know
problems driving a car. So and then you know, in
the especially in in some of your listeners, Doug that
(16:59):
are in the elderly population, you know, we we we
tell them that you know, they certainly, you know, these
risks could be amplified. I mean, a lot of the
elderly folks are do have other pre existing health conditions
and and or cardiovascular taking cardiovascular medicines and other medicines,
and we we just don't know enough about these energy
(17:22):
drinks to to say that they're safe, especially for the
elderly and also those who were you know, the young
individuals and the pregnant women and as well as those
that are caffeine sensitive. We you know, we think that
they're not not recommended and and probably you know, just
best to avoid them. And you know, people are asking
(17:43):
about alternatives doug as I said, water, the the the
the the sports drinks, and also you know coffee. Actually
it has some caffeine and it can give you a
bit of a boost, but it has a lot of
really good antioxidants and then doesn't have these other kind
of booting and that's actually quite okay. So you know,
(18:03):
if you find when you wake up in the morning,
you know, a cup of Joe helps you with your
work out, we are totally okay with that. Same with
tea as well. It has some caffeine type stimulant substances
in it. So go with those the things that we
know are okay, And for now, I think avoid the energy.
Speaker 4 (18:20):
Drinks very quickly, because we're at out of time right now.
I had one more question quickly. If somebody's saying they
need energy drinks to get through the day. Isn't that
about the same as saying they don't eat right, exercise
and get enough sleep.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
That is exactly right now, and they need to work
on those other things. And you know, exercise will boost
your energy, just as a cup of coffee will. So
you've got a lot of our alternatives. Get proper sleep,
eat right, and exercise, and you should have plenty of energy.
And you know, on the weekend, take it easy.
Speaker 4 (18:52):
Doctor John Higgins. I'm not going to be a weekend
warrior anymore. I may have to call and tell you
a story. Is this some other time. Thank you so
very much for coming back. You know you're welcome anytime.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
Okay, thank you great, Oh my pleasure.
Speaker 4 (19:04):
Yes, sir, bye, bye bye.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
All right, we got to take you a little break here.
Speaker 4 (19:08):
When we get back, we are going to talk to
a woman named Wendy Brooks. If you love Mexican food
and you love it in sugar Land, you might know
who Wendy Brooks is, and you might not, but you're
gonna find out when we get back. More fifty plus
coming up after this, Aged to Perfection. This is fifty
plus with Doug Pike.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
All right, welcome back to fifty plus. Thanks for listening.
Certainly do appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
On this Thursday afternoon, it's supposed to be very windy
for the next couple of days, Is that correct?
Speaker 3 (19:44):
Will?
Speaker 5 (19:44):
It was a very windy before I left the house.
Speaker 4 (19:47):
Here we are in the in the soundproof, sky proof
no view proof bunker that we're in.
Speaker 3 (19:54):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (19:54):
Thanks once more for sharing your lunch hour, power hour,
or happy hour, as long as you're not driving whatever
it is. In this segment, we're gonna meet well you are,
I've already met or a woman who happens to own
one of my favorite restaurants in sugar Land, a little
place called Berry Hill, and that woman is Wendy Brooks.
Speaker 2 (20:10):
Welcome aboard, Wendy. Hello, Hello. Sure.
Speaker 4 (20:16):
So let's start with a little backstory on the brand.
When did Berry Hill start and how did it kind
of fast forward us to now because I start, I
want to start talking about food.
Speaker 6 (20:26):
The original location opened up a very small location in
nineteen ninety.
Speaker 4 (20:31):
Three, okay wow, And.
Speaker 6 (20:35):
Then my husband and two other guys started it and
then they ended up selling it to the Jeff Inning
Group in nineteen ninety five. Howper my husband was the
shop created most of the Berry Hills Tried and True restaurant.
(21:00):
We opened up a franchise, the very first franchise in
two thousand and two in Sugarland.
Speaker 4 (21:08):
That's the one that's still there, isn't.
Speaker 6 (21:10):
It the only one?
Speaker 4 (21:13):
I think I'm I'm certainly doing my share to support it.
I brought you know that. I come in there.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
Yes, there often so for.
Speaker 4 (21:22):
For somewhat selfish reasons. I'm glad you kept that sugar
Land store open. It's only five minutes from my house
and I've already been there twice this week to pick
up Baja chicken tacos for my wife. But it's your
fish tacos that keep a lot of folks coming back,
isn't it.
Speaker 6 (21:37):
It is our fish tacos that we sell more of
than anything on the menu. As well as we're known
for our Tomali's. We've been on the Food Network for
our spinach, Monterey jack cheese, and whole kernel sweet corn tomaly.
Speaker 4 (21:52):
I describe your menu as fairly traditional in the names
of the dishes, kind of like you were just saying there,
But every one of them's got a little subtle twist that's
been added over the years and and lot by the
guys who have been in those that kitchen of years
for a very long time, haven't they.
Speaker 5 (22:09):
Oh?
Speaker 6 (22:09):
Absolutely, our three our kitchen manager has been with us
since two thousand and two when we opened, as well
as our when a our kitchen had cooked or heey.
He's been there for twenty three years, and the miguel
has been there twenty one years.
Speaker 4 (22:25):
Wendy Brookes from Barry Hill on fifty plus. Here, before
I get anybody making weekend plans, I will share that
you guys are closed on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
That's still right, Yes we are.
Speaker 4 (22:35):
Darn it. Well, you've got to take a break too,
don't you.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
I know, I know is that the day is that
the day you go out to the ranch and tend
all your animals.
Speaker 6 (22:45):
It sure is.
Speaker 4 (22:46):
I figured as much how many animals you got out there?
Speaker 6 (22:50):
Fifty six?
Speaker 4 (22:51):
Oh my word, all right, that's fair.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
You know.
Speaker 4 (22:54):
I saw an animal as a quick sidebar, Wendy. I
saw an animal at the golf event I played in
yesterday or Wednesday or Tuesday that I had never seen
in Southeast Texas before. And it might be one you
want to think about adding. You might want to add
one of these to your menagerie. Somebody up in the
Woodlands has a pet kangaroo.
Speaker 6 (23:14):
Oh my, that's pretty like like they like one thing.
I will not get our goats because they jump everywhere.
Speaker 4 (23:22):
Yes they do, Yes, they do. So back to the restaurant,
fifty nine Sugar Creek Boulevard. Your sons are helping you
keep that brand going, too, aren't they. They are.
Speaker 6 (23:32):
My husband, Jeff Brooks passed away in twenty twenty three,
and me and my sons took it over and we're
just trying to keep it open and trucking along and
running a family owned local business.
Speaker 4 (23:48):
Truly is go ahead.
Speaker 6 (23:51):
However, we do have our taco truck that is like
a mobile kitchen, and we do events all over the
Houston area, including you know Conroyah.
Speaker 4 (24:03):
You did one here for us last week. Yeah, I
gotta tell you. One day, I personally deliberately overserved myself
in fish tacos and beef bahetas and juaca mole and
tres letch. Is about trace times I could barely stay
(24:23):
awake at my desk. That was hard to fresh. Yes,
you do, and it's every time I've been in there.
I'm gonna I'm gonna branch out, you know. Every time
I come in there, I almost get the same thing
every single time. But I'm gonna branch out and start
sampling from the menu just to get a better taste
of what's there, because you have a lot of stuff
(24:44):
on that menu that I haven't tried yet. And I'm
normally not that bigger risk taker. But it's not much
of a risk really with anything from berry Hill, right.
Speaker 6 (24:53):
I recommend our toil berry Hill. That's sort of welcome
all our fine type of menu. I delmar delicious. It's
one of our most popular deliveries to the medical industry.
Speaker 4 (25:06):
And so everybody who understands where they're going. You don't
have to put on a suit, you don't have to
put on high heels to go in the place. You
just kind of come as you are and relax a
little bit, and everybody in there, they'll pretty much treat
you like family, right absolutely.
Speaker 6 (25:22):
And we also have we have two private rooms, and
one of our private rooms has three pool tables.
Speaker 4 (25:29):
Oh my word, I don't think I've been in that
private room.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
How far back is that?
Speaker 6 (25:35):
Oh it's right to the right when you're facing the
restaurant of right to the right.
Speaker 4 (25:41):
Okay, I'll have to go check that out next time
I'm in there. And by the way, Wendy, there should
be a statue erected in honor of that chocolate trace
letches and the vanilla too. Somebody asked me which was
my favorite the other day and I just said.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
Yes, yes.
Speaker 3 (25:58):
Oh.
Speaker 6 (25:58):
Entering over November December, we make a pumpkin one.
Speaker 4 (26:02):
Oh my word. Oh yeah, I'm gonna have to buy
a new wardrobe if we keep this up. I'm not kidding.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
Every time we.
Speaker 6 (26:12):
Back in the day we won best trace letchas from
the Eastern Chronicle.
Speaker 4 (26:17):
Oh my word, Why am I not surprised by that?
I know what it tastes like. Yes, it is delicious.
Thank you Wendy so much for your time. And tell
the boys I said hello, will.
Speaker 6 (26:28):
You, I will thank you so much for having you.
Speaker 3 (26:31):
Bet.
Speaker 4 (26:32):
I know it's going to be a busy day out there.
Fifty nine at Sugar Creek Boulevard inbound side in sugar Land,
right there, Berry Hill. It's right there on the freeway.
You can't miss it. Thanks Wendy, I'll see you.
Speaker 5 (26:43):
Soon, all right, Thank you you bet.
Speaker 4 (26:46):
Audios. All right, we got to take a little break here,
and when we get back Will, and I will get
about the business of sweeping some boy.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
It never fails.
Speaker 6 (26:57):
Will.
Speaker 4 (26:57):
When I have two interviews to do in a day,
I'll also end up making doing the most prep work
for other than the interviews. So they're gonna be there's
gonna be enough to get through today and tomorrow, and
who knows, half a Tuesday next week. If nothing happens,
we'll take a little break here. We'll be right back
to wrap it up on this Thursday afternoon. Fifty plus
on AM nine fifty kprc.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
Old guys rule, and of course women never get old
if you want to avoid sleeping on the couch.
Speaker 2 (27:27):
Okay, well, I think that sounds like a good plan.
Fifty plus continues. Here's more with Doug.
Speaker 3 (27:42):
All.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
Welcome back, thanks for listening to fifty plus.
Speaker 4 (27:45):
Honga make a note okay, okay, there, I got my
note made. I'll deal with that later. Moving forward from
Doge via Fox News, comes word that the Veteran's Administration,
the VA in charge of taking care of our veterans,
(28:06):
was shelling out three hundred and eighty thousand dollars per
month per month, not per year, per month, three hundred
eighty thousand dollars per minor website changes. That contract has
been canceled, and that same work, the exact same job
(28:29):
that we were paying as taxpayers three hundred and eighty
thousand dollars a month for, is now being performed by
one internal VA software engineer in ten hours per week,
(28:49):
one person, ten hours a week doing a job that
was costing taxpayers three hundred and eighty one thousand dollars
a month. That's horrible, that's shameful, and it just goes
(29:10):
to show you how deep and how far the abuse
of our tax dollars has gone, and how how we've
been fooled for so many years now into believing that
if we just spend more money, everything will get better.
Well that's all we did for the past four years,
and nothing got better. Nothing. It's pretty despicable, really, That
(29:36):
and other major changes at the VA are expected, according
to the same story, to save that little piece of government,
just the VA, about ninety eight million dollars a year,
which now if they if they hang on to that money,
they can maybe use it for I don't know, veterans healthcare,
(29:57):
veterans benefits, veterans services, but not for ten hours worth
of tech work. It's shameful. We should be embarrassed that
we let it get that deep. But the wrong people
were in office for so long, and they filled every
(30:19):
person they could convince with lies.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
That's something else that's.
Speaker 4 (30:23):
Being hauled out of the shadows now. The story of
Katherine Mayer Still, the woman who runs National Public Radio,
funded by a fat chunk of federal dollars and donations
from people who lean decidedly left, has a newsroom full
of people who lean the same way. And the truth
(30:45):
about NPR is that it leaps on any chance at
all to gut punch conservatives, but slow plays anything that
might cast a dark shadow to the left. Months, maybe
years later, they'll admit mistake, admit mistake, like with Hunter's laptop.
Speaker 2 (31:02):
They did that.
Speaker 4 (31:02):
Finally they came out and said, well, yeah, yeah, we
should have done better on that, but not until irreparable
damage is done. And that's that's what's cost this country
so many trillions of dollars recently. It's just a waste
of money. Unless its entire leadership is replaced all at NPR.
They need to go and take that bias with them.
(31:26):
We need to start. There's no way in the world
I'm gonna recommend anything close to DEI because I don't
think it works. I think it we should be all
jobs should be based on merit. I think that it
wouldn't hurt at all for hiring to be done anonymously.
I don't want to see the person. I don't need
(31:47):
to see them. I don't need to hear any accents
in their voices. I don't need to. I just want
to see the resume. I want to see how they
feel about the me I'm hiring for, and other than that,
that's that's what I need to know. I need to answer.
I need them to answer questions, maybe just with written words.
Speaker 2 (32:11):
Or with an AI voice.
Speaker 4 (32:13):
Maybe they could just convert all the voices to an
AI voice, the exact same one. In that way, the
person who's doing the hiring wouldn't know anything about that
person other than the words that were coming out of
their mouths on why they want that job and what
they do if they get it. I want to I
want to pick the person who sounds to me. I
(32:34):
don't have to see them, I don't have to know
a whole lot about them. I just want the person
who's going to be the best person for that job,
and that's how we can move this country forward. And
everybody's got a shot. Anybody who tells you otherwise is mistaken.
Everybody's got a shot.
Speaker 2 (32:50):
You work hard enough, you.
Speaker 4 (32:51):
Do what you can do, and if things aren't going
your way, then maybe you have to reevaluate, maybe you
have to get some initial training to do nothing else.
But you can make a living in this country, and
you can make a living in this country. In an
interview the day after, the day after, Mayhor testified to
(33:13):
Congress that MPR did a poor job on that laptop story,
she very quickly deflected and reminded her interviewer that she's
not a part of the editorial team. Oh no, no, no,
that's not me. I knew it was going on, but
you know that wasn't me, That wasn't well. Yeah, distance
in this case is not an excuse. You run the show.
(33:34):
And if you have access to a hose and a
cell phone and you watch a neighbor's house burn, you
could have done something. And that's kind of what that
story turned into. She stood there and watched. She had
the tools to stop it, and she stood there and watched.
It seems like to me that's what I'm seeing all
that while Democrats demand that we bring gang members back
(33:55):
into our country. Oh my gosh. By the way, this
past month brought record low border crossings along our southern
border in two months, two months. Something that President Biden
said could not be done is done. And it wasn't
done by a miracle either, just just by enforcing the
laws that were already in place.
Speaker 2 (34:16):
And he did it.
Speaker 4 (34:17):
President Trump did at an estimated two tenths of one
percent of what Biden spent in the past four years,
mostly really on making it either tough or impossible to
actually enforce immigration laws. So and then up in Austin,
where I'm sure there are lots of people who don't
(34:39):
want anybody being arrested for anything. Breitbart's story, law enforcement
up there in Austin arrested more than forty members and
associates of Trende Arugua, that violent Venezuelan game in late
gang not game, It's no game to them. In late March,
law enforcement took fourteen suspected TDA members off the streets
(35:00):
of Washington, d C. If you've forgotten, I really do.
By the way, I do foresee criminal charges filed against
people who are helping these gang members of aide the
law and remain in our country too. It's happened more
than once, and there are some people who have been
identified according to the news reports we're seeing now as
(35:25):
being part of that effort to give these people advance
notice that the badges are coming and they better high
tail it out of there. Shame on them, Shame on them.
Just it wasn't I think it was yesterday. I had
a story and I didn't bring it in here with me.
Fifty one year old grandmother fifty Did we talk about
this or no? Yesterday? I don't think we did. Fifty
(35:47):
one year old grandmother killed by a guy who was
who was a gang member, I believe. And they had
him in twenty twenty one and let him go. They
had him in twenty twenty one, they let him go,
and just recently he killed this grand mother of five,
grandmother of one, I think, fifty one years old. And
(36:08):
she's gone now because this guy was still in the
country and he didn't belong here, never belonged here, never
came here legally at all. Oh, mercy will Now we
got a couple of minutes. Let's lighten the load here
that's pretty heavy stuff. I'll get off of that, by
the way, Wendy texted me. Wendy Brooks texted me, said,
(36:30):
remind everybody that on Friday. I guess it's for the
Catholics and anybody else who loves fish on Friday.
Speaker 2 (36:37):
Those fish tacos.
Speaker 4 (36:38):
Are just four bucks, just four bucks, and they are
worth every penny. They're worth more, but don't offer more
unless you do it as a gratuity to your server.
That would be nice, Whndy. You'll happily take your four
dollars for your fish tacos on Friday, and then if
you got something left in your pocket, then give it
to the people who helped you out. All right?
Speaker 2 (36:58):
Will you know what today is?
Speaker 4 (37:00):
Speaking of Mexican food, that's a hint. It's Wendy mentioned them.
Were you paying attention?
Speaker 5 (37:08):
No National Trust let chase?
Speaker 4 (37:12):
Oh? If only? If only? No, it's National Burrito Day, though,
so maybe I should call her back and let her
know that today and only today, everything should be well.
I was going to say it all should be free,
but that would be pretty expensive for her. It'd be
a big deal for us. But no, no free burritos
(37:33):
for anybody, but you can get them out there at
Bury Hill and they're darn delicious. So moving forward, drink
it up? Will can I get a box? Or from
the desk of Captain Obvious, who's been out quite a while.
Speaker 2 (37:46):
By the way, what were the first two?
Speaker 4 (37:51):
Oh? My god, drink it up? And can I get
a box?
Speaker 7 (37:54):
Okay, see, I was gonna can you drink a box?
That's what I was going to say originally.
Speaker 4 (37:59):
Yeah, well that would have been wrong.
Speaker 5 (38:01):
With can you drink it up?
Speaker 2 (38:02):
Drink it up.
Speaker 4 (38:03):
In a new survey, eighty seven actually percent of Americans
say that getting enough hydration in the morning is important.
Thirty four percent say that it will usually drink water
till about three o'clock, maybe a little later. And here's
a little tip for you. If you think drinking water
in the morning is going to get you through the day,
if you're doing anything at all that requires some exercise,
(38:26):
especially in this climate in the summertime, you.
Speaker 2 (38:29):
Need to be drinking your water the day before.
Speaker 4 (38:31):
If you're gonna play golf on Friday tomorrow, you need
to be drinking water today to get you through there
without feeling puny toward the end of the round. And
one more will for you put on the pads, put
on the path. I'm not finished. Well we go, only
got five seconds? Oh wow, never mind. Then i'll tell
them tomorrow. Oh yeah, that's right. We're out now, aren't we.
Speaker 2 (38:52):
We'll be back tomorrow to wrap up the week.
Speaker 4 (38:53):
Thanks for listening, Audios
Remember when it was impossible to misplace the TV remote
because you were the TV remote. Remember when music sounded
like this? Remember when social media was truly social?
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Hey John, how's it going today?
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Well?
Speaker 2 (00:20):
This show is all about you, only the good die.
This is fifty plus with Doug Pike.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Helpful information on your finances, good health, and what to
do for fun. Fifty plus brought to you by the
UT Health Houston Institute on Aging, Informed Decisions for a healthier,
happier life.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
And now fifty plus with Doug Pike.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
All right, off we go to segment one of fifty plus.
Thank you all for listening. I brought my headphones in here.
Now I don't know what I've done with them. I'm
gonna have to use these backup headphones that have about
a forty foot cord on them. I could go all
the way back to my desk and keep these on.
Will you realize that, stand by, I've gotta plug this in.
Speaker 5 (01:08):
But then you would only be able to hear me.
You wouldn't be able to talk.
Speaker 4 (01:12):
Yeah, but you'd have to talk. You've said you could
do this. No, you said you could just take over
at anytime. Why don't you do six or eight minutes,
real quick, Welcome to fifty plus Thursday edition. Where Nobody
puts Baby in the Corner. You remember that line?
Speaker 2 (01:29):
You don't.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
You didn't see that movie, did you?
Speaker 5 (01:32):
Nobody Baby in the corner? I don't think so.
Speaker 4 (01:36):
That's from Flash Dance back in nineteen and eighty seven,
delivered by the character Johnny Castle, who was portrayed by
Patrick Swayze. Great line, great movie from back then. Anyway,
there you go. Maybe I'll start opening the show with
a line most of you will remember from the movies
we saw as kids and young adults. Bring a little
(01:58):
flash back in the honor of Flash Dance. And if
you don't remember what movie these lines are from, as
it's bound to be the case for a few of
us at our age, I love, I'll go ahead and
fill in the blanks because I'm looking them up. I'm
gonna look them up. I'm gonna get the name of
the movie. I'm gonna get the name of the actor
who delivered it, and a little background on it. And
(02:20):
Flash Dance shouldn't need a lot of background.
Speaker 6 (02:23):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (02:23):
Will and I had a discussion yesterday, by the way,
about the relevance of weather and market reports in this
segment of the show, and unless a whole lot of
you try to talk us out of it, I think
we're gonna We're gonna let Fox News market report that
precedes us cover Wall Street and maybe just to look
out the windows serve as weather news moving forward, anybody
(02:44):
who qualifies chronologically for this audience and has has lived
here more than a couple of years probably has a
pretty good idea what to expect on the day. And
if you need details you've always got you can listen for,
or a more detailed report you can look for one
on your phone. But yeah, I don't think I really
(03:05):
need to dwell too much until we get into the
storm season, which we've still got a couple of months
before we have to worry about that. But once we
get there, I will be paying close attention to tropical
weather every day. I can't help myself but look at
the National Weather Service and a couple of other sites
that I monitor to find out what's going on, where
(03:26):
these things are.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
Headed, what.
Speaker 4 (03:32):
Tragedy they're going to drop on us, what their magnitude
might be, and hopefully we hopefully don't get things that
have magnitudes that would be earthquakes, and there was that
one over in what was it in Thailand?
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Will is that correct?
Speaker 4 (03:47):
I think it was recently, Yeah, like this week the
big hotel over there that was shaking so violently that
it's roof topling, a big tall hotel rooftop pool was
dumping water down on the street like twenty thirty floors below.
And one of the most disturbing scenes I saw didn't
(04:08):
have anything to do with anybody getting seriously hurt, but
it just it made me cringe a little bit. So
I'm watching this video of water just cascating down onto
the street level where there are little motorbikes and a
couple of cars I think, and a lot of people
walking around, and this just cascade of water just comes
(04:33):
pounding down, knocking people down. And it wasn't like a
tidal way, but it was just like a sudden dump
of shower water and from twenty thirty four yars up
it it knocked a few people down.
Speaker 7 (04:47):
Yes, it was in Mianmar and it was a seven
point seven magnitude earthquake, and this current death toll is
three forty five.
Speaker 4 (04:57):
Tragedy, tragedy all around there. That's not what I saw
though it's horrible that three thousand plus people had died
in this thing. What I saw, though, was this water
coming out of a swimming pool way way up in
the air, and it splashes down, and this woman gets
knocked down in the street, okay, and her belongings are
kind of scattered next to her, And there are people
(05:19):
running across the street, running from kind of where the
water really is flashing out of there the worst and
to an area across the street where it's not so bad.
And I watched one young woman it appeared to be,
as she runs toward the older woman who has fallen
in the street and has all her belongings scattered in
(05:39):
front of her. The one running across the street reaches down,
picks up what I believe to be either her wallet
or her phone, and keeps running, just taking full advantage
of someone who has been knocked down and could use
a break, takes advantage of that situation to steal from her.
(06:01):
That's very telling about people in some parts of the world,
and right here in some instances never look a gift
horse in the mouth, I guess is what the way
they wake up in the morning, What do you think
about that will what is your reaction to that story?
Speaker 5 (06:18):
Oh, I mean, it's awful.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
It is awful, isn't it. It really is. There's just
no reason for that, just no reason for that. So
moving into I can't help it territory, because it's all
anybody's talking about this morning on the news. President Trump's
impending tariffs that for the first time in a long time,
will at least narrow the gaps between tariffs imposed by
(06:42):
other countries and tariffs we impose on them. It's still
not close to even stephen across the board, and it
may take a little time for this tree to bear fruit.
But when foreign companies are investing trillions of dollars in
manufacturing here, that's not a bad thing. They're doing that
to avoid these tariffs. And when the jobless rate is falling,
which it is, We're employment is up, not down, that
(07:06):
also is not a bad thing. I said it a
couple of days ago, and I'll say it again before
we go to the first break. You know, it hurts
when you wake up from a major surgery, most of
us do, anyway, and then it still hurts for a
few days or even a couple of weeks afterward, as
your body heels from being sliced and diced and having
bad stuff to remove from it. Well, that's where we
(07:27):
are right now. It's gonna hurt a little bit and
it's gonna take a little time to get well, but
these are the steps necessary to get us well. And
that's I've looked at it pretty closely, and i feel
very confident in saying that it's gonna take a little while,
but we're on a better track than we were, and
I've got more news about that when we get back
(07:49):
from this break. Let's go ahead and take it on
the way out. Ut Health Institute on Aging. I can't
say enough good things about this group. They are, and
by day I mean more than a thousand people, collaborative
of providers from every medical discipline, mostly in the med center,
as I've said before, but they also a lot of
them work in outlying areas in Paarland and Kingwood and
(08:09):
the Woodlands and Katie and all points in between. Alvin
even probably there's a couple of work down there every
now and then. They do what they do because they're
passionate about taking care of seniors so much so that
they have gone back and gotten additional training as to
how they can apply their knowledge to us, to seniors.
(08:31):
These are good people who who were willing to do
more to take care of us. Go to the website.
Look at all the resources there. Nothing there's going to
cost you a dime. It's all good, solid information about
how to be a better, happier, healthier, more rounded well
fit rounded, not physically rounded. Go to that website. See
(08:55):
what's going on. Find yourself a provider if you've got
something bothering you that needs to be fixed. Edu slash
agingut dot edu slash aging.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
We'll take a little break here.
Speaker 4 (09:06):
When we get back, I will welcome back a man
who has been away from the program for far too long,
and I was glad to see his name on the
list this week. You'll find out who he is when
we get back. More fifty plus coming up.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
What's life without a nap? I suggest you go to bed,
sleep it off, just wait until the show's over. Sleepy.
Back to Doug Pike as fifty plus continues. All right,
welcome back fifty plus.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
I've got my own headphones on now finally, and it
took me about two minutes to wrap the chord around
the other ones I had on for a minute. Thank
you as always for listening, And we got a call
a minute ago. I made a mistake in my opening
about that line, that line from Dirty Dancing. I mistaken
Lee somehow typed Flash Dance and I have no idea why,
(09:58):
but thank you for the call.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
And yeah, I.
Speaker 4 (10:02):
Could admit it when I make a mistake, that's for sure.
If you've listened to this show for a long time,
you'll recognize the name of my next guest, a renowned
cardiologist at mcgovernment Medical School and sports cardiologists with Houston
Rockets and with Rice Athletics, and the man with whom
I'm going to discuss energy drinks now and what they'll
do to our bodies. And with that, I am absolutely
(10:23):
thrilled to announce the return of the one, the only,
doctor John Higgins to fifty plus.
Speaker 3 (10:29):
Well, thank you so much, Doug I for that lovely
rock star kind of.
Speaker 4 (10:34):
Introduction coming to the stage right now.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
So let's get yeah, let's get to it.
Speaker 4 (10:41):
Though, what exactly do energy drinks do in and to
our bodies?
Speaker 3 (10:47):
So, Doug, there, they have a lot of caffeine in them,
a lot of sugar, and a lot of other herbal
and energy type supplements in them. So the things that
we are finding with energy drinks are because of the stimulants.
They'll often increase someone's heart rate and blood pressure. They
(11:12):
will mess your sleep up, especially if you have them,
you know, not too long before you try to go
to sleep. They can the high caffeine level and other
substances can actually cause a dehydration in some folks. The
but because they have so much sugar in them, you
can get these hives and spikes in blood sugar, and
(11:34):
then when they come down, you know, the person will
be like really amped up, and then when they come
down they can certainly have a low after that. We
know that they can interact with medications, you know, other stimulants.
Medicines that some people might be taking for their heart
certainly get some people very anxious and the jitters, and
(11:57):
also sometimes they can have negative effects on the brain,
you know, in terms of the way people can think.
In fact, the US Navy they actually have a ban
on their pilots having energy drinks for twenty four hours
before they fly because of the concern for that. So
there's a bunch of different things that can happen.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
Doug.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
It partly depends on you know how much someone's drinking,
how sensitive they are. You know, some people are more
sensitive to energy drinks than others. And you know, of
course if they have any sort of medical underlying medical
conditions that you know, the energy drinks may make kind
of worse.
Speaker 4 (12:39):
Mercy is there before we go any deeper. Is our
energy drink and sports drink synonymous or are they different classes?
Speaker 3 (12:48):
I'm glad you asked that, Doug. And they are very different. Yeah,
but when you go you wouldn't know that when you
go to the grocery store because they will often have
sports drink, energy drink, energy drink, sports drink, and yeah,
they're often mixed up on the shelves and people go
along and they they think, you know, hey, they're okay.
(13:09):
And then you also have confusion with some of the
energy drinks, like Prime for example, they have a sports
drink and an energy Wow and they look actually very similar.
You know, they're labeling, so it can be quite you
know different. So you know, but what I'm trying to say, Doug,
(13:31):
is that certainly, you know, when most of my patients
that I have or that I recommend to, I say,
look at you're going to be exercising for a shorter period,
just go with water. If you're going to be exercising
sort of more endurance style, or you're sweating a lot,
you know, and you're going out, you know, for an
hour or more. Sports drinks are reasonable to do. They
(13:51):
have a little bit of extra things in them than water.
They have a little bit of glucose in them, or
glucose type to give you a bit of energy. They
have some salts like potassium, sodium you know that you
may be losing when you're sweating, and a bit of chloride.
So they can actually be a good thing and they
are healthy for individuals, especially if they're doing endurance. But
(14:14):
energy drinks are a completely different beast DOUG, and we
currently do not recommend people to use them, especially when
they're doing sports.
Speaker 4 (14:25):
Doctor John Higgins on fifty plus with us again, Finally,
what do you say to the person doc who says, okay,
I'll cut back from one to day to maybe a
couple of weeks.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Does that eliminate the risk? Does it help at all?
Speaker 4 (14:37):
Or do it just need to drop them?
Speaker 3 (14:39):
Well, you know, obviously less is better than more DOUG
in this case, but you know, there have been studies
that have shown someone drinking an energy drink, for example,
on a Monday of the week, just one energy drink,
their blood pressure is going to be slightly elevated for
the rest of that week. So even on that weekend,
(15:02):
they're going to have a slightly higher blood pressure because
of the effect of that energy drink. So you know,
I would say certainly to mitigate the effects, try to
cut back if your drink, especially if you're drinking them
on a regular basis. But you know, if you want
the lowest risk, obviously we would recommend just to avoid
all together.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
Is there any risk at all of addiction to these
Maybe that's too strong a word, dependence maybe upon them.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
There have been some studies dug that have suggested that
some individuals can get a dependence or addiction to the
energy drinks. In fact, there have been some studies showing
that the people that are consuming energy drinks are more
likely to have use of other illicit drugs as well,
(15:54):
you know, down the line. So it could be sort
of like a game. So especially with kids. And and
then the other problem we see doug in in the
younger folks are they will often combine an energy drink
with alcohol that so you're getting yeah, you're getting the
stimulant effects from the energy drink, but the you know,
(16:16):
the depressant effect from the alcohol, and they end up
with what we what we call the toxic drunk and andy.
They sort of they're they're drunk, but they feel like
they're more in command than they really are. And it
can lead to especially in the younger college kids, that
can lead to some pretty risky behavior. You know, there's
(16:36):
been a case of you know, kids jumping off roofs
into into swimming pools and kind of missing and uh,
you know, taking high risks, you know, driving a car
when they're obviously over the limit, but they feel like
they're awake and alert and you know that they know
problems driving a car. So and then you know, in
the especially in in some of your listeners, Doug that
(16:59):
are in the elderly population, you know, we we we
tell them that you know, they certainly, you know, these
risks could be amplified. I mean, a lot of the
elderly folks are do have other pre existing health conditions
and and or cardiovascular taking cardiovascular medicines and other medicines,
and we we just don't know enough about these energy
(17:22):
drinks to to say that they're safe, especially for the
elderly and also those who were you know, the young
individuals and the pregnant women and as well as those
that are caffeine sensitive. We you know, we think that
they're not not recommended and and probably you know, just
best to avoid them. And you know, people are asking
(17:43):
about alternatives doug as I said, water, the the the
the the sports drinks, and also you know coffee. Actually
it has some caffeine and it can give you a
bit of a boost, but it has a lot of
really good antioxidants and then doesn't have these other kind
of booting and that's actually quite okay. So you know,
(18:03):
if you find when you wake up in the morning,
you know, a cup of Joe helps you with your
work out, we are totally okay with that. Same with
tea as well. It has some caffeine type stimulant substances
in it. So go with those the things that we
know are okay, And for now, I think avoid the energy.
Speaker 4 (18:20):
Drinks very quickly, because we're at out of time right now.
I had one more question quickly. If somebody's saying they
need energy drinks to get through the day. Isn't that
about the same as saying they don't eat right, exercise
and get enough sleep.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
That is exactly right now, and they need to work
on those other things. And you know, exercise will boost
your energy, just as a cup of coffee will. So
you've got a lot of our alternatives. Get proper sleep,
eat right, and exercise, and you should have plenty of energy.
And you know, on the weekend, take it easy.
Speaker 4 (18:52):
Doctor John Higgins. I'm not going to be a weekend
warrior anymore. I may have to call and tell you
a story. Is this some other time. Thank you so
very much for coming back. You know you're welcome anytime.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
Okay, thank you great, Oh my pleasure.
Speaker 4 (19:04):
Yes, sir, bye, bye bye.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
All right, we got to take you a little break here.
Speaker 4 (19:08):
When we get back, we are going to talk to
a woman named Wendy Brooks. If you love Mexican food
and you love it in sugar Land, you might know
who Wendy Brooks is, and you might not, but you're
gonna find out when we get back. More fifty plus
coming up after this, Aged to Perfection. This is fifty
plus with Doug Pike.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
All right, welcome back to fifty plus. Thanks for listening.
Certainly do appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
On this Thursday afternoon, it's supposed to be very windy
for the next couple of days, Is that correct?
Speaker 3 (19:44):
Will?
Speaker 5 (19:44):
It was a very windy before I left the house.
Speaker 4 (19:47):
Here we are in the in the soundproof, sky proof
no view proof bunker that we're in.
Speaker 3 (19:54):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (19:54):
Thanks once more for sharing your lunch hour, power hour,
or happy hour, as long as you're not driving whatever
it is. In this segment, we're gonna meet well you are,
I've already met or a woman who happens to own
one of my favorite restaurants in sugar Land, a little
place called Berry Hill, and that woman is Wendy Brooks.
Speaker 2 (20:10):
Welcome aboard, Wendy. Hello, Hello. Sure.
Speaker 4 (20:16):
So let's start with a little backstory on the brand.
When did Berry Hill start and how did it kind
of fast forward us to now because I start, I
want to start talking about food.
Speaker 6 (20:26):
The original location opened up a very small location in
nineteen ninety.
Speaker 4 (20:31):
Three, okay wow, And.
Speaker 6 (20:35):
Then my husband and two other guys started it and
then they ended up selling it to the Jeff Inning
Group in nineteen ninety five. Howper my husband was the
shop created most of the Berry Hills Tried and True restaurant.
(21:00):
We opened up a franchise, the very first franchise in
two thousand and two in Sugarland.
Speaker 4 (21:08):
That's the one that's still there, isn't.
Speaker 6 (21:10):
It the only one?
Speaker 4 (21:13):
I think I'm I'm certainly doing my share to support it.
I brought you know that. I come in there.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
Yes, there often so for.
Speaker 4 (21:22):
For somewhat selfish reasons. I'm glad you kept that sugar
Land store open. It's only five minutes from my house
and I've already been there twice this week to pick
up Baja chicken tacos for my wife. But it's your
fish tacos that keep a lot of folks coming back,
isn't it.
Speaker 6 (21:37):
It is our fish tacos that we sell more of
than anything on the menu. As well as we're known
for our Tomali's. We've been on the Food Network for
our spinach, Monterey jack cheese, and whole kernel sweet corn tomaly.
Speaker 4 (21:52):
I describe your menu as fairly traditional in the names
of the dishes, kind of like you were just saying there,
But every one of them's got a little subtle twist that's
been added over the years and and lot by the
guys who have been in those that kitchen of years
for a very long time, haven't they.
Speaker 5 (22:09):
Oh?
Speaker 6 (22:09):
Absolutely, our three our kitchen manager has been with us
since two thousand and two when we opened, as well
as our when a our kitchen had cooked or heey.
He's been there for twenty three years, and the miguel
has been there twenty one years.
Speaker 4 (22:25):
Wendy Brookes from Barry Hill on fifty plus. Here, before
I get anybody making weekend plans, I will share that
you guys are closed on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
That's still right, Yes we are.
Speaker 4 (22:35):
Darn it. Well, you've got to take a break too,
don't you.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
I know, I know is that the day is that
the day you go out to the ranch and tend
all your animals.
Speaker 6 (22:45):
It sure is.
Speaker 4 (22:46):
I figured as much how many animals you got out there?
Speaker 6 (22:50):
Fifty six?
Speaker 4 (22:51):
Oh my word, all right, that's fair.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
You know.
Speaker 4 (22:54):
I saw an animal as a quick sidebar, Wendy. I
saw an animal at the golf event I played in
yesterday or Wednesday or Tuesday that I had never seen
in Southeast Texas before. And it might be one you
want to think about adding. You might want to add
one of these to your menagerie. Somebody up in the
Woodlands has a pet kangaroo.
Speaker 6 (23:14):
Oh my, that's pretty like like they like one thing.
I will not get our goats because they jump everywhere.
Speaker 4 (23:22):
Yes they do, Yes, they do. So back to the restaurant,
fifty nine Sugar Creek Boulevard. Your sons are helping you
keep that brand going, too, aren't they. They are.
Speaker 6 (23:32):
My husband, Jeff Brooks passed away in twenty twenty three,
and me and my sons took it over and we're
just trying to keep it open and trucking along and
running a family owned local business.
Speaker 4 (23:48):
Truly is go ahead.
Speaker 6 (23:51):
However, we do have our taco truck that is like
a mobile kitchen, and we do events all over the
Houston area, including you know Conroyah.
Speaker 4 (24:03):
You did one here for us last week. Yeah, I
gotta tell you. One day, I personally deliberately overserved myself
in fish tacos and beef bahetas and juaca mole and
tres letch. Is about trace times I could barely stay
(24:23):
awake at my desk. That was hard to fresh. Yes,
you do, and it's every time I've been in there.
I'm gonna I'm gonna branch out, you know. Every time
I come in there, I almost get the same thing
every single time. But I'm gonna branch out and start
sampling from the menu just to get a better taste
of what's there, because you have a lot of stuff
(24:44):
on that menu that I haven't tried yet. And I'm
normally not that bigger risk taker. But it's not much
of a risk really with anything from berry Hill, right.
Speaker 6 (24:53):
I recommend our toil berry Hill. That's sort of welcome
all our fine type of menu. I delmar delicious. It's
one of our most popular deliveries to the medical industry.
Speaker 4 (25:06):
And so everybody who understands where they're going. You don't
have to put on a suit, you don't have to
put on high heels to go in the place. You
just kind of come as you are and relax a
little bit, and everybody in there, they'll pretty much treat
you like family, right absolutely.
Speaker 6 (25:22):
And we also have we have two private rooms, and
one of our private rooms has three pool tables.
Speaker 4 (25:29):
Oh my word, I don't think I've been in that
private room.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
How far back is that?
Speaker 6 (25:35):
Oh it's right to the right when you're facing the
restaurant of right to the right.
Speaker 4 (25:41):
Okay, I'll have to go check that out next time
I'm in there. And by the way, Wendy, there should
be a statue erected in honor of that chocolate trace
letches and the vanilla too. Somebody asked me which was
my favorite the other day and I just said.
Speaker 2 (25:56):
Yes, yes.
Speaker 3 (25:58):
Oh.
Speaker 6 (25:58):
Entering over November December, we make a pumpkin one.
Speaker 4 (26:02):
Oh my word. Oh yeah, I'm gonna have to buy
a new wardrobe if we keep this up. I'm not kidding.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
Every time we.
Speaker 6 (26:12):
Back in the day we won best trace letchas from
the Eastern Chronicle.
Speaker 4 (26:17):
Oh my word, Why am I not surprised by that?
I know what it tastes like. Yes, it is delicious.
Thank you Wendy so much for your time. And tell
the boys I said hello, will.
Speaker 6 (26:28):
You, I will thank you so much for having you.
Speaker 3 (26:31):
Bet.
Speaker 4 (26:32):
I know it's going to be a busy day out there.
Fifty nine at Sugar Creek Boulevard inbound side in sugar Land,
right there, Berry Hill. It's right there on the freeway.
You can't miss it. Thanks Wendy, I'll see you.
Speaker 5 (26:43):
Soon, all right, Thank you you bet.
Speaker 4 (26:46):
Audios. All right, we got to take a little break here,
and when we get back Will, and I will get
about the business of sweeping some boy.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
It never fails.
Speaker 6 (26:57):
Will.
Speaker 4 (26:57):
When I have two interviews to do in a day,
I'll also end up making doing the most prep work
for other than the interviews. So they're gonna be there's
gonna be enough to get through today and tomorrow, and
who knows, half a Tuesday next week. If nothing happens,
we'll take a little break here. We'll be right back
to wrap it up on this Thursday afternoon. Fifty plus
on AM nine fifty kprc.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
Old guys rule, and of course women never get old
if you want to avoid sleeping on the couch.
Speaker 2 (27:27):
Okay, well, I think that sounds like a good plan.
Fifty plus continues. Here's more with Doug.
Speaker 3 (27:42):
All.
Speaker 2 (27:43):
Welcome back, thanks for listening to fifty plus.
Speaker 4 (27:45):
Honga make a note okay, okay, there, I got my
note made. I'll deal with that later. Moving forward from
Doge via Fox News, comes word that the Veteran's Administration,
the VA in charge of taking care of our veterans,
(28:06):
was shelling out three hundred and eighty thousand dollars per
month per month, not per year, per month, three hundred
eighty thousand dollars per minor website changes. That contract has
been canceled, and that same work, the exact same job
(28:29):
that we were paying as taxpayers three hundred and eighty
thousand dollars a month for, is now being performed by
one internal VA software engineer in ten hours per week,
(28:49):
one person, ten hours a week doing a job that
was costing taxpayers three hundred and eighty one thousand dollars
a month. That's horrible, that's shameful, and it just goes
(29:10):
to show you how deep and how far the abuse
of our tax dollars has gone, and how how we've
been fooled for so many years now into believing that
if we just spend more money, everything will get better.
Well that's all we did for the past four years,
and nothing got better. Nothing. It's pretty despicable, really, That
(29:36):
and other major changes at the VA are expected, according
to the same story, to save that little piece of government,
just the VA, about ninety eight million dollars a year,
which now if they if they hang on to that money,
they can maybe use it for I don't know, veterans healthcare,
(29:57):
veterans benefits, veterans services, but not for ten hours worth
of tech work. It's shameful. We should be embarrassed that
we let it get that deep. But the wrong people
were in office for so long, and they filled every
(30:19):
person they could convince with lies.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
That's something else that's.
Speaker 4 (30:23):
Being hauled out of the shadows now. The story of
Katherine Mayer Still, the woman who runs National Public Radio,
funded by a fat chunk of federal dollars and donations
from people who lean decidedly left, has a newsroom full
of people who lean the same way. And the truth
(30:45):
about NPR is that it leaps on any chance at
all to gut punch conservatives, but slow plays anything that
might cast a dark shadow to the left. Months, maybe
years later, they'll admit mistake, admit mistake, like with Hunter's laptop.
Speaker 2 (31:02):
They did that.
Speaker 4 (31:02):
Finally they came out and said, well, yeah, yeah, we
should have done better on that, but not until irreparable
damage is done. And that's that's what's cost this country
so many trillions of dollars recently. It's just a waste
of money. Unless its entire leadership is replaced all at NPR.
They need to go and take that bias with them.
(31:26):
We need to start. There's no way in the world
I'm gonna recommend anything close to DEI because I don't
think it works. I think it we should be all
jobs should be based on merit. I think that it
wouldn't hurt at all for hiring to be done anonymously.
I don't want to see the person. I don't need
(31:47):
to see them. I don't need to hear any accents
in their voices. I don't need to. I just want
to see the resume. I want to see how they
feel about the me I'm hiring for, and other than that,
that's that's what I need to know. I need to answer.
I need them to answer questions, maybe just with written words.
Speaker 2 (32:11):
Or with an AI voice.
Speaker 4 (32:13):
Maybe they could just convert all the voices to an
AI voice, the exact same one. In that way, the
person who's doing the hiring wouldn't know anything about that
person other than the words that were coming out of
their mouths on why they want that job and what
they do if they get it. I want to I
want to pick the person who sounds to me. I
(32:34):
don't have to see them, I don't have to know
a whole lot about them. I just want the person
who's going to be the best person for that job,
and that's how we can move this country forward. And
everybody's got a shot. Anybody who tells you otherwise is mistaken.
Everybody's got a shot.
Speaker 2 (32:50):
You work hard enough, you.
Speaker 4 (32:51):
Do what you can do, and if things aren't going
your way, then maybe you have to reevaluate, maybe you
have to get some initial training to do nothing else.
But you can make a living in this country, and
you can make a living in this country. In an
interview the day after, the day after, Mayhor testified to
(33:13):
Congress that MPR did a poor job on that laptop story,
she very quickly deflected and reminded her interviewer that she's
not a part of the editorial team. Oh no, no, no,
that's not me. I knew it was going on, but
you know that wasn't me, That wasn't well. Yeah, distance
in this case is not an excuse. You run the show.
(33:34):
And if you have access to a hose and a
cell phone and you watch a neighbor's house burn, you
could have done something. And that's kind of what that
story turned into. She stood there and watched. She had
the tools to stop it, and she stood there and watched.
It seems like to me that's what I'm seeing all
that while Democrats demand that we bring gang members back
(33:55):
into our country. Oh my gosh. By the way, this
past month brought record low border crossings along our southern
border in two months, two months. Something that President Biden
said could not be done is done. And it wasn't
done by a miracle either, just just by enforcing the
laws that were already in place.
Speaker 2 (34:16):
And he did it.
Speaker 4 (34:17):
President Trump did at an estimated two tenths of one
percent of what Biden spent in the past four years,
mostly really on making it either tough or impossible to
actually enforce immigration laws. So and then up in Austin,
where I'm sure there are lots of people who don't
(34:39):
want anybody being arrested for anything. Breitbart's story, law enforcement
up there in Austin arrested more than forty members and
associates of Trende Arugua, that violent Venezuelan game in late
gang not game, It's no game to them. In late March,
law enforcement took fourteen suspected TDA members off the streets
(35:00):
of Washington, d C. If you've forgotten, I really do.
By the way, I do foresee criminal charges filed against
people who are helping these gang members of aide the
law and remain in our country too. It's happened more
than once, and there are some people who have been
identified according to the news reports we're seeing now as
(35:25):
being part of that effort to give these people advance
notice that the badges are coming and they better high
tail it out of there. Shame on them, Shame on them.
Just it wasn't I think it was yesterday. I had
a story and I didn't bring it in here with me.
Fifty one year old grandmother fifty Did we talk about
this or no? Yesterday? I don't think we did. Fifty
(35:47):
one year old grandmother killed by a guy who was
who was a gang member, I believe. And they had
him in twenty twenty one and let him go. They
had him in twenty twenty one, they let him go,
and just recently he killed this grand mother of five,
grandmother of one, I think, fifty one years old. And
(36:08):
she's gone now because this guy was still in the
country and he didn't belong here, never belonged here, never
came here legally at all. Oh, mercy will Now we
got a couple of minutes. Let's lighten the load here
that's pretty heavy stuff. I'll get off of that, by
the way, Wendy texted me. Wendy Brooks texted me, said,
(36:30):
remind everybody that on Friday. I guess it's for the
Catholics and anybody else who loves fish on Friday.
Speaker 2 (36:37):
Those fish tacos.
Speaker 4 (36:38):
Are just four bucks, just four bucks, and they are
worth every penny. They're worth more, but don't offer more
unless you do it as a gratuity to your server.
That would be nice, Whndy. You'll happily take your four
dollars for your fish tacos on Friday, and then if
you got something left in your pocket, then give it
to the people who helped you out. All right?
Speaker 2 (36:58):
Will you know what today is?
Speaker 4 (37:00):
Speaking of Mexican food, that's a hint. It's Wendy mentioned them.
Were you paying attention?
Speaker 5 (37:08):
No National Trust let chase?
Speaker 4 (37:12):
Oh? If only? If only? No, it's National Burrito Day, though,
so maybe I should call her back and let her
know that today and only today, everything should be well.
I was going to say it all should be free,
but that would be pretty expensive for her. It'd be
a big deal for us. But no, no free burritos
(37:33):
for anybody, but you can get them out there at
Bury Hill and they're darn delicious. So moving forward, drink
it up? Will can I get a box? Or from
the desk of Captain Obvious, who's been out quite a while.
Speaker 2 (37:46):
By the way, what were the first two?
Speaker 4 (37:51):
Oh? My god, drink it up? And can I get
a box?
Speaker 7 (37:54):
Okay, see, I was gonna can you drink a box?
That's what I was going to say originally.
Speaker 4 (37:59):
Yeah, well that would have been wrong.
Speaker 5 (38:01):
With can you drink it up?
Speaker 2 (38:02):
Drink it up.
Speaker 4 (38:03):
In a new survey, eighty seven actually percent of Americans
say that getting enough hydration in the morning is important.
Thirty four percent say that it will usually drink water
till about three o'clock, maybe a little later. And here's
a little tip for you. If you think drinking water
in the morning is going to get you through the day,
if you're doing anything at all that requires some exercise,
(38:26):
especially in this climate in the summertime, you.
Speaker 2 (38:29):
Need to be drinking your water the day before.
Speaker 4 (38:31):
If you're gonna play golf on Friday tomorrow, you need
to be drinking water today to get you through there
without feeling puny toward the end of the round. And
one more will for you put on the pads, put
on the path. I'm not finished. Well we go, only
got five seconds? Oh wow, never mind. Then i'll tell
them tomorrow. Oh yeah, that's right. We're out now, aren't we.
Speaker 2 (38:52):
We'll be back tomorrow to wrap up the week.
Speaker 4 (38:53):
Thanks for listening, Audios
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