•  

    There I was. In the dark. In my bed.

    I awoke with a shudder.

    There is something in the room with me.

    Fear grips me. I can sense it close. I can even hear its heart beat. Thump thump thump.

    I dare not move. Straining my eyes as if I will suddenly be able to see with but a hint of light.

    Thump thump thump.

    How close must it be that I can hear its heart beating.

    Movement? The pace of the heart quickens. Thump thump thump.

    A shiver creeps up my arm.

    I can’t take it any more. If it means me ill so be it!

    With a jump I try for the light.

    Caught in my covers I tumble to the ground.

    Thump thump thump.

    I scream and scramble to the switch.

    With a flip, light floods the room.

    Thump thump thump.

    The heart…

    was my own.

     

     

    Speaking of heart I wanted to share an excerpt from a Food & Wine article about the benefits of wine drinking

    “The Benefit: Lowers Risk of Heart Disease

    The Evidence: Red-wine tannins contain procyanidins, which protect against heart disease. Wines from Sardinia and southwest France have more procyanidins than other wines. Source: a study at Queen Mary University in London, published in Nature, 2006.

    The Benefit: Reduces Heart-Attack Risk

    The Evidence: Moderate drinkers suffering from high blood pressure are 30 percent less likely to have a heart attack than nondrinkers. Source: a 16-year Harvard School of Public Health study of 11,711 men, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, 2007.

    The Benefit: Promotes Longevity

    The Evidence: Wine drinkers have a 34 percent lower mortality rate than beer or spirits drinkers. Source: a Finnish study of 2,468 men over a 29-year period, published in the Journals of Gerontology, 2007.

    The Benefit: Reduces Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

    The Evidence: Moderate drinkers have 30 percent less risk than nondrinkers of developing type 2 diabetes. Source: research on 369,862 individuals studied over an average of 12 years each, at Amsterdam’s VU University Medical Center, published in Diabetes Care, 2005.

    The Benefit: Lowers Risk of Stroke

    The Evidence: The possibility of suffering a blood clot–related stroke drops by about 50 percent in people who consume moderate amounts of alcohol. Source: a Columbia University study of 3,176 individuals over an eight-year period, published in Stroke, 2006.

    The Benefit: Cuts Risk of Cataracts

    The Evidence: Moderate drinkers are 32 percent less likely to get cataracts than nondrinkers; those who consume wine are 43 percent less likely to develop cataracts than those drinking mainly beer. Source: a study of 1,379 individuals in Iceland, published in Nature, 2003.

    The Benefit: Cuts Risk of Colon Cancer

    The Evidence: Moderate consumption of wine (especially red) cuts the risk of colon cancer by 45 percent. Source: a Stony Brook University study of 2,291 individuals over a four-year period, published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, 2005.

    The Benefit: Slows Brain Decline

    The Evidence: Brain function declines at a markedly faster rate in nondrinkers than in moderate drinkers. Source: a Columbia University study of 1,416 people, published in Neuroepidemiology, 2006.”

    – Food & Wine ‘8 Health Benefits of Drinking Wine’  By Christine Quinlan

    Its a beautiful thing