When this kat got word that there was a co-op member lurking out there who’s known Teri for 35 years, well I just had to pounce.  This was one interview too good to pass up. (Dirt, anyone?)   

I found one Cindy Dale (a.k.a. Morgan) who has indeed known Teri  (a.k.a. Baker) since they were seventeen. We all know felines have nine lives, and I couldn’t help
but wonder if people (yes, I’m thinking Teri) do, too.

OHC: Is it okay if I call you Morgan instead of Cindy so as not to confuse you with the Co-op’s very own Cindy?

Of course. There are still quite a few people out there who call me Morgan. Morgan is also, btw, the name of my mother’s Maine Coon cat. He’s a wonderful  cat and keeps my mom, who’s got Alzheimers, good company.  I’m not sucking up here, but I truly believe the healing properties of both the feline and the canine set.

OHC: When did you and Teri first meet?

It was back in 1972. We met in the restroom of our local movie theater where we shared a cigarette.

OHC: A cigarette?  Teri?  Really?

Oh, I don’t think I’m spilling any beans here. Everyone smoked  back then. We were cool. Very, very cool.  Seriously, though, I’d wager there’s not a person out there who’s always followed a healthy lifestyle and always done the right thing  by  his or her body. Most of us have more than a few toxins, bad  habits, and cheeseburger wrappers in our closet. And most of us have come to embracing a healthier lifestyle in a rather circuitous fashion.

OHC: When did you first get bit by the health bug?

Oh, I’d say in my 30s. I was working in book publishing in NYC then and we published a book called Aerobics by Dr. Kenneth C. Cooper. This was really the beginning of the fitness craze. I joined a gym and began doing  high impact aerobics morning, noon, and night. I can still hear Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” and  “Don’t Leave Me This Way” and “Halelijua, It’s Raining Men” in my head when I think of those days.  

OHC: What happened next?

Well, no surprise, after a few years of abuse my joints started to hurt! This was especially true after my twins were born (and my exercise time was greatly curtailed) and I hit my 40s. I discovered Glucosamine and Chondroitin and found it really did help. Soon, I added Fish Oil and Co-Q 10 to my daily regime. Not only did they help alleviate my joint pain, they helped keep my blood pressure under control. High blood pressure runs in my family and I’d been flirting with it now and then.    Unfortunately, despite the Glucosamine and the supplements I’d already done some serious damage to my joints that the x-rays just couldn’t hide. It got to the point that I couldn’t walk a mile on the beach without limping and I couldn’t jump on my bike and go for a spin. As you can imagine, this was all very frustrating, especially to someone who used to be so active.

OHC: What did you do?

I bit the bullet and had hip replacement surgery in July 2008. My surgeon at NYU, Dr. Joseph Fetto,  is a wonderful guy who’d already replaced both of my husband’s hips and one of his knees, so I’d seen firsthand what a difference it could make. I’m really looking forward to getting the new joint juiced with Joint Complex, Fish Oil, Arthro 3 and getting back on the exercise wagon again. Part of the problem with  joint disease is that it made it impossible for me to get a good cardiovascular workout. Which, of course, starts to impact other things like your blood pressure and your cholesterol. We tend to forget sometimes how interconnected all of these things are. Seriously, the only downside I can see so far to the hip replacement is dealing with airport security. Between my husband and I, we’ll give Homeland Security a real test what with all the titanium parts we’re packing!

OHC: I’d love to ask you more about the hip surgery as you progress, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t ask for one more tiny tidbit of gossip about Teri before we go.  Care to share?

Oh, there’s lots of good stories I could tell you! I remember the time we were on the island of Rhodes in Greece and we had to call the police to escape a mad hotel owner who was trying to hold us hostage. You see, we were checking out  and handed him our Visa card. He looked at us and said in broken English, “No Visa.” We pointed to the decal on his window with the Visa card logo. He promptly took out a long knife and started scraping it off, muttering “No Visa” all the while!  That’s when we took off  and  flagged down a local policeman, who also didn’t speak much English. The hotel owner finally took our credit card and we made our flight out of there with minutes to spare.

OHC: And one last question.  What do you think of the Kat?

Oh, I adore you! I adore all things feline. We’ve got a dog (Shaman) and two cats (Tiger and Tiara) and my husband and kids always accuse me of being partial to the cats and, I have to confess, in some ways I am. I grew up with cats—in true George Forman fashion, all of them named George—and have had at least one cat in my life at all times ever since. Guido. Is that Italian for George? Maybe you’re the new George in my life!