The finger of blame has been pointed directly and frequently at the petroleum industry.  

Nobody yet has indicted the oil barons for an epidemic of obesity in this country.  But it's about time they did.

If you are riding in a car you are of course being deprived the benefits of a healthy hike or bike ride.  

But a greater crime is committed before an automobile even moves out of the service bay.  And it is defined by the slogans advertising gas station convenience stores: "Too much good stuff."

And what is that "good stuff?"  Well there are burritos, pizzas, bagels, jumbo hot dogs, nachos slathered with melted cheese, the double cheeseburger, a breakfast sandwich and an evil brew advertised as "High Voltage Java."

When motorists are warned, "Do not overfill tank" the message is endorsed by the American Medical Association.  

And the warning, "Please pay before pumping gas," has a new meaning.  You pay before, and after the onset of indigestion.

And have you noticed something strange?  Nobody is cooking the food!  

It seemingly materializes inside warming cabinets, wrapped in foil that emits a strange glitter, like gift-wrapping on a burrito-sized nuclear rod.  

Is the earth accelerating to such a degree that we must now consume our meals with the motor running?

Slow down, America.  

Man was not meant to take on fuel like a Kawasaki, with the motor revving and the exhaust popping.

For starters, get out of your car and take a delicious and mainly nutritious stroll up Main Street and Fifth Avenue visiting the coffee shops, restaurants, specialty stores like the Cheesemonger, the Treasures and Tea Shop, the Edmonds bakery.  

Savor a sandwich at Olives or the Red Twig.  

Taste some wine at Arista, sample some pupus at the Taki Tiki.

I could go on and on but if I did Edmonds boosters would be accused of having "too much good stuff."