The first time I ever spoke in public was in 2001 at the Health-Nut Hut in Baton Rouge? I wasn’t remembering that, but Patty could have been right. I sure hope I’ve improved my presentation in the last seven years. Let’s see, I would have been 25 years old in the first half of 2001—and no gray hair. I’m 33 now, and while my hair is still jet black, I’m seeing a lot more gray hairs than I used to. I’m surprised I don’t have more with everything that I have going on.

The PWA Tour bus motored due west from Baton Route on Interstate 10 and stopped at Beaumont, Texas, where I did a “meet and greet” at the Basic Foods Store. Here’s a first: when the brightly painted PWA Tour bus pulled into the parking lot, there were around 40 people standing out in front of the store, cheering us on and giving us a big Beaumont welcome. Nice.

It didn’t take us long to reach our next stop in Houston. The highlight—a real highlight, I might add—was visiting a group called Urban Harvest, a non-profit organization that supports a network of 150 community-based organic gardens around the city. Some of these gardens are next to churches and schools, and some are on public lands leased from the city for a nominal $1 per year. Urban Harvest sponsors after-school programs that give elementary and middle school youngsters some hands-on experience planting, weeding, and harvesting wonderful fruits and vegetables.

Urban Harvest is also a clearing house of information for those who want to raise organic fruits and vegetables in their back yard. They also give suburban farmers a chance to sell their fresh seasonal produce at the Urban Harvest Farmer’s Market held on Saturdays. What a cool concept.

Urban Harvest is also a catalyst in feeding the hungry. Churches and community groups that care for gardens on their property (or city land) give what they harvest to local outreaches and homeless shelters. People who are impoverished can pick up these fresh fruits and vegetables, kind of like visiting a food bank. But instead of taking home bags of canned foods and a bunch of processed junk food, those needing a hand are taking away bags of collard greens, strawberries, lettuce, cucumbers, and corn.

We visited one of the farms located next to a church and about a half-acre in size. I was told that this plot of land produces 10,000 pounds of food a year that’s given away. “How do you get kids to eat greens?” I asked. “They’re used to eating total junk.” An Urban Harvest representative said they’ve made a strong effort to educate kids on eating real food as opposed to most of the things donated to food banks, which are junk because it’s the cheapest thing to donate.

I had another Perfect Weight Weekend Seminar, but we shortened it to just Friday night at Champion Life Centre church and went for longer. At 6 p.m., we did a special event for church members, and at 7 p.m. we did a mini version for the general public. One thing that was cool was when I was joined on the stage by a local chiropractor, Dr. Chris Zaino. My goodness, what a backstory.

Chris was a body builder, and he won the Mr. America title back in the late ‘90s, but a short time afterward, he developed severe ulcerative colitis. He tried everything to heal himself of this affliction, but nothing seemed to work. He even tried seeing a chiropractor, even though he didn’t believe in chiropractic treatments at the time.

At any rate, his chiropractor recommended a series of treatments and well as my first book, Patient, Heal Thyself. Chris said that combination got him well, so much so, that he wanted to become a chiropractor himself. He attended Parker College of Chiropractic, graduating in 2005. He founded a thriving practice in The Woodlands called Abundant Life Chiropractic, and he sees 350 patients a week.

I beamed while he shared his story. Chris still looks absolutely huge. I had never met him before, so when it was my turn to speak, I said, “Dr. Zaino has a lot in common with me. He and I both used to suffer from inflammatory bowel disease, were healed through natural means, and although his biceps are a little bigger than mine, we still look the same . . .”