In an autobiography called A Bus of My Own written by John Lehrer, Lehrer had a heart attack. However, thankfully, he survived the attack and started to make a list of changes he would make in his life. The heart attack was actually good for him. Before the heart attack he was doing a lot of bad things, like smoking and eating badly. Having a heart attack changed his beliefs about all of the bad things he has been doing. 

    Before his heart attack he smoked all the time. He wrote that instead of throwing away the butts of the cigarettes he smoked, he kept them in a shoe box in case he wanted to smoke the rest out of the cigarettes he kept. He even smoked his way to the hospital in an ambulance with his pipe. That just shows how dedicated he was to smoking. 

    He wrote down that he would change his diet. This is what he said. “There was the food problem. The eating thing. I had had the eating habits of a pimply-faced fifteen-year-old. My daily preferred diet was drawn from a preferred option list of fritos, cheez Whiz, chili, pepperoni pizza, Milky Ways, Butterfinger chips, peanut butter (chunky); hamburgers with fries, tuna-salad sandwiches with fries, bacon-lettuce-and-tomato sandwiches with fries, fried chicken with fries, barbecue ribs, beef and/or sausage with fries; Dr. Peppers, chocolate chip ice cream, butter brickle ice cream, real potato chips, cottage-fried potatoes; scrambled egg with melted cheese, green peppers and onions; chocolate milk shakes, corn dogs, chilli dogs; biscuits with butter, waffles with hot maple syrup and butter, pancakes with hot maple syrup and butter; salt, fudge, black coffee, and pastrami sandwiches with mayonnaise.” Instead of those bad foods he decided to eat good foods. This is what he said. “Carrot and celery sticks with a  nonfat yogurt dip. Melba toast. Vegetarian baked beans. Cute little cups of raspberries and strawberries and blueberries. Apples. Great glasses of orange juice. Decaf coffee. Water cornbread. Green beans. Peas. Peas! Spinach casseroles. Caffeine-free diet soda pop. Unbuttered, unsalted popcorn. Toasted pita bread. Oatmeal. Oatmeal!” very unhealthy eater.

    He also said that he would exercise a lot. In the hospital workout room every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at seven he workout to get his heart back in shape. He also wrote down that he would take a nap every single day. Those two things did help get his heart back in shape. He even said that he will  never again get angry. He also made a list of bus signs he would then go after. Here is the list. Overland Greyhound, Bowen Motor Coaches, Southeastern Stages, American Buslines, and Dixie-Sunshine Trailways. There were even two men there that helped him rebuild his soul. Charlie Berman and Harry Smith. Lehrer was actually a really good person. After his heart attack, Lehrer was a completely changed man. Lehrer died in the year 2020, the year I wrote this essay! I hope that you had fun reading this essay.