Hi tt,
My father had a shelf all his own where there was Skippy peanut butter, strawberry jelly, white bread, and Hershey Bars etc. which we would stare up at, longingly.
I think your 87 year old father is on to something 
Reminds me of this scene from Woody Allen’s “Sleeper” (1973):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yCeFmn_e2cSeriously, my daughter has done genealogical research into my father’s family, and going back to the 1850’s, she did not find one cancer death. Apparently, they (and I) were “blessed” with overactive immune systems—the kind that constantly engages in search and destroy missions in the body and attacks everything including healthy (or relatively healthy) cells. My mother, on the other hand, got breast cancer when she was 40 and died of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma when she was 67. Ironically, health-wise, she spent a lifetime doing everything "right."
Amazing how it makes our engines purrrr to hear positive words from a parent. So special.
Yes, it definitely carries over from childhood—when caretaking and well-wishing parents are key to one’s survival…
PS Checked out brother Jeff's blog. I like it.
Thanks, tt, I told him, and he appreciated it!
Richard
