What’s with the McDonald’s bashing? Jumping on the bandwagon, people scream and shout that the golden arches empire is bad for you, fatty, an evil empire, blah-blah blah! Get over yourselves.

I can still sing the McDonald’s theme song for the Big Mac sandwich, and I still remember when Jason Alexander danced his way into a jingle long before he was George Costanza on Seinfeld. And I still crave to go to McDonald’s when they run the infamous Monopoly game promotionals every year. Canadian rock band Barenaked Ladies sang about their teenage love for a McDonald’s girl. And yes, I have a well-hidden spot in my heart for the salty fries and the hot fudge sundaes as well.

I remember being a young boy thoroughly losing my mind when McDonald’s was on the menu that day! It was a sort of heroine for kids my age at the time, being used as reward for being good, cleaning our rooms, or not burning the house down. We reveled in the meager toys we used to get in Happy Meals back then, not remotely close to the multi-billion dollar industry that the toys ditributed to kids in their meals today. I grew up with Grimace long before Barney the dinosaur plagiarized his way into mainstream media, and back when the Hamburglar didn’t have to worry about being politically correct, and Mayor McCheese was not even remotely as scary as Jack in the Box’s mascot.

And we didn’t get fat and obese. We didn’t turn evil and try to destroy the world in one massive swoop. We just grew up.

We realized that there is a world of other foods out there that offer alternative tastes and flavors. We realized that eating 3 meals a day consisting of predetermined meal numbers is not a healthy thing. We discovered that input and output must have some for of balance to it. And most of all, we realized that we can’t blame others for choices we make … choose your diet and lifestyle well, and enjoy some fries and hot fudge sundaes every once in a while!

Sure, McDonald’s is a rare treat these days, but more because I chose surfing and yoga over Big Macs and the now retired McDLT sandwich. As a surfer looking for any edge out in the water, and as an aging hipster looking to keep as healthy as possible for longer surf sessions, McDonald’s took a back seat to lifestyle choices. But to be honest, I still walk 2 miles to buy a hot fudge sundae (I figure it evens things out if I walk) and get excited when the Monopoly Gameboard commercials come on television. But, I have to surf so I make a choice.

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