Snowy Days: It snowed a little more yesterday, perhaps dropping  5 inches or so.  I guess that is what we get for living in northeastern PA. It was a bit windy and cold but there is no getting out of shoveling. Scranton has about 80,000 people, many of which will be shoveling today. Not all though. Some local residents will refuse to obey the law and of course no one will enforce it. Some businesses will plow their parking lots onto their sidewalks, and no one will enforce that either. Kids will be walking to school in the street because sidewalks are snow covered. Some people will gain a few pounds in the next few months, maybe because they are a little lazier in the winter, but maybe because they are unable to get around. And, while some refuse to participate in society by shoveling, some older Americans will be shoveling and have heart attacks because shoveling snow and cutting grass is the only exercise they get. I prefer to be in good enough shape to shovel, to cut grass, and to complain until things get better. Just the kinda guy I am.

You owe it to yourself to be fit, and to society to care.

Cheeseburger in Paradise: Aside from being the day dedicated to the birth of Jesus Christ, tomorrow is Jimmy Buffet's birthday. I am not pointing that out because he is a 66 year old Adonis, or even because he runs or workouts ( he may, but I don't know). I only mention it because he truly does put himself out there as an example of someone that enjoys life. It is on my "bucket list" to get to Key West, Florida, and of course to have a cheeseburger there probably with a beer (maybe a margarita) and enjoy that cheeseburger while in paradise. In addition to enjoying life personified by Jimmy Buffet and Ernest "Papa" Hemingway in the bars of Key West, I plan on being in good enough shape to walk around town (probably NOT do the legendary bar crawl). To do things on your "Bucket List" you need to be able to walk. You need to be in good enough shape to get around town: to see the lighthouse, to go into the shops; to take in the history and the fun. Checking something off a bucket list that you only half do is cheating yourself. To enjoy something fully, you need to be capable, you need to be at least a little fit. Maybe tomorrow after the presents, after giving thanks, you might want to go for a little run or do a few push-ups or sit-ups, and perhaps have a drink and toast Jimmy Buffet.

 

Eat, drink and be merry, but give thanks FIRST.

 

 

Winter Run

 

With winter at hand, a morning run can be a very rude awakening. There is not much I enjoy less than a cool run with a brisk wind. Not much as far as exercise goes anyway. However, I'm sure that a slow run in a cold wind is much more fun than flapping around on the ground clutching your chest. It is probably much more fun than shoving a needle into your thigh or stomach because you're a diabetic. Not running does give your significant other choices for the holidays. What to get someone that has everything (including a growing belly), larger clothes of course. A longer belt may be in order. With the holidays here, the importance of friends and family once again is apparent. Enjoy them this year, and do what you can to be here next year for them too.

 

Embrace the wind, embrace life

 





'Tis the season. The lights are put up at Nay Aug Park in Scranton. The weather has been unseasonably warm for the most part for the past few days. Not in the 70's or anything, but in the upper 40's to mid 50's. All in all good running weather (or walking/playing weather). In a few weeks there will be a new year upon us, and many will profess to lose weight in the coming year. Now is your chance to get a jump on it. Go out, burn a couple calories and make those creaky old joints move. If you do, you can go home, have a few Christmas (or "Holiday") cookies and still feel good about yourself. It is not about being the perfect weight, but it is about being a balanced person. A little exercise, a little cookie, a long, happy, FIT life.

Holiday happy, holiday healthy.