Today was another day I discovered a person who is no older than 35 whom is purchasing a 1 story home. I heard from a friend, who said the only reason this person is purchasing a one level home is that going up and down steps was unacceptable because of the work and time involved. How absolutely crazy! Mason City is in the Blue Zone Project and we have residents that are afraid of steps? I am believing more and more that I must be an exception to the rule as far as getting a bit of exercise during the day. One of the many things I like about my office being located in the core of the downtown is that I can walk to the banks, to the courthouse, to city hall, to the title companies and even to the grocery store. Sometimes people think I’m at my office because my car is parked outside. For me, walking short distances gets me outside and time to myself. I read an article some weeks ago that was showing the differences between the average male body of 35 years in comparison to other countries. The average male from the Netherlands was what we would expect to see in the USA. Not so today. I was shocked to see today’s men of 35 years here in the United States who are far more pudgy. I know in Europe, people do more walking and especially in the more densely populated cities. They live in multi-storied flats where they have to walk up stairs to get to their apartments. They also have more public transit systems where working people have to walk to their respective neighborhood public transit stations. Many years ago I went to visit my great aunt and uncle who lived in a Northern European country. I was shocked to find them in their advanced years so agile and peppery. They lived in an old two story home that my great aunt kept spotlessly clean. They owned a car but rarely used it because they walked nearly everywhere.
I’m delighted to think how many times I go up and down stairs in a day. I really hope that our general public really “gets it” about taking a few more minutes out of their days and make their bodies move a bit more and burn a few more calories. Yes, with all of our modern conveniences that we have been brain washed to believe will make our lives easier, they are in fact causing us to become more sedentary. I have 13 steps that I traverse multiple times a day which I hope in time will be well worn from use. Wouldn’t it be better to wear out than rust out?
