Last week I heard an ominous observation on a British TV show. The context escapes me, but the phrase, intended as a benign descriptor, stuck. In referring to the United States, the narrator referred to us as “currently the most powerful nation in the world.”
Fall along the Eno
Dogs are distracted by squirrels, cats by mice, men in midlife crisis by red sports cars they can barely fit into. Me? A cloudless sky and 70-degree temperatures.
For most of this past week, I managed to avoid the temptation to leap from my desk and run out into the woods chasing after fall. After the changing colors, the curious quiet, the long shadows knifing across the forest floor. But by Thursday afternoon my discipline was shot. I looked out the window, saw another leaf fall and grabbed my day pack and was off. Off to my favorite place to greet fall in the Triangle: the Eno River.
Weekend plans? Cure your fall fever
Fall fever: You caught it this week, do something about it this weekend.
Coast
There should be a law that during the first legitimate week of fall weather — which would be this week — you get to take a day off from work. What the heck, let’s just assume there is such a law and you have elected to start the weekend early and take Friday off. Good move, for that means you can head to the coast and take the Alligator River Canoe Tour conducted by the Coastal Wildlife Refuge Society. The three-hour tour (9 a.m. to noon) explores blackwater canals and Milltail Creek, touching on the history of the area and searching for the refuge’s abundant wildlife (which includes Alligator River Wildlife Refuge’s namesake critter). It’s an exceptionally scenic area, an exceptionally rewarding paddle. All gear is provided: $35 for adults, $20 for kids 12 and under.
Instant Recess
Imagine this: You’re at your desk, toiling away when suddenly the boss appears in your cubicle farm, blows a whistle and yells, “All right, people! Time for recess!”
Recess, which was abandoned in our grade schools about the time EOCs began dominating the academic landscape, is being pushed as a key way to help a sluggish, overweight America get its supersized butt in gear. The notion of Instant Recess, which is embraced by the recently formed U.S. National Physical Activity Plan, activity during the workday is better than staying parked in your ergonomic chair for 8 hours. Thus, employers are being encouraged to conduct 10 minute recess sessions where workers can gather and elevate their heart rates in a healthy way. It’s creator, Dr. Toni Yancey, a professor in UCLA’s School of Public Health, is confident Instant Recess will take hold.
Moma Nia! A body friendly exercise?
It is what folks looking for a workout magic bullet have been hoping to hear since Jane Fonda first implored her legginged followers to “feel the burn,” since we heard our first coach scream the phrase, “No pain, no gain!”
“You want to create that sensation where your body says, ‘Ah … thank you!” I heard that phrase this morning from instructor Julie Ihrig during the cool down of my first Nia workout at the Cary Senior Center. It had been preceded by a string of other phrases that would have made a litany of aerobics instructors, boot camp leaders and personal trainers throughout the land wince: