Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Entries for April 26 - 1911 and 2011 (Exercise)

Rita's Entry: Wednesday, April 26, 1911
Orchestra.  Pretty good practice.  S.A. over his grouch which makes it much easier for me in playing.  Practiced in afternoon.  Harmony all evening.

IN RITA'S DAY: As the Industrial Revolution continued, people moved to cities and got less and less exercise.  Rita does do a lot of walking while in Chicago which I'm sure helped.  And, of course, Teddy Roosevelt may have been the most fit of our presidents.  However, when WWI came it was revealed that one out of three American young men who were drafted was unfit for combat (according to the University of New Mexico article).  Because of this, the government called for increase physical education, but the depression soon brought an end to that.  Women didn't do much exercise although Eleanor Roosevelt did teach calisthenics in the early 1900s, but then again American women weren't allowed to compete in the women's swimming in the 1912 Olympics(see above) because women could only compete in events where they wore skirts!

TODAY:  Exercise has become such a big business.  Still it appears that as our society becomes more involved in wealth, prosperity and self-entertainment, our fitness levels are dropping.  It may sort of parallel what was happening in Rita's day.

Judy's Entry: Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Mom's root cana was postponed until next week.  She was happy.  We went to the senior center for our exercise- Chair Zumba.  All the older people there are very nice, but I hope we look a little bit more fit than the group above.  We were bad and got something to eat at McDonald's after.  Not good for the mother and grandmother of a nutritionist!  In the afternoon, I worked outside cleaning more of the mildew off the deck.  Beautiful day!

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