RedBank.Com

We felt the first day of spring on St. Paddy's Day before the cold weather came back. Hopefully it will be short lived with warm weather to follow. That means the budding of trees and flowers, young and old getting spring fever and a rush to get outside after a horrific winter.

The war with Iraq has put a damper on many spirits as well as the economy. With the majority of Americans waking up to fact that America has been attacked nine times since 1979 both abroad and twice at the World Trade Center the resolve to end terrorism has become stronger. Our prayers are with our military sons and daughters.

So, we are waiting for spring, for the war to be over and for the economy to start recovering. What do we do in the mean time? Of course we need to lay plans for all of the above when they finally happen. In the mean time it might be a good time to take care of ourselves personally.

Now might be the time to join a local gym and start getting into shape not only for the bathing suit but for the rest of our lives. Physical health lends to a stronger mental health as well as a stronger immune system. We are going to need them as more and more strains of diseases come our way. Diet and exercise are key to long life.

We need also to look at our diets and the diets of our children. With 60% of Americans being clinically over weight our national health is steadily going down as being over weight contributes to hearth disease, diabetes, problems with digestion and strokes. With four generations of us eating fast foods it is time to find consultants to advise us how to eat and what our bodies need.

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From the Archives: This article by Danny Murphy originally appeared on RedBank.com on April 1st 2003.