I think it’s in Bill Bryson’s ‘A Walk In The Woods’ where he mentions how many Americans (That is, citizens of the U.S.) only walk between buildings and their cars. Living like that, it actually takes days to walk a mile.
Fitbits came later, but the point remains.
And then there are companies that tried to have their employees sign up to do fitbit pledges… then would pay for someone to jog their fitbit around to get the distances and such. So it still didn’t do the trick.
Sounds like those kids have never played outside and gotten full of grass stains and mud… hopefully it’ll get better. Surely Hubris knows where there’s some parks and rec programs… even if it is this close to the fest…
I don’t know why this comic reminded me of it, other than the mention of boat, but going tubing as a kid was a blast. Being dragged behind a boat on a rubber tube at high speeds was fun.
Less fun when fall off the side and don’t let go of the handle and your suit is lost and you’re being bounced like a stone across the water.
But still fun!
I guess whenever I think of outdoors, it’s always a forest and a lake.
Kidnappers are fun! Nap a kid today for the mileage!
oy…they are just creepy huh?
When I was a child there was a store shaped like a huge boot in Memphis. If those are all her offspring she would have been at home living there.
My sister-in-law was commenting on that fact (the lack of walking) the other day. I promised to loan her some really old science fiction short stories I have on that topic, but I can’t remember what books they’re in (or enough about them to look up the titles, or anything else that would let me find them short of reading through every single anthology I own.)
Asmov had a couple I think. Look for anthologies of his 50’s and 60’s short stories.
The best science fiction short story about people forgetting to walk was in the first MAD comic book, illustrated by Wally Wood. It was called ‘Blobs’.
Just.. ouch..
Hubris: “You know…
“this means…
” road trip!!!”
I remember taking a two-day raft trip down the Yampa and Green rivers in Colorado and Utah with my boss, his pre-teen daughter and a couple of other people from the store.
The first real “rapids” we came to (maybe a four foot total drop) the daughter was all tears and panic repeating over and over “I don’t want to go, I don’t want to die”.
When we got to calm water on the other side she wanted to know why we couldn’t go again.
Hubris, take the not so Partridge family on a raft trip.
When we were kids, my brothers and I spent as much time outdoors as possible. When my daughter came along, we bicycled pretty much everywhere, stopping to hike trails and explore streams. Now we adults are stuck indoors way too much, but when my grandson was climbing trees, she just calmly asked us to help him when he got stuck. I think she’s doing it right.