‘PAUL’ IT ALL TOGETHER: Fit at Last

By CHARLENE PAUL

My son is into CrossFit. He is obsessed, as a matter of fact. And he is determined to share that obsession with his dad and me. We watch the CrossFit Games on TV. We eat avocados and eggs and snack on raw almonds. He and his dad run ridiculous numbers of miles, and I walk daily. He looks a little sideways when I want to snack on something sweet, but he doesn’t say much. He is more concerned with setting a good example. He even took me to his gym last week to watch him work out. I didn’t move a muscle, but I was almost too sore to walk after watching him go through his regimen.

It got me to thinking about what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. might say in an address at a meeting of Overeaters Anonymous. I thought about that as I re-read his “I Have a Dream Speech.” With apologies to Dr. King, this is what I came up with:
I have a dream. It is a dream that affects everyone of us.
I have a dream that one day we will rise up and tell those purveyors of promises not kept that enough is enough.

I have a dream that one day under the golden arches of Fast Foodland sons and daughters, mothers and fathers will be able to sit down at the table of healthy portions.

I have a dream that one day the diet industry that holds people in a state of financial, physical, and mental oppression will be transformed into an oasis of common sense and rationality.

I have a dream that little children will one day live where Hidden Valley Ranch commercials are reality – where crisp green, yellow, and orange vegetables are served up with gusto, and devoured with enthusiasm.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be overrun, every hill shall be trodden, and every mountain shall be conquered by running shoes, hiking boots, and mountain bikes as adults and children, alike, revel in activity and fresh air.
This is my hope.

This will be the day when all of us will be able to sing with new meaning “Let freedom ring!”
Let freedom ring. Freedom from the imprisonment of inactivity.
Let freedom ring. Freedom from depression and despair.
Let freedom ring. Freedom from the grasp of those who promise miracle drugs, magic bullets, secret food combinations, snake oil, smoke, and mirrors.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every burger joint, taco stand, and ice cream parlor, we will be able to speed up that day when we all can join hands and sing in the words of a fit people, “Fit at last, fit at last. Thank common sense and rationality, we are fit at last.”

A lot of us, including me, aren’t there yet, and honestly, we may never be as fit as we would like, but as long as we keep moving and trying, we are headed in the right direction.

Charlene Paul and her husband Ken raised their family in Moapa Valley. She loves reading, writing, baking, crochet, and talking. She is the owner of Look on the WRITE Side, a freelance writing and proofreading company and can be contacted at lookonthewriteside@gmail.com.