I love public parks. They make cities happy by giving urban dwellers space to run around, host activities and events, and see some green in the midst of an overwhelming tangle of concrete. But when cold strikes Chicago, casual meandering through the park transforms into impatient shivering while waiting for pet dogs to do their business. Alas, the winter months usually result in less outdoor exercise and more efforts to rationalize indoor laziness.
The Chicago Park District offers an excellent solution to this problem: free access to indoor fitness facilities. Between Jauary 2 and the 16th, Chicago residents can kick off the New Year—and perhaps address their New Year's resolutions to adopt healthier lifestyles—by using gym equipment and fitness centers in 60 locations around the city. This program makes fitness more accessible to those who 1) aren't sure if they're ready to commit to a gym membership, and 2) can't really afford a private gym membership.
It's an excellent excuse to bust out of the house and get away from the television for awhile. Comcast cable service isn't that great, anyway.
[Below: Chicago Park District promotional video about Free Fitness Weeks]
No, not that kind of trashed. We're talking recycling here, people.
Global Inheritance came up with the brilliant idea of turning environmentally friendly practices into currency. You can't refute the fact that Americans love to buy stuff. At the very least, we can persuade others to dispose of their waste responsibly by offering stuff-crazy consumers more stuff.
Here's how it works: the TRASHed Recycling Store sets up shop at wicked cool events around the country. The store encourages participants to collect "points" by contributing old bottles and cans, or passing brainy eco-knowledge tests. Accumulated points can then be traded for a range of hot items, from skateboards to Netflix.
The Store will travel to Colorado later this month for the Winter X Games, tapping into the green conscience of extreme sports fanatics.
While I support recycling and environmental awareness, I wanna mention that recycling alone is not enough. Recycling helps, but you can't just chuck a bottle into a blue bin and assume that our ecosystems are hunky-dory. Offering treats for good behavior is an effective strategy, but it's misguided to think that you can simply buy your way to sustainability. We need to celebrate innovative recycling incentives AND push for environmentally friendly legislation, corporate responsibility, and sustainable lifestyle choices.
Honestly, I thought I would chicken out at the last minute. But when I arrived at the beach and found hundreds of people screaming and throwing their bodies into the icy lake, I just couldn't resist. I stripped down to my bathing suit and ran through the snow towards the water with my friend Annie and four Sarahs. My, that was refreshing!
I felt somewhat loopy afterwards—my head clogged with a combination of endorphins and hypothermic-style disorientation. We pulled out some warm tea and shook out our frozen hair. I couldn't stop smiling at the rippling heather clouds hovering above the city skyline.
It turns out that the North-Avenue-Beach New-Year's-Day Polar-Bear-Swim is an annual event. Really, I can't think of a better way to kick off another twelve months (unless it involves saunas and hot tubs). Some may call us crazy; I prefer the term "adventurous."
Two weeks ago, I made a promise that I'm about to regret: I told a couple of friends that I would join them for a polar bear swim in Lake Michigan on New Year's Day.
Yikes. Today it's 13 degrees in Chicago, and tomorrow probably won't be any better. My basic emergency medical knowledge tells me that a bit of dabbling in hypothermic conditions probably won't kill me. Nonetheless, I'm silently repeating old sayings from my high school white water kayaking instructors, frequently uttered on those bitterly cold days of paddling through New Hampshire river systems in March:
"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Pain is weakness leaving the body. That'll put hair on your teeth."
I wonder if hairy teeth still chatter.
To mentally prepare for my arctic plunge, I remind myself about all of the other senseless polar bear swimmers (or martyrs) who continually freeze their butts off to promote good causes.
Polar bear charity events span from the cold winter waters of Maine to the (artificially chilled with bags of ice) waters of Hawai'i. Cold-water fools—I mean champs—dive in to raise money for myriad causes, such as special Olympics, the domestic violence (DV) movement, animal welfare, and other equally worthy endeavors.
I'll let you know how the swim goes—after my fingers thaw, of course.
Okay, so I missed the Globetrotters' performance earlier today, but I still caught a whole lot of awesomeness at Mayor Daley's Holiday Sports Fest this weekend. The three-day annual event draws some 85,000 participants from all over Chicagoland. The event is free and open to the public, thanks in part to the city's Special Events Office, Chicago Public Schools, and the Chicago Park District.
After reading a description of the event, I thought it sounded kinda cool. But after walking inside the luxurious—we're talking indoor fountains and marble staircases—building and witnessing the incredible scope and scale of the event, I came to the realization that this was much more than "kinda cool."
Archery, golf, martial arts, adaptive sports, fencing, gymnastics, basketball, ping pong, aerobics classes, climbing walls, skateboarding...if you can name it, then they had it.
See for yourself. I couldn't resist flip-camming the heck out of that space.
I love community events that give people the chance to play together. What a great way to spice up the winter break. So rad :)
No, not that kind of trashed. We're talking recycling here, people.
