My nephew, Brent, took a semester of ballet in college.  He claims that he has never been in better shape than when he took that class.  He has since read where sports therapists have basketball players and football quarterbacks take ballet instruction.  These athletes do the same exercises, routines, and movements every day, and are always getting injured.  The theory is that ballet makes a person use their muscles in different ways, and their bodies become more limber.

On the first day of ballet class Brent found himself the only male in a class full of girls.  They were delighted to have him because he would be able to do the lifts.

Brent was issued a pair of tights.  He put them on, and then donned his gym shorts over them.  When he appeared back in the class, the foreign instructor said with a heavy accent, “No, no, no!  This won't do.  I have to be able to see the muscle definition.”

Highly embarrassed, Brent took off the shorts and endured the entire semester.

As a 35-year-old, Brent discovered that he was so stiff that when he bent over, his hands could only reach to just below his knees.  He also had multiple aches and pains in his neck and back, probably stemming from an injured hamstring and walking so as to favor that leg.  He began stretching exercises, and after several months was able to bend over and put his fingers under his toes without bending his knees.  The aches and pains disappeared.  He is now 69, still does his stretching exercises, and can still bend over and touch the floor.  I can, too, but I remember that my mother was able to bend over and actually put her hands flat on the floor!

Brent only took one semester of ballet, but enrolled in ballroom dancing the next quarter.  He claims to be unable to feel the beat of music, and was a terrible dancer.  The lady instructor took him aside and confidentially told him that she was going to make Betty his partner “because you're both so bad.  I can't tell Betty that, but I can tell you.  I don't want you to spoil anyone else's grade.  I won't flunk you, but that's why I'm doing this.”

Based upon Brent's story, I think that I'll start doing stretching exercises.

Before going to Vanuatu, once a year I would feel a “ping” in my lower back, and then become crippled for a week.  On two occasions the problem went down my leg and became a crippling, month-long bout with a sciatic nerve.

On the plane between New Zealand and Vanuatu I discovered an article in a French magazine.  I was amazed to find that my 8^th grade French class enabled me to understand half of what I was reading.  The article was about exercises for the back.  I adopted the program, and had no back problem whatsoever during our 20 months in Vanuatu.

Back at home, I slacked off on my exercises.  One of my sciatic nerve episodes was after returning from Vanuatu, and after not exercising.

I haven't done my exercises now for a long time.  Marjorie and I just did them.  Most of them require us to lie flat on our backs on the floor.  I'm so stooped (in my case that should probably be pronounced “stupid”) that the back of my head can't even touch the floor until I've worked for a minute at getting it down .  After my exercises, I'm two inches taller, and straight.  I'll be straight now for a few minutes until gravity takes over again.