The Gym

I have never been a member of a gym. Since we are home for so long I joined the gym in Fountain Hills called "The Peaks". I found it hard to work out in the mornings on my own because of the cool temps and no street lights in the neighborhood.

Fountain Hills has a large population of older adults. At the gym the same retired guys show up each morning around 5:30am. Gary Parker is one of the guys that I have met. He is 67 and very fit. He said that 20 years ago he became obese and will never let that happen again. He works out 1.5 hours on the elliptical each morning starting at 4:30am. He is a shining example of someone dedicated to fitness.

This morning (Saturday) we had the opportunity to be on the elliptical together and shared more about our lives. He is a big game hunter and has been in over 50 countries hunting. He has written articles and enjoys experiencing other cultures. He asked me more about City of Joy. We had a good conversation about how to truly help people in Africa as apposed to putting band aides on symptoms of poverty.

At the end of our conversation he said that he would like to get me in contact with Jimmy Buffets brother who does humanitarian work in Africa. He specializes in agricultural projects that help farmers with subsistence farming. It's a long shot that he would be interested in our farming projects but stranger things have happened.