THE Baxter Blog

Hear that noise? Sound familiar? It should. It's the sound of all those New Year's resolutions coming to a screeching halt. Kind of a post-Valentine's, pre-Tax Day annual occurrence, often falling on the day after St. Paddy's. All that collective ambition, no cumulative results. Why the heck can't we learn from our mistakes? Come on someone! Give a better way! Enter Baxter.


Even if you read my last blog," Each Day A Lifetime", you will hopefully allow me the opportunity to draw-off one more experience from our snowboard trip last February. 


The details:


It was zero degrees at the base of the mountain on a Monday morning. Lift lines were anemic with weekend vacationers gone, students in school, and most retirees hibernating from the stinging cold. Most I say, but not Baxter.


My buds and I were waiting for the high speed quad chair lift to take us up to the top of Big Burn run when an elderly, spry gent jumped into line and joined us for the ride. He was a tall, lean skier with modest equipment. He was wearing a combination of ol' school helmet, googles and bandana covering the remainder of his face like back in the wild west. We could faintly determine through his yellow lens that he had that old, weathered look to his skin. But his eyes, even through the fogged goggles, spoke of passionate youth and engaged interest.


"Where you from?" we asked. Odessa Texas, he replied in a deep, gravelly voice. "Been here since '75." We felt pretty safe in our assumption that Baxter was beyond retirement age, but hesitant to assume any more than that about this man. We continued our attentive inquiry. Baxter told us of how he was an oil rig repairman who started "his own deal" and now lives "a mile down the mountain". We were all taken back by the genuine nature of his demeanor, and held on to each word. After I finally mustered the courage to ask how old he was, he proudly admitted he was 77. I just had to ask what his secret was. "Well, if it's not too cold, I ski a little everyday." My first thought was, dang, it's zero freakin' degrees! Along with that it's ten in the morning and he's already got at least five runs under his belt on a very big mountain. Personally, I felt feebly boyish next to this man's man.


Baxt (get it?) to the moral of this story. The promise of fitness is an empty one for those who habitually fluctuate from trendy to apathy. Ownership of one's health and wellness is achieved through courageously treading the lines of fatigue and frivolity, weakness and regeneration, oblivion and awareness. The secret lie not in the"latest and greatest", but finding what you love to do and "earning that shower everyday". Those words are scripture at our Positive Stress Workout. 


Bottom line: Our blessings are our renewal. If we live through our blessings, we are renewed. If we live through obligation, we simply burn out. Baxter set the example by side stepping the trendy and abiding in the authentic.


"Consistency is the foundation of virtue."
                         -Francis Bacon


Moral character in today's world is a hard find. What better place is there for us to take example than an old timer with the courage and consistency to be steady when everything shakes?  A little everyday can take you a long way.