As usual, I love your post. One thing that comes to mind about the proliferation of fitness centers is, that at least where I live, people get no exercise in their daily lives. They live in condos with windows closed, take elevators to cars, drive to work and spend the day in sealed buildings, drive home . . .They hardly even walk. The odd thing to me is that many of the machines that people use in the gym run on electricity. Wouldn't you think that the energy the exercisers put out could power the machines and more? Even weirder than the gym - Tanning Salons. Egads!