Another area that was discussed in great detail happened to be one of the newest forms of childhood diseases, "Nature Deficit Disorder." In a large study, it was determined that the average child today spends 53 hours a week in front of some type of electronic device (TV, game system, IPOD), and the only thing they do more than that is . . .not socializing, playing, or even school, it's sleeping. Children today, generally speaking, are spending more and more time indoors and less and less time outdoors. It was mentioned that child obesity, child diabetes, and other physical maladies are at the highest levels ever seen. Back in the 60's, there was one car, one income, and the average home around 1,000 square feet—no wonder your mother would yell, "You get out of this house and don't come back until supper time!" So what did the kids do back then? They would go outside and do stuff: playing in the dirt, swimming/floating in the canals, examining anthills, riding bikes, etc. All of this begs the question, "How did you grow up, were you inside most of the time, or outside?"

Reference your outside experiences to those shared by Earnest Shackleton and his crew trying to escape from their frozen prison after their ship was destroyed by the ice. In following the leadership strategies listed in the book, Leading at the Edge, Dennis Perkins lists success strategy #5 as "Reinforce the team message constantly: "We are one—we live or die together." We aren't faced with the same hostile environment as Shackleton; but we are, however, faced with the growing problems facing our young ones. I really feel that the 'go outside' message is good for business owners and employees, as well as anybody in our community—not to mention those tourists that choose to 'go outside' in our backyard!

There is an incredible website www.beoutsideidaho.org which lists more than a hundred activities to do to get kids outside again. The best part is. . .they can look for themselves. So this summer, the next time your child asks in that ever so familiar whine, "What is there to do?" You can reply, "Go to the website www.beoutsideidaho.org and find something and we can do or place to go together.

We have an amazing group of communities in the Mini-Cassia area where it's safe –99.9% of the time to let kids go out and enjoy being outside without worry, I daresay, we should be more worried about what happens when the kids aren't outside. Given the statistics with the childhood diseases and problems that are preventable if we'll just get outside--back to how folks use to live, work, and play, it's true that we are one, and we will live or die together.