Tim Lane has favorite person status at Speakwell. He is truly one of the good guys in fitness and lifestyle, and there are many of them. Tim puts an enormous amount of personal time and energy into promoting healthy lifestyles and never seems to put a price tag on his time. FITNET is one of the first things we look at in our daily email and we've 'borrowed' many a quote from Tim to be featured in 'Well' If you'd like to receive FITNET send a blank email to join-FITNET@lists.ia.gov.

The following article was written by Jewell Chapman and featured in Iowa Health Focus.

E-Mails Inspire Healthy Lifestyles Over a Decade

When Tim Lane, fitness consultant at the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH), got his first computer, he was annoyed by e-mail from the next cubicle. He found it more efficient to talk over the walls. But when he discovered the ability to send notes to multiple recipients, Lane had an idea. At the time, some IDPH employees had formed a wellness group. Lane used the office e-mail to send notes with quotations to the members of this group to keep them on the right track — quotations like, "The first wealth is health," by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Positive feedback and the fact that people were redistributing Lane's messages, then called "Bugnet," led Lane to believe he was on to something. That was 10 years, 5,000 quotations, and one book project ago. Nearly every day since then, Lane has sent out a "FITNET" mailing, as the project is now called, to more than 2,000 people. Because employers, state wellness coordinators, parents and others redistribute these messages, Lane estimates that at least 350,000 people around the world benefit from FITNET on a daily basis.

"I love the fact that FITNET is being read by forest rangers in the Uinta Mountains of Utah, former Olympians in Canada, and servicemen on ships at sea," Lane said. "I once received a note telling me that some of my messages were even being translated into Armenian." Lane's collection of quotes also assisted in the compilation of a 230-page book, The Quotable Walker, edited by Walking Magazine and published in 2000. The daily notes start with Lane's observations or stories he has picked up, followed by quotations that expand on the theme of the day. One recent anecdote told of some entrepreneurial kids who were selling hot chocolate to people who drove by their stand, but giving it away to people who just walked past. Why? They noticed that people out for a walk usually didn't have any money on them — an interesting reward for simply interacting with the environment on one's own two feet. Recent FITNET quotations have included: "Life is short, and it's up to you to make it sweet." :: Sarah Louise Delany; "Character is simply habit long continued." :: Plutarch; and "I will go anywhere, as long as it be forward." :: David Livingstone; Lane's current favorite quotation is, "I'd do anything to look like him, except exercise and eat right." :: Steve Martin.

Here is a sample of Tim's daily message from December 4, 2007.
Thanks Tim!

Many ingredients in holiday decorations may be toxic, especially to small children. For example the alcohol and other ingredients in gifts such as perfume or cologne, mistletoe and holiday berries, and the "angel hair" decorations made from spun glass that may irritate the eyes, skin, or digestive tract. In fact the food served at parties if not thoroughly cooked or sits out too long, could also be put on a toxic list. Whenever you suspect someone has swallowed something toxic, call your local poison control center immediately — the number is in all phone books. When I first discussed holiday safety years ago a reader was quick to point out that I had forgotten about pets. Things like tinsel, when eaten, can be a real hazard to pets. In fact all the things that are a hazard for children are also a hazard to pets. (Except screen time.) Even a quality electrical cord, when chewed upon can become dangerous. Speaking of pets, a couple of months ago I read where a retired Des Moines neurologist and his two terriers were walking every street in town. The retiree just thought it would be an interesting goal and the terriers are always up for walking anyway. As it turns out the trio will need to log 900 miles before they are done. I don't think it is too early to start the thought process about resolutions for 2008. Obviously if you live in L.A. this might not appeal to you, but having some twists to your "be active" goal might help you in the long run...or walk. "Fortunately, analysis is not the only way to resolve inner conflicts. Life itself still remains a very effective therapist."   :: Karen Horney "It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it."   :: John Steinbeck "The resolved mind hath no cares."   :: George Herbert "There is no chance, no destiny, no fate, that can hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul."   :: Ella Wheeler Wilcox "Health is the vital principle of bliss, and exercise, of health."   :: James Thomson "Imagination is not a talent of some men but is the health of every man."   :: Ralph Waldo Emerson "In a disordered mind, as in a disordered body, soundness of health is impossible."   :: Marcus Tullius Cicero "Men greet each other with a sock on the arm, women with a hug, and the hug wears better in the long run."   :: Edward Hoagland "All truth, in the long run, is only common sense clarified."   :: Thomas Henry Huxley "In the long run, you make your own luck — good, bad, or indifferent."   :: Loretta Lynn