Joining a gym certainly has its merits. Going in and pumping iron and wearing out treadmills has benefits. The real long-term benefits of finding your place in the likes of our YMCA have little to do with exercise. Those benefits have everything to do with social integration and connection. I've made many of my best friends in our Y. As my stories have shown, I've found my quality of life greatly enhanced and I'm one hundred percent certain I've gained no less than fifteen years of life expectancy because of the people I've met there who have been used to show me a better way of living. I never cease to be amazed at the connections we members have in our Y. We exercise, travel, dine, and even visit each other in hospitals. I find a magnitude of fellowship and support far beyond what I've found anywhere else. It's important enough to me that I moved and bought a place to live within walking distance of the Y. When someone takes away my car keys and license, I want to still be able to get there.
