Health smart

A rainy, soggy Saturday morning couldn't dampen the spirits of energetic booth workers at an outdoor health fair. Several colorful tents dotted the plaza, providing some shelter over the workers and their mountains of informational brochures and give-away items piled on tables inside the small canopies.

It was a sparse crowd on this gray day. If the weather had only been sunny and warm, like many days leading up to the event, the plaza would have been teeming with lots of festival goers, including families and persons of all ages. As it was, I was one of the few umbrella-toting individuals who came out with interest and support.

I stopped at each booth, getting acquainted with the booth volunteers and learning about the organization or health initiative featured. I learned all types of new things, like how to read W.I.C. labels on the grocery store shelves or what specific activities give an educational head start to 3-year olds.

One booth featured a cooking demonstration. The chef began assembling a variety of fresh vegetables sliced in stir-fry fashion and created a fairly easy-to-prepare but healthy vegetable medley that took very little time and would be a scrumptious alternative to fast food.

I kept moving booth to booth. By now I'm carrying a colorful plastic bag with several free items, like pens and hand sanitizer. At the last booth I visited it seemed that very few persons had stopped there ahead of me due to the piles of untouched brochures. As I said, it was a sparse crowd. So when I approached, two booth workers jumped to their feet, grabbed information about their organization, and started talking.

And I listened. So I learned all about mental health services in the county through this organization. At the end, one worker gave me an informational brochure and the other gave me three rolls of Smarties candy. She said, "Here you go because now you're much smarter than before you stopped by, and we thank you." I accepted the Smarties and held them in my hand, saying, "Do you know why Milk Duds and lollipops are just dying to go to the university?" Both workers looked at me with strange glances and said, "Uh, no. We have no idea." I said smartly, "Because they want to become Smarties!"

[Nancy Linenkugel is a Sylvania Franciscan sister and chair of the department of Health Services Administration at Xavier University, Cincinnati Ohio.]