Now that our blood glucose levels have begun to stabilize from the St. Valentine’s Day dietary massacre, we can dare to begin entertaining fantasies of spring and all the springy things that accompany it.

There are many well-informed folks that have made it their life’s ambition to study human longevity and all that goes into helping us not be dead sooner rather than later. Barring accidents, and scuffles gone awry with miffed family, the average life expectancy for us Americans is roughly 79-years of age.

That’s a pretty fair amount of time. My contented thoughts on the fairness of that amount of time may decrease in relation to my proximity to that declared expiration date, but I’ll shuffle across that bridge when it comes. On the topic of the perceived shortness of life, Seneca, a Roman Stoic from back in the age of togas, wine, and public bathhouses, was quoted as saying, “life is not too short, we just waste too much of it.”

Seneca went on to blab at length about how we are much more willing to give away our time willy-nilly, without a second thought, than our money. The former of which we cannot make more of. Perhaps we should embrace boredom and tedium for their ability to make minutes pass like hours.

Only have an hour to live? Watch a political debate, it’ll feel like days, and your eventual demise will be a welcomed respite from the droning drudgery of braying donkeys and gassy pachyderms.

The general consensus among researchers, that devote their time to studying our time, is an agreed upon a handful of variables that not only help us live longer, but help us be more alive during that time. Healthspan…quality of life, versus lifespan…quantity of life.

The variables that have been found to impact quality, and help us live until we die, are thought to be food, movement, sleep, social connections, and stress.

When I first started writing this column in 2006, my Grandpa Ardell expressed his concern that I would use this space to brow beat readers about nutrition and health month-after-month. I assured him that I wasn’t interested in such, that brow beating was a waste of time (especially in his case), and I preferred to simply ramble about life in general.

The impetus behind this brief dip into the world of health, is that I wanted to call attention to a few of my fellow Ligniteians who have taken it upon themselves to devote quite a chunk of their allotted free time to creating a space that positively impacts the majority of the healthspan variables previously mentioned.

Every gang needs leaders, people with a vision, and the desire to bring that vision into fruition. The “Wildwood Gang” is no exception. Although the gangs numbers seem to expand every time I have the opportunity to venture to Upstate North Dakota, or creep around Facebook a bit, its success can largely be traced to three individuals.

My uncle, Tim Chrest, Doug Hysjulien, and Jason Durick have done a tremendous job spearheading the transformation of a largely forgotten piece of the prairie into a space where people can come to move in a manner that suits them, in the company of those who suit them. Quality of life, which just might bring about a bit more quantity.

Quantity is a crapshoot, I’d hang my toga on quality, and join the Wildwood Gang. A gang for all seasons. Togas optional.