As Chelsea wrote in this month’s cover article, more and more things are beginning to open back up and events calendars are fuller than we’ve seen in months! Whether you’re fully vaccinated and ready to jump back into all your favorite summer activities or you’re still feeling a little hesitant to travel or venture out as normal, there are plenty of great ways to have fun around Kansas City this summer. CATCH A SHOW ON THE BIG STAGE. If you’re a big fan of the arts, you’re probably antsy to see live performances again. Warm summer weather means you can enjoy Theatre in the Park as they embark on their 2021 season. Take the whole family to see “Cinderella” or “Mama Mia!” Or for a fun summer date night, catch a performance of “The Full Monty.” For ticket information and to see the full lineup, visit TheatreInThePark. org/2021-season-summary. Fun in the Sun … and Shade FUN SUMMER ACTIVITIES AROUND KC
There’s nothing so trendy as a new superfood or diet, and the “in vogue” ones change constantly. Older readers may remember the Atkins diets and other fads of the early 2000s, but younger ones may not even remember a time before the paleo diet was a thing — and it’s already almost a thing of the past. Many things we associate with these trends, though, are anything but new. We see this most clearly with the grains we turn to in the name of health. Westerners generally wouldn’t be familiar with quinoa, amaranth, teff, or kamut if it weren’t for their presence in the hippest healthy-eating Instagram feeds. Many of these foods hail from Africa or the Far East, so it’s understandable we don’t know them all — but there’s nothing really new about them. People in the Americas and the Old World have eaten quinoa for 3,000–5,000 years. Teff, which is technically a grass seed, was one of the first domesticated plants, emerging thousands of years ago in what is now Ethiopia. Alternate sources of protein and fiber show a similar trend. Seaweed — the perennial favorite of Twitter dieters everywhere — has been consumed in China, Korea, and Japan since before recorded history. If you know anything about recorded history in those regions, then you know that’s a long time! And kale, whose reputation precedes itself, has been cultivated since at least 2,000 B.C. in Greece, Asia Minor, and other parts of the Mediterranean. So, the next time you dig into your favorite health food, take a moment to Google what you are eating. You might be part of a long line of human beings who have turned to that food for sustenance over the millennia! Kale, Seaweed, and Other Not-So-New Superfoods
HOW TO CREATE A SAFER WORLD
Safety is an important topic. While inventions from seat belts to life-saving medical equipment are an important part of creating a safer world, statistics show there is a lot of room for improvement. Nationwide, the number of preventable injuries increased by 3.1% between 2018 and 2019 when some 48.3 million preventable injuries were reported. The National Safety Council (NSC) — a nonprofit dedicated to eliminating preventable injuries and deaths in the U.S. — has designated June as National Safety Month. NSC focuses its efforts on several areas, but its website notes that focusing on two areas in particular — vehicle collisions and accidents due to impairment — could have a substantial impact in decreasing preventable deaths and injuries. A recent NSC study showed that driving-related injuries were down slightly in 2019; however, the three biggest causes of driving fatalities and injuries — alcohol, speeding, and not wearing a seat belt — are preventable and avoidable. You can ensure your family’s safety by buckling up, following all posted speed limits, and never
2
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker