Combat Lite

Obesity is a major health problem in America today. How can we burn those calories that accumulate during marathon sessions of Facebook and The Sims?

How about "good exercise in a fun outdoor environment" that "teaches teamwork and leadership skills"? An Allentown entrepreneur promises this with his proposed 6 acre airsoft gun playing field in Williams Township. It's like paintball without all the clean-up. Airsoft guns fire plastic pellets that are "slower than paintballs and are less painful when they strike". Less pain, no weight gain! Now, there's incentive toward a healthy activity.

"You're moving all day. The adrenaline is running. It's a very real feeling and a lot of fun. But it isn't for everyone. If you don't like the idea of going into the woods and shooting other people, don't come here." says the entrepreneur.

How ironic that this article appeared in the newspaper on the day after Memorial Day when we remember those who were sent into the woods (or the jungle or the desert) and told to shoot other people and never came back. From personal experience, we were "moving all day", "our adrenaline was running", and it was a "very real experience." It was definitely not a lot of fun though. I doubt that anyone who actually experienced combat actually "liked the idea of ...shooting other people" once they saw the damage that a bullet can do.

I will pass up the opportunity to engage in airsoft gun combat. It might be good for my physical health, but my mental health would suffer.