 |
Recreation
|
City of Roswell
P.O. Drawer 1838
Roswell, NM 88202-1838
(505) 624-6700
Fax: 624-6889 |
THE LEISURE INCIDENT
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
"High Tech Leisure Incident"
February 19, 2026
By Kim Elliott, CLP
Recreation Director
City of Roswell
There is an advertisement that is being shown on television that is promoting leisure.
Of course, the ad does not come right out and say it, but the very foundation of the ad is
based on leisure. The ad shows a man who likes to run and he also likes to drive. A
comparison is made between the cost of running in shoes of a particular brand, and, the
cost of driving a particular make and model car. After the comparison it is clear that the
costs for both running and driving are comparable. Naturally, what is trying to be sold is
the car and how inexpensive it is drive. The secondary purpose of the ad, whether by
design or not, is that the leisure incident can be fun and healthful.
The car maker knew how important it was to link with the leisure incident. Why? Because
leisure is what sells. The car was sold as an object of leisure. How many products on
television are sold in a leisure setting?
Most advertisements on television are based on some aspect of making your leisure life
better in some way, shape or form. How much of our current economy is actually based on
leisure? An honest person taking an honest look at the economy might be surprised at
actually how much the economy of this nation of ours is based on leisure.
One part of this national economy is the space program. The space program has helped
the leisure incident tremendously. It may not have been the primary focus in most cases,
but, the end result is that it has helped to improve our leisure time.
Robert H. Goddard lived and worked in New Mexico for several years as he made great
strides in the successful development of the rocket. His work has made our play more
pleasurable while being more of a necessity. How?
On the surface, it appears that all Dr. Goddard did was create a new hobby for many
people around the world. Who hasn’t spent some time in their life trying to propel
objects into the sky? Model rocketry is a fast growing hobby that is not just a hobby for
kids. Adults spend their leisure time with their kids or by themselves shooting for the
stars. Model rocketry only touches the surface of what was started by Goddard.
The entire space program has done wonders to enhance the leisure incident
in this nation. Space program technology has given us the opportunity to do so many things
that only people with vision could see. Most of the technological advances that have come
from the space program has improved everyone’s life in some manner. Travel is safer,
advances in health care have been made, communication has been improved, new materials
have been developed and a better understanding of the necessities of life are the direct
result of the space program. Most of these technological advances end up by benefiting the
people through the leisure industry.
The magazines Popular Science and Popular Mechanics are
great magazines. You can find peoples vision by thumbing through the pages of these two
magazines. Let’s look at some of the new trends in technology that is just mentioned
by one of them. These are items that are already on the shelf or will be very soon.
The January 1999 issue of Popular Science has new and improved
titanium tennis shoes, roller blades, digital VCR’s and TV’s, motorcycles on
which to cruise, improved CD players and stereo systems, new and advanced car, truck and
SUV models, new electronic games, health related articles and much more.
The February issue shows a portable kayak, a six cylinder motorcycle,
monocular, folding stroller, and a fold up bicycle to name a few more. Listen to the
description of a new fabric called Outlast that is being used in new ski boots.
"Microencapsulated paraffinic-hydrocarbons embedded in the fabric change phase from
solid to liquid as it absorbs excess heat generated by the body. If the foot becomes
cooler than the fabric, heat is released from the microcapsules as they solidify."
(Popular Science, February 1999, pp. 14)
WOW! This is only one example of the effort taken to improve your leisure
incident!
This sounds like a lot of effort to make a better ski boot that will be
used in the leisure industry to make the leisure incident more comfortable for you, the
consumer. If that much effort is being made to improve a ski boot, what does that say
about the economy of the leisure incident?
By a community promoting the local leisure incident for the general
public, that same community is also promoting the local economy.
Look at the dollars that are being spent in the leisure industry. You can
subtract the impact of the tourism side of the industry and still have a tremendous impact
on the local community. Ideally, you want to promote both the local leisure incident for
the resident and the tourism leisure incident for the non resident. When you do, the
entire economy of the community will improve. Why?
Very simply put, providing quality leisure incidents for the community is
one of the basic foundation stones that a strong community is built upon.
Parks and Recreation - The Benefits are Endless...TM
