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For much of its existence, St. Louis has been a wealthy city. The grace of its public buildings, the character of its residential neighborhoods, the beauty of its churches, the size and number of its parks are all testimony to its success. Among the virtues historically associated with St. Louisans, thrift and industry are near the top of the order - explaining all those tidy brick neighborhoods full of modestly living households with healthy savings accounts and portfolios full of A-B and Energizer stock.
We have never, though, been a particularly healthy city. We were settled in immigrant waves by people who liked to cook - and, because we were nice St. Louisans, we generally ate whatever they put in front of us. While many of the great World's Fairs of the late 19th and early 20th centuries are remembered for the scientific wonders and discoveries they introduced, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (aka the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair) is most fondly remembered locally for introducing us (and our diets) to waffle ice cream cones, hamburgers, hotdogs, cotton candy, Dr. Pepper, and peanut butter. Carl Sandburg called Chicago the city of the big shoulders. Fortunately, Mr. Sandburg never wrote a poem about any part of St. Louis's anatomy.
This week's Mini-Poll from MayorSlay.com asks you to take stock of your lives and do some measuring of your fiscal and physical well-being. Plenty of St. Louisans have reason to be worried about their finances these days - and the links between stress and bad health seem very clear. At the same time, more and more City residents seem to be spending time outdoors in our parks, on our growing network of trails and paths, and in our gyms and rec centers working off the poundage a diverse heritage of great dining has left us. How are you doing these days?
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