We're only a few weeks into a brand spankin' New Year and, so far, I've done pretty well on keeping my resolution - getting back into shape.

I decided to join one of those Spinning classes, at the Highline Athletic Club in Burien. I got to class early, so that I could secure a position way in the back - I was there for exercise, not humiliation therapy!

I hadn't ridden a bike in probably twenty years and I had been warned about the mercilessly hard seats, so I came prepared with a fluffy towel to sit on. I didn't know that they had gelled seats to loan.

So, while I'm still fumbling around with all of the adjustments, I hear Marilyn, the instructor, bellow out, "Let's ride!" The music is pounding, the pedals are whirring and there's a sea of faces with smiles framing their gritted teeth. I hop on my trusty steed, throw my feet into the stirrups and look for someone to place my focus - a mentor for motivation.

Up in the front row, I see a tight, trim wisp of a girl, with perfect muscle definition on her legs and triceps. I've found my mentor and put my focus on keeping up with her, as she cranks up the resistance and pounds the pedals. I'm surprised to see that she has grey hair, but then there are a lot of people who grey early. Actually, that's even better, because we're probably closer to the same age.

A half hour later, my new mentor is clippin' along - right on the beat. I, however, am hitting every other beat and have turned the resistance wa-a-ay down to something more manageable. We hit our last "hill" and the ride is over.

As my mentor climbs off her bike, I see that she's older than I thought. However, before I can get my bike wiped down and make my way over to her, she's gone with the wind. I find out, from the instructor, that her name is Barb Hunt and she's 75 years old.

"You gotta be kiddin' me?!" I blurt out. "I've just gotta talk to this little gal." So I ran through the gym and finally caught up with her. The first thing I noticed was how bright and alert her eyes were and that her perfect posture and whole demeanor is that of a healthy twenty year old. In just a few minutes, I found out why.

Ms. Hunt's healthy lifestyle began long before the spinning class. Barb was raised out in the forest, at the dead end of a valley, in Germany.

She said, "My father was a forester, so we lived in a huge government-provided house. It was built in 1462 and had floors made of large wooden planks. My sisters and I would roller-skate up and down the long halls. Up on the hill, there was an old castle that had an underground path that we'd play along during our adventures."

I asked if this was how she got such a good start in staying in such great shape. She smiled and shrugged, "We were always busy doing something. They never had stores, back then. We raised all of our own food, so we had all sorts of critters - horses, cows, sheep, pigs and geese - they had to be fed and taken care of.

"We also grew our own wheat and would have it milled in town. The town had 21 houses and was three miles away, on a dirt road. In the spring and summer, I'd ride my bike and then, in the winter, I'd strap on the old wooden skis. Sometimes we'd hitch up the horses and they'd pull us along."

Her eyes danced, as she talked.

"During the war, the American and British bombers would fly over and had to release the unused bombs, before they could land. Us kids would run out, the next day to find them.

I never remember us kids being afraid. When we had a Full Alert, I had to go down in the cellar with my grandmothers. They'd bide their time by playing gin rummy and arguing. I remember that one of them would put her purse over her head, when she'd hear a bomb go off", Barb laughed, "I guess she thought it would save her!"

Barb moved to the States in 1957 and became a stewardess for United Airlines.

"Back then, the wages were $290 a month, so I shared a room with five other girls. The room only had two beds, so we had to be sure that four of us were out on flights, so that we'd always have a bed, when we got in.

"The rules were very strict, too. In public, we had to wear a hat and white gloves. Even our lipstick and nail polish had to match, perfectly."

I thought, to myself, those were surely the days of class and dignity - have things ever changed!

Needless to say, Barb has traveled all over the world, and yet, she and her husband chose to settle right here in Burien, among her many friends. She and I couldn't get out of the gym without everyone and their dog greeting her.

However, her activities are certainly not limited by the gym. She's ridden horses, wind surfed, played tennis and currently bikes, swims, throws pottery, roller-blades, kayaks and still takes on the double diamond ski slopes and tames them to her liking.

Did I mention that she was on the ski patrol for 22 years?

Barb is quite the gal and I think I see why she's so young in body and in spirit. She's grabbed life by the tail, at an early age, and has never once thought of letting go.

After talking with her, I started to wonder what many of us will be like at 75. Sadly, I don't think that most of us will be as healthy and vibrant.

There was a certain work ethic, determination and discipline that existed, back in Barb's growing-up days. We, now, live in a society of easy living, getting everything we want (with little to no sacrifice), and too many tasks that can be accomplished with the click of a mouse.

We rarely need to lift our back ends from the sofa, so it's not a wonder that some of them are starting to look like a sofa cushion (present company included).

Perhaps we just need to find new mentors? Not the famous athlete's of the world, but people like Barb Hunt, right in our own neighborhood. They are out there, you know.

Des Moines resident Lee Ryan is an actor, creative writer and voice talent. She can be reached in care of hteditor@robinsonnews.com.