THE JANE FONDA TAPE
“There was a half-hour aerobics program that came on every afternoon….”
Like many Americans in the 1980s, I got swept up in the fitness craze that was aerobics. Unlike most of them, I was in preschool. There was a half-hour aerobics program that came on every afternoon just before Mister Rogers; I followed along with the moves in my bathing suit and tights. The lead aerobics lady had a bulky mike secured to the back of her waistband. I put on my belt with the ballet-shoes buckle and swiveled it around so I’d have a bulky mike, too.
On my fifth birthday, I was given my own VHS copy of Jane Fonda's Low Impact Aerobic Workout—by Aunt Lea, my mom's sister and my godmother. Like me today, Aunt Lea had no children then and no reason to know current toy trends. Maybe someone remarked that the gift was an odd choice for a child, because I remember her explaining in her upbeat voice that since I religiously watched the TV show, she thought I might like it. I loved it.
Aunt Lea was by far my funnest relative. During her annual summer visits from Ohio to New Jersey, where the rest of our family lived, she swam with all us kids and, though I didn’t realize it at the time, let me win at Trivial Pursuit. On the boardwalk she’d buy me giant tubs of popcorn (when I was young) and skimpy tropical-print dresses (when I was older). She had no airs about her and made everyone around her feel at ease. I can't remember a conversation when she wasn't laughing.
In 2003, when Aunt Lea was 46, she died suddenly from a brain aneurysm. By that time she had two daughters, who were shattered by her death. My grandparents were never the same.
As for me, until the pandemic shut down my gym in March 2020, I went to Zumba class as often as my work schedule allowed. Though Aunt Lea eventually introduced me to 9 to 5, the aerobics tape remains my favorite part of the Jane Fonda oeuvre. I haven't had a VCR for a couple of decades, but I think I’ll always have this tape. It's a symbol of my gratitude for the joy of having had Aunt Lea in my life, and a reminder that no one is too young to be truly seen.
—Adrienne Girard
Adrienne Girard, a longtime magazine and newspaper copy editor, is currently the copy chief of Hearst’s automotive titles.