I’m Gonna Live Forever

Like the theme song from Fame.

Baby, look at me
And tell me what you see
You ain't seen the best of me yet.
Give me time,
I'll make you forget the rest.
I got more in me,
And you can set it free
I can catch the moon in my hand
Don't you know who I am?

Remember my name. Fame!
I'm gonna live forever

Ah....life expectancy. What a cheerful topic. Sure, our peers are beginning to drop off the planet, but baby boomers are certain that they will live forever (or a reasonable facsimile). If you’re a man born in 1946, you can expect to live to age 83.5. Plus, if you make it to age 70, your redline increases to 84.7. HOW ABOUT THAT, as sportscaster Mel Allen used to say (before he stopped....because he died).

Census figures show that there are now over two million ninety-plus folks in this country and that number is expected to balloon to eight million by the year 2050. We may not be around to ring in that stat but plenty of younger boomers will make it 95 or even 100.

If we approach aging the way we approached everything else, we’ll have it mastered in no time. With better nutrition and better exercise, boomers will most likely be going full throttle in retirement. I’ve heard it said that retirement is not a passive sport anymore, and from what I can see, boomers are setting the bar very high for how much activity one can handle in their lives.

It all does come back to that old cliche: you’re as young as you feel. And boomers are clearly taking that to heart. How many times have you heard someone say that 60 is the new 40 or 50 is the new 30. The reality for many boomers is that they wake up feeling younger and more vital than their age would indicate. Aches, pains and maladies come with the territory, but boomers remain a remarkably resilient (maybe stubborn too) bunch.

So go ahead. Live forever. I’ll be right behind you.

Jay Harrison is a graphic designer and writer whose work can be seen at DesignConcept and at BoomSpeak. He's written a mystery novel, which therefore makes him a pre-published author.

The Exercise Guy

Jack LaLanneI have plenty of fond memories of watching TV in the 50s. Most of them have to do with Gabby Hayes, Hopalong Cassidy, Kookla, Fran and Ollie, or the Mickey Mouse Club. But there was also this strange man in a jumpsuit who was urging us to exercise -- Jack LaLanne was his name, and fitness was his game. He called it “trimnastics” and if you watch his first show, it’s so “fifties” you have to marvel that he made it into such a longlasting career.

It all seemed a little nutty and Jack was such a fervent advocate that it felt a bit like walking down the midway at the carnival. Little did we know then that this guy was way ahead of his time. He was preaching diet and exercise long before anyone else and opened the first modern health club, the kind that is now ubiquitous around the world.

When he encouraged older people to lift weights, medical experts said they might break bones, but now we know that weight exercise helps strengthen bones. He was among the first exercise gurus to recommend weight training for women as well.

Perhaps his most lasting contribution was that he gave people hope by reminding them that it was never too late to get in shape. Following his own advice to others, Jack cut out sugar and processed foods and ate only organic and natural foods. But he also reminded us that it was the combination of diet and exercise that would get results.

According to Jack, "There are so many health nuts out there who eat nothing but natural foods but they don't exercise and they look terrible. Then there are other people who exercise like a son-of-a-gun but eat a lot of junk ... Exercise is king. Nutrition is queen. Put them together and you've got a kingdom!"

While stunts such as swimming from Alcatraz Island to San Francisco while towing a 1,000 boat (and handcuffed!!) on his 60th birthday earned Jack a lot of publicity, it was also what made him seem eccentric. He claimed that all he wanted to prove is that his regimen for good health could work at any age.

When asked if he thought he'd live to be 100, he replied that "I don't care how old I live! I just want to be living while I am living! I have friends who are in their 80s, and now they're in wheelchairs or they're getting Alzheimer's. Who wants that? I want to be able to do things. I want to look good...I tell people, I can't afford to die. It would wreck my image."

Jack’s gone but his advice lives on.

Jay Harrison is a graphic designer and writer whose work can be seen at DesignConcept and at BoomSpeak. He's written a mystery novel, which therefore makes him a pre-published author.

Time to Feel the Burn Again

Okay, let’s start with the photos on the box. Yes, Jane Fonda has been airbrushed out the wazoo to look like that (see a more current photo below). But what do you want? She’s 72 and just about to release two new workout DVDs, so baby boomers should rejoice. Let’s give credit where credit is due. I think she’s had a knee replacement and freely admits to a few nips here and tucks here and there, but she’s Jane Fonda, for crying out loud. She’s supposed to look good. In person and on the box.

When I hear the name Jane Fonda, I think Barbarella or Klute. Maybe Electric Horseman or Cat Ballou. The later movies like Monster-In-Law or Georgia Rule weren’t bad, but coming out of retirement, Fonda seemed to graviate toward the mouthy older woman roles. Maybe that’s the only roles female actresses of a certain age can get (see Leachman, Cloris or White, Betty).

Jane FondaA lot of women hear the name Jane Fonda and they think back to their first aerobics workout tape. The year was 1982 and the tape was such a hit that it sold 17 million copies and prompted a lot of people to go out and buy those new fangled VCR machines. Jane Fonda went on to put out another 23 workout videos. It was a major phenomenom and inspired countless exercise gurus to follow in her very successful footsteps. But let it be said that Jane Fonda really did kick off a fitness craze among baby boomers who were then approaching middle age and starting to experience the spread that came with age. For those boomers, these workout tapes were a godsend.

So here she is again in 2010 about to release two new DVDs (which is good because we’ve all given away our old VCRs to Goodwill). Jane Fonda: Prime Time Walkout and Jane Fonda: Prime Time Fit & Strong are due out Nov. 30 and are primarily aimed at boomers, but not exclusively. Fonda says she wants to inspire “people who think that they are too far unfit to get fit again.” Well, that could cover a lot of boomers if all the stats on American obesity are accurate.

Back in 1982, Fonda urged her legions of followers to “feel the burn.” Maybe now with the new DVDs it they can just go with “burn off the pounds.”

Jay Harrison is a graphic designer and writer whose work can be seen at DesignConcept and at BoomSpeak. He's written a mystery novel, which therefore makes him a pre-published author.