This morning I heard the news that my long-time virtual friend, Jack LaLanne died at the age of 96. He was one of my silver lamps: a person who showed me a new and better way of looking at things.
I guess it must have been in the late 1950s or early 1960s when I first saw Jack on our black-and-white TV. I was a young teen girl then. I disliked exercise and preferred cake over broccoli in those days; however, I also envied movie stars with their slender waistlines. I wasn't really overweight, but I thought I was. In the summer when school was out and on holidays I began to exercise with Jack LaLanne in hopes of slimming my waistline.
Jack led his TV viewers through marching in place, holding onto a chair if needed for balance. There were sets of other exercises, too. But the thing that influenced me the most was his philosophy of health. I don't remember exactly the words he used, but the essence of it was this: You have been given an amazing, wonderful body, so honor your body and treat it with respect. Love your body, and that's the only diet you'll ever need.
At the time, fitness wasn't considered trendy as it is today. I began to eat healthier food because of Jack LaLanne, but I kept it a secret. "Cool" in those days was eating french fries and hamburgers and stuff listed on the photo above. I didn't tell my friends about my apples and whole wheat bread.
I bought Jack's book, The Jack LaLanne Way to Vibrant Good Health. I bought a "glamour stretcher," a stretchy blue exercise device that would add some resistance.
I admired Jack's birthday rituals of strength, often involving swimming in San Francisco Bay while towing something, like a boat. Many, many years later, I would visit San Francisco and come to realize the chill of the water and the distance from Fisherman's Wharf to Alcatraz Island. I would think of Jack.
So Jack, I thank you for changing my attitude about exercise and nutrition. I never took physical culture to the extent you did, and I never looked like Barbie. But that's not the point, is it? It's all about honoring the body in which we live and move and have our being on earth. Love you, Jack.
