Jack LaLanne died yesterday (1/23/2011) at the age of 97. My mom died in November, 2007. They never met but I am sure she had an unrequited love for the man on some level. He was a greater influence on her life than most people, men or women.
It was the middle of the 1950s that we got our first television. Living 150 miles from the nearest station and transmitter, our reception was poor. A small black and white screen in a large, cumbersome cabinet provided entertainment we had never even imagined before. We had a large antenna stuck atop a pole sixty feet up in the air that drew in three stations, two from Oklahoma City and one from Enid. We watched more snow than we did actual broadcast pictures but nothing dampened our enthusiasm for that new mode of entertainment. And on the rare occasion the signal was clear, we could see the performance as clearly as our relatives who lived in the City.
Jack LaLanne was a fitness guru who was ahead of his time. His fitness and exercise show which was begun in 1951 went national on the ABC network and my mother was one of its first devotees. She exercised every morning with Jack. When he kicked, so did she. When he did sit-ups, she was there lying on the floor with him, keeping up with him all the way. They did jumping-jacks, deep knee bends, stretches, toe-touches and nearly everything one could imagine back then. They weren’t muscle burning, sweat producing, aerobic exercises. They were simply consistent movement which trained the muscles to be active and would have exercised the lungs and heart as well.
It was the middle of the 1950s that we got our first television. Living 150 miles from the nearest station and transmitter, our reception was poor. A small black and white screen in a large, cumbersome cabinet provided entertainment we had never even imagined before. We had a large antenna stuck atop a pole sixty feet up in the air that drew in three stations, two from Oklahoma City and one from Enid. We watched more snow than we did actual broadcast pictures but nothing dampened our enthusiasm for that new mode of entertainment. And on the rare occasion the signal was clear, we could see the performance as clearly as our relatives who lived in the City.
Jack LaLanne was a fitness guru who was ahead of his time. His fitness and exercise show which was begun in 1951 went national on the ABC network and my mother was one of its first devotees. She exercised every morning with Jack. When he kicked, so did she. When he did sit-ups, she was there lying on the floor with him, keeping up with him all the way. They did jumping-jacks, deep knee bends, stretches, toe-touches and nearly everything one could imagine back then. They weren’t muscle burning, sweat producing, aerobic exercises. They were simply consistent movement which trained the muscles to be active and would have exercised the lungs and heart as well.
She also listened to the message of a simple diet and healthy living, something which would be a part of her the rest of her life. It was a time when she developed habits that helped her live as long as she did. She lived to the age of 90 even though she had a serious heart attack nearly 50 years earlier. Her heart was damaged by a blood clot running through it and this happened not just once but several times, resulting in an arrhythmia which would always trouble her.
It was Jack’s message which probably caused her to think it was not good to eat too much sugar or salt. In her later years she would intentionally not eat too much. She never overate and always “left the table a little hungry.” Overeating put too much work on your system, she would explain. And she never ate late at night. If one couldn’t eat before five o’clock it was better to go to bed without eating and have a good breakfast the next morning. She was convinced that a lot of people who think they are having a heart attack at night were just experiencing indigestion from eating too close to bed time. A late night snack was unheard of in her house. She ate vegetables and fruit whenever possible. Not a vegetarian at all, she believed meat of any kind was just a complement to the vegetables with which it was served. And too much red meat was foolish, but then again, too much of anything was foolish.
There was a time she was talking to a younger woman who was having problems with yeast infections. She explained that she, then in her 80s, had never had such an infection. She shared with the younger woman that she needed to drink buttermilk and eat yogurt. She was appalled at the medicines I take, suggesting I needed to replace some of those with vitamins and minerals. Regarding vitamins and minerals, one can get most of what they needed if they will eat properly. But supplements were alright. Regarding doctors, people probably shouldn’t go to them with every little thing. Sometimes all you need is to eat right and exercise a little every day.
She arose early every morning, around 5:30. Before getting out of bed she would stretch and do deep breathing. And morning exercises, including her stationary bicycle, were part of her morning right up to the day she died. She was 90 years old, still going where she wanted to go and doing what she wanted to do. Her body functioned well and her mind was good. She was getting ready for church one Sunday morning and literally dropped dead. She was probably dead before she hit the floor.
Her longevity and her wonderful quality of life were something which could, at least in part, be attributed to what she learned from Jack. She and Jack LaLanne had a long-term relationship wherein he was the teacher, she was the pupil; he was the master, she was the disciple. And then she became the teacher herself, making it her life’s project to teach her children, her grandchildren and all who would listen that there are ways to help oneself.
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