Racing the Wind: Seventy-Seven and Still Playing Full-Court, Fast-Break Basketball: Achieving Athletic Longevity, a Gift That Keeps on - Tapa dura

As the years have gone by I have become increasingly aware that having good health is far more important than having money or owning nice things. Everything else pales into obscurity when compared with our health. In this book I encourage men and women of all ages to find sports and physical activities they truly enjoy beginning as early in life as possible. This book is about being the best you can be for as long as you can be. Not only will you find it very enjoyable if you do, you will reap huge health benefits as well. We are capable of much more than most people realize. I speak from the personal experience of still being able to compete with much younger athletes in a challenging game at an age most people would likely regard me as being “too old.” Many of the players I play with have made the comment, “I don’t know how you do it.” In this book I have tried to explain what I have done to “do it.” I do not feel much different mentally now than I did as a young man and I am still considered to be a reasonably capable player. My health is excellent. My energy level is high. I do not take any prescription medicines. I do not experience many aches and pains. I believe these positive outcomes have been greatly influenced by the effort I have put in. It doesn’t just happen you have to make it happen. This is a book about real life in the real world. I have included several real life experiences to illustrate the impact that athletics and physical conditioning have had on mine and my wife’s health. They include vignettes on job stress, open heart surgery, depression, and allergic reactions to chemicals. Many of you may experience these or other types of serious challenges at some point in your lives. I wish all of you the very best and hope that you will make a real effort to “Be all you can be.” You can help forge your own destiny.

Many of the players I play with have made the comment, "I don't know how you do it." I am going to try to explain what I have done "to do it." Our nation is facing a health crisis, and I believe athletics and physical conditioning are an important part of the solution.

I am seventy-seven years old and have been an athlete for almost all of those years. I am in excellent condition. I do not experience many aches and pains. I am still able to compete with much younger athletes. My overall health is excellent. I enjoy life. I love to compete. I believe all of these attributes are directly related to my athletics and physical conditioning. I have had to continually upgrade my game and my training.

My life has been greatly enhanced. I do not feel much different now mentally than I did when I was a young man. The gifts I have received through athletics and physical conditioning have not only helped me attain and enjoy good health; they have also helped me through some very difficult periods in my life as well. I will try to relate how my wife and I were helped in dealing with some of those experiences.

As the years have gone by, I have become increasingly aware that having good health is far more important than having money or owning nice things. Everything else pales into obscurity when compared with your health.

This book will be of value to men and women who are interested in their health and well-being over the course of their lives.