February 2011

Valentine’s Day may fall on a Monday this year, but die-hard romantics won’t let that dampen their spirits. No doubt there will be celebrations during the preceding weekend—which partner perfectly with a Saturday morning shopping expedition to the farmers’ market. (Don’t forget the flowers!)

Due most likely to their vaguely-heart shape and brilliant hue, strawberries have long been associated with Valentine’s Day. Technically it’s still winter, but early strawberries make their debut at the farmers’ market this month. After weeks of gray, everyone yearns to see red. Unfortunately the berries that show up in supermarkets are often a big let- down—pretty on the outside, but dry and flavorless within. Rest assured that farmers’ market berries won’t disappoint, for they are grown locally and ripened naturally, just as nature intended.

I’ll wait a few months, when prices are low and flats of fragrant berries are piled high at the market, before I make jam and extravagant strawberry desserts. For now, I’ll make the most of a precious few, enjoying a sneak preview of what’s in store for this coming spring and summer.

The following two-part spread is a study in contrasts: rich, oozy cheese topped with cool, sweet-tart strawberries; accentuated with the bite of fresh ginger, the heat of jalapeño, and the refreshing sensation of lime and mint. Best of all, it feeds a crowd.

Instead of baking a wheel of cheese as directed, you may choose to make your life easier still by simply spooning the salsa over a room-temperature log of fresh goat cheese. Alternatively, double the salsa recipe and serve it as a dip for tortilla chips; alongside an omelet or quesadilla; or as a condiment with grilled or roasted pork, poultry, prawns, or salmon. More adventurous souls may even want to try it over chocolate ice cream for dessert. If you are determined to stick to your New Year’s diet, however, this salsa is no less delish when served with cottage cheese.

Berry Good Things to Know

• A shiny berry is a fresh berry. Once picked, strawberries lose their natural sheen in a matter of days.
• Fresh green caps, intense perfume, and vibrant, uniform color are other qualities to look for in strawberries. Avoid those “white shoulders” that mean the berries were picked before their prime. Also remember that bigger is not always better!
• When stored properly, farm-fresh strawberries last 1 week or longer in the refrigerator. (Oh yes they do.) Here’s the secret: Line a plastic container with a paper towel to absorb moisture. Gently pile in the unwashed strawberries with their green caps intact. Top with another paper towel, seal with an airtight lid, and refrigerate.
• Never rinse strawberries or remove their green caps until just before using. Rinsing berries removes their naturally protective outer layer; and their caps prevent water from soaking into the strawberries, diluting the flavor and altering their texture.
• To clean strawberries, place them in a colander or large sieve and rinse quickly under a gentle spray of cold water. Pat dry with towels; then remove the green caps, if desired.
• To hull strawberries (i.e., remove the green caps), use the sharp tip of a paring knife; the pointed end of a swivel-bladed vegetable peeler; or a strawberry huller—an inexpensive tweezer-like gadget available at most cookware shops. This removes not only the leafy green cap, but also the tough little core beneath it.
• 1 cup of halved raw strawberries weighs in at around 49 calories. They are a good source of vitamin C, and also contain potassium, iron, and folic acid.

Baked Brie with Fresh Strawberry Salsa

• Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime
• 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 small jalapeño chile pepper
• 1 1/4 cups hulled and coarsely chopped strawberries (about half of a 1-pint basket)
• 1 or 2 green onions (scallions), thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh mint leaves
• 1 (5-inch) wheel of brie (about 15 ounces)

1. In a bowl, mix together the lime zest, lime juice, ginger, honey, and salt.
2. Wearing rubber gloves, remove the stem, seeds, and ribs from the chile pepper and chop finely. Add to the lime mixture; then gently stir in the strawberries, green onion(s), and mint to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes (or up to 6 hours) to blend flavors. This makes a generous 1-cup of salsa.
3. About 45 minutes before serving, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the cheese on a heatproof serving dish and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the wheel is soft when touched in the center but still hold its shape. Spoon the chilled salsa over the hot cheese and serve at once with plain unsalted crackers (water biscuits), wheat biscuits, or fresh or toasted baguette slices. Serves 10 to 12 as an appetizer.

The Danville Certified Farmers’ Market, located at Railroad and Prospect, is open every Saturday, rain or shine, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. For specific crop information call the Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association at 1-800-949-FARM or visit their web site at www.pcfma.com.

When ALIVE East Bay readers think about professional baseball it is likely those thoughts drift to the Giants and A’s and the big-money, glamorous world of the major leagues. Beneath that glamour is a multi-layered labyrinth called Minor League Baseball that is filled with small-money players harboring million dollar dreams.

The daily battle of the minor league experience is vividly captured in the film Time in the Minors, which follows two players over several seasons as they fight their way up the ladder hoping to make an appearance in The Show.

The players are Stanford grad Tony Schrager, the sixth round pick of the Chicago Cubs in 1998, and high school star John Drennan, the first round pick of the Cleveland Indians in 2005. Schrager received a bonus of $87,500, plus $20,000 to finish school after his baseball career. Drennan received a $1 million bonus from the Indians. The level of investment was one factor in how each player was evaluated, promoted and moved during their careers.

The underlying theme of the film is that the minors are a grind. Only 10 per cent of the 1,500 players drafted every year eventually play a day in the major leagues. The winnowing is as much about attrition as talent. The adjustment from playing two or three games a week in school to six or seven games a week in the minors is emphasized, as is the intense offseason and off-hours conditioning that is mandatory for survival.

The film does a great job capturing the almost desperate striving of the players and makes it clear that opportunity and good fortune are at least as important as ability. It also captures the angst of both players’ parents and Schrager’s wife through the ups and downs of life in the minors. The comments of a sports psychologist are particularly poignant as he emphasizes the impossibility of every day being a good day when competing in professional baseball. Most pro ballplayers were big stars in school, and this new reality is a big part of the adjustment to pro ball.

Off the Bench watched the film with Monte Vista High School baseball players Brett Binning and Mark Hirsch and Brett’s father Tim. Both young players commented that pro baseball was a much more cold and difficult business than they realized; and Hirsch expressed surprise that only one out of every ten players selected in the draft makes it to the majors.

For Tim Binning, the key learning was how small the window of opportunity is for the players, and how a bad few weeks at the wrong time could keep a young man from achieving his lifetime dream.

“The film showed how important it is to go to college, not just for the academics but to have the maturity to handle the ups and downs,” Tim Binning added. “At the higher levels the skill sets are extremely similar and the importance of the mental side hit home for me.”

Brett Binning also commented that baseball helped Schrager get into good colleges (he was at Yale before Stanford) and believed the challenges Schrager faced in baseball would help him succeed in his life after the game.

Time in the Minors will help viewers appreciate how difficult it is to make the major leagues. The film creates sympathetic portraits of its subjects and reminds the fan and non-fan alike of the power of a dream and the value of the sacrifice necessary to achieve that dream or be able to live with falling short. Those interested in purchasing this worthwhile film (about $20) can visit www.landmarkmedia.com or call 1-800-342-4336.

Valentines Day each February, makes us think of love and romance. But what is romance without wonderful songs that speak of love? And who better to sing those songs than the great crooners of the recent past.

Although the golden age of crooners is a sweet memory for most, fortunately we still have the recordings and videos of their television shows and movies. These shows and films feature many of the great singers who made that form of music so memorable.

Three of the most famous and well known crooners of the past are Bing Crosby, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra.

Bing Crosby
Born Harry Lillis Crosby on May 3, 1903 in Washington State, Bing Crosby was undeniably the ultimate crooner of them all. Beginning his career in vaudeville, Crosby was one of the leading multi-media stars from 1934 until 1954. His active career lasted over 50 years.

“His bass-baritone voice and singing style was unique as he “bent” notes and used “off-tone” phrasing from his knowledge and appreciation of the jazz idiom, emphasizing phrasing to make lyrics ring true, Musicologist J.T.H. Mize, said. “Crosby could melt a tone away, scoop it flat and slide up to the eventual pitch as a glissando, sometimes sting a note right on the button and take diphthongs for long musical rides.”

His influence was notable in all phases of the entertainment industry including recording, stage, radio, TV and films. He appeared in over 70 motion pictures winning an academy award for his role in “Going My Way” in 1944. His awards, accolades and honors are too numerous to mention. He died October 14, 1977 at age 74.

Dean Martin
Martin was born Dino Paul Crocetti on June 7, 1917 in Steubenville, Ohio to Italian parents. He was equally at home in stage, nightclubs, recordings, TV and motion pictures. Martin was nicknamed the “King of Cool,” largely because his style of performance seemed so laid-back and easy. Martin dropped out of high school early and had numerous jobs including boxing. He started singing with local bands. His good looks, easy manner and smooth singing voice made him a sure hit. His early singing could be described as a crooning style. After a short stint in the U.S. Army during World War II he began singing in East Coast nightclubs.

A chance meeting with comedian Jerry Lewis led to the very successful team of Martin & Lewis. Some people called them “the organ grinder and the monkey.” They appeared on many TV shows including the Ed Sullivan Show. After the breakup with Lewis, Martin had a successful film career and a long-running TV variety show. His singing style was influenced by Harry Mills of the Mills Brothers, Bing Crosby and Perry Como. Martin died December 25, 1995 at age 78.

Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra was born December 12, 1915 in Hoboken, New Jersey. Hearing Bing Crosby on the radio made him decide to become a singer. His career started when he sang in New Jersey nightclubs. Harry James heard him and asked him to join his band. Sinatra later joined the Tommy Dorsey orchestra and there he established himself as a top-notch band singer. He rapidly became the first teen idol attracting hysterical bobby-soxers at his performances which included the popular weekly “Hit Parade.” Sinatra proved his acting prowess winning an Oscar in 1954 in From Here To Eternity.

In the 50s and 60s he was a major attraction in Las Vegas. He, along with Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr., formed the core of the famous “Rat Pack.” Sinatra had many hits and is particularly recognized for his impeccable musical phrasing. He died May 14, 1998 at age 82.

A poet wrote, “Life is a song – Love is the music.” These crooners and others have influenced lovers for decades with their talent – their legacy to music and love will certainly live on.

Please submit your questions and comments to banddirector01@comcast.net. Visit our website at www.danvilleband.org for up-to-date information about the Danville Community Band.

The results of recent studies on retirement show that many Americans are not even close to being ready for retirement. Worse yet, many are not doing anything about it. One of the country’s most established and comprehensive studies is the Retirement Confidence Survey sponsored by the Employee Benefit research Institute. Now in its 20th year, this annual survey compiles the attitudes and behaviors of American workers and retirees towards all aspects of saving, retirement planning, and long-term financial security. Let me share some of the findings in the 2010 survey.1

The survey finds that the record low confidence levels seen after the financial crisis appear to have bottomed out. However, they are still not very encouraging. Only 16% if workers said they were “very confident” about having enough money for a comfortable retirement and retirees asked the same question where only at 19%.

It is no wonder many feel so ill prepared… an increased percentage of workers report that they basically have no savings at all. For example, 27% of workers said they have less than $1,000 in savings. More than half of workers, 54%, report that the total value of their household’s savings and investments, not counting their home and any defined benefit plans, is less than $25,000! How do you retire on that? Apparently reality must be setting in because the age at which workers expect to retire has been trending upward. The percentage of workers who expect to retire after 65 has increased over time, from 11% in 1991 to 14% in 1995 to 19% in 2000 to 24% in 2005 and now stands at 33% in 2010.

Sadly, many workers are totally clueless about how much they need to save for retirement. Only 46% of workers report that they and/or their spouse have tried to calculate how much money they will need to have comfortable retirement. My experience shows that even those who have saved for retirement still do not understand all the risks they face in retirement. These risks, if not addressed, can derail a comfortable retirement.

All of the following need to be considered in your retirement planning: Retiree spending – your rate of withdrawal has a profound impact on how long your money will last. Generally 4% to 5% withdrawal rates are regarded as sustainable. Inflation will erode the value of your savings so invest accordingly. Market volatility – the sequence of returns you experience in retirement can have a big impact on whether your money runs out or not. Longevity – statistically we are all living longer. Be sure to plan for a ripe old age. Catastrophic events can derail even the best retirement plans. Be sure to hedge against these with insurance. Legislative changes – it is always a good idea to consider how changes to Social Security, Medicare and taxes will affect your retirement plans. Lots to think about I know. Hopefully some advanced thought and planning by all will help to better the sorry statistics I sighted above.

1. Employee Benefit Research Institute 2010 Retirement Confidence Survey

Damien helps individuals invest and manage risk. He is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and a principal of Walnut Creek Wealth Management. These are the views of Damien Couture, CFP® and should not be construed as investment advice. All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however we make no representation as to its completeness or accuracy. Your comments are welcome. Damien can be reached at 925-280-1800 x101 or Damien@WalnutCreekWealth.com.

No doubt, many of us would love to have less clutter. Let’s face it; most of us just have too many things. It could be the extra furniture or maybe those stacks of magazines. And what about all that stuff piled up in the garage! There never seems to be enough space for everything we collect.

Remember those huge entertainment centers? Back in the day, they seemed like a viable way to reduce equipment clutter. While they did a great job of hiding audio and video gear, they often took up more space than they actually saved.

While today’s shelves and cabinets are a bit smaller than the old entertainment center, furniture continues to take up massive space and often ruins the room aesthetic.

Leaving only the TV, imagine what your TV or projector room would look like with all of the audio furniture and equipment removed. Have you ever thought that there may be another place in your home where the equipment could be relocated? Enter today’s remote control.

Perhaps there’s an extra hallway or coat closet with unused storage shelves. These are perfect for equipment. Any small, underused area is a candidate for equipment storage. What about a wall-shelf in that extra bedroom or in the garage?

Many living areas and family TV rooms look much smaller than they are because of equipment clutter. Using One-button, Radio remotes, today’s home automation professionals provide affordable, convenient solutions for eliminating equipment clutter. Hiding the gear with remote control is easy and affordable.

A simple, One-button Remote frees you from having equipment in the same room as the television, projector and audio gear. With the cabinets and storage no longer needed – you gain back valuable space! The room becomes uncluttered and your entertainment system becomes very easy to operate!

Remote control is also a great first step towards home automation or a “smart home.” For example, when controlling a TV with remote, it’s easy to add lighting control or automated window coverings. Imagine controlling your lighting and shades from the same remote you use for your television. How cool is that?

In addition to the wow factor, a One-button Control can also move your home toward sustainability. This same remote can also be used to adjust lighting making it easier to reduce energy demand. Base lighting levels can be preset to match your mood. They can also be set to turn off automatically following periods of inactivity for additional energy savings.

Audio and video equipment clutter can become a thing of the past. Today’s home automation professionals have the expertise to hide your gear anywhere. Relocating equipment to underutilized areas and using an affordable One-button Control are two easy steps towards making your home clutter-free and sustainable.

Dave High is a LEED Accredited Professional with Karbon Consulting located in Pleasant Hill, CA. He can be reached at dave@hellokarbon.com

Winter weather challenges golfers in a variety ways. Cold, wet weather makes the course play extremely long and the extra clothing needed to keep us comfortable also can restrict our range of motion. Balls become buried in the soft ground and extra sand is used to help firm up soft, saturated areas. Most golf courses encourage “Winter Rules” which helps even the playing field where the course would be at a great advantage. Many golfers hang up there clubs and wait until a springtime like break in the weather reappears. Others don there winter gear and continue to play, in spite of the lousy weather.

I grew up in Oregon where winter weather seemed to last from late fall well into the spring time. Not to play was an option but I was too impatient to wait for a sunny day. I had to get my golf fix so I needed to learn how to beat the rain and cold. The first thing we did was play “Winter Rules,” which basically meant we could improve the lie of the ball six inches not nearer the hole unless it was within a club length of a tree. Some tournaments allowed the rule only within your own fairway. Because a ball collects mud when it lands, the rule allows you to mark, lift and clean the ball, then replace it to within six inches of where it came to rest. I strongly recommend playing “Winter Rules” to all my students as it will make it easier and more fun.

Preparing to play in the winter takes some common sense but you also need to make some adjustments in your thinking too. It’s not much fun to play when your body is chilled and your hands are cold. Make sure you wear a hat to keep the heat in and some under garments that hold the body heat. Hand warmers are a good idea and make sure you have some good rain gear to keep you dry. I make sure to pack my umbrella and an extra towel so my grips don’t get slippery. Golf shops also sell waterproof gloves that can help you grip the club with out it slipping.

So you’re playing “Winter Rules” and you have your warm clothes and waterproof gear. What next? The next thing you must do is adjust your thinking. If your normal seven iron travels 150 yards but you calculated that in the summer or in warm weather, you have to understand that with the cold and wet conditions plus the fact that you have more layers of clothing on, the distance you hit that seven iron will go a lot shorter. I automatically factor a loss of ten percent. On some really cold days it very well could be more. If you don’t factor that in you most likely will over swing and try to force the distance. This is the most common fault all golfers fight during the winter. The clothes restrict the backswing and slow the club head speed so right there the ball will not go as far as during warmer weather. The ball does not roll when it hits the ground and the cold air prevents the ball from traveling as far. Make sure you give yourself enough club.

It is challenging playing in these kinds of conditions but you don’t have to stop playing. I recommend a stretching program during the winter. This will keep your swing long and help you when you do start playing to regain some rhythm more quickly than if you ignored your flexibility for a few months. Keep in mind to contact your PGA Pro to jump start your season and get you back on track more quickly!

Log onto my web site at delonggolf.com to schedule a lesson or call me at 925 997-3683.

Go ahead, sink your teeth into a delectable chocolate-fudge brownie. Plunge into a cool lake on a hot day. Pamper yourself with a long, sensuous massage. All three experiences promise you fantastic payoff-instant gratification. A surge of pleasure and satisfaction floods your senses seconds after you indulge yourself.

You can give your skin the same kind of quick satisfaction. In just about the time it takes you to finish a sinful dessert, DMAE complex can produce a visible and gratifying improvement to the skin. If you’ve shied away from so-called treatments because the very word conjures up visions of spending days carefully applying this and dipping in that until you finally see results, DMAE will change your mind. It’s quick, it’s easy, and it works.

DMAE is a great little acronym that’s easier to say than the tongue twister dimethylaminoethanol. Mixed in a cocktail with other nutrients like Lipoic acid and Esther C when applied topically, combined with DMAE it will quickly and dramatically improve the appearance of sagging skin. As an added bonus, DMAE boosts the effects of other antioxidants, resulting in increased smoothness, brightness, and line reduction.

What, exactly, is DMAE? Unlike other antioxidants, DMAE is an antioxidant membrane stabilizer. Because of its unique structure, DMAE actually intersperses and becomes part of the cell plasma membrane. When this occurs, the membrane is more able to resist stress and therefore is stabilized. DMAE also gives protection from free radicals-by preventing the other portions of the cell membrane from being attacked by free radicals, therefore can act as an antioxidant. Thus, DMAE is an antioxidant membrane stabilizer so it prevents breakdown of the cell plasma membrane and the resulting production of arachidonic acid and a bunch of pro-inflammatory mediators. When mixed with other amino acids and nutrients, it has a dramatic firming effect on the skin.

Why Your Skin Goes South
Before we look into how DMAE firms the skin, it is important to understand why skin sags as we get older. Aging, particularly of the face, is characterized by many changes in the skin, including wrinkling, discoloration, mottling, broken blood vessels, and a decrease in radiance. But the face doesn’t show age just because of changes to the skin’s surface. Another very significant factor is the loss of firmness. As we age, the chemicals and nutritional precursors that give muscles that hold the skin maximum tone start to diminish as a result of years of free-radical damage. When a plastic surgeon performs a procedure designed to tighten the skin, he does not really focus on the skin itself as much as on the muscles underneath. He works deep below the skin’s surface, pulling those muscles back into place, suturing them so that they heal in a new position. The overall effect is a more youthful look, because the muscles have recovered their beautiful tone.

The only way to help reverse the aging process and to stabilize it is to improve your eating habits, exercise at least three times a week, have fish once or twice a week and use DMAE internally as well as externally. The result will be better general health and an optimal nutritional environment for the skin.

Q. Tom, we are seriously considering buying a home here in the Diablo Valley but are hesitating because real estate values may drop more. We left the Phoenix/Scottsdale area 18 months ago when my job ‘moved here’–I know home prices in the desert are still dropping significantly. Should we wait out the market here a bit longer?

I know Arizona home values got spanked real hard, no doubt about it. However, you have already answered part of your question above – your job ‘moved’ here to the Bay area. And that’s what it is all about—jobs! The Bay area job market appears in many ways to be getting stronger; also, unemployment benefit claims nationwide decreased last month. Those are positive indicators that the economy is improving. Jobs give people the confidence to buy homes and the stronger job market in the Bay area continues to fuel demand for homes in many communities. My advice regarding “timing the market” is, don’t be greedy. By waiting, you may miss a fleeting opportunity to find a home at a great price and a fixed rate mortgage near 5%; neither can stay at these incredibly low levels forever. As always, I recommend that you hire a full-time professional real estate agent with skills and knowledge that will serve you well.

Q. I plan to sell my condominium in San Francisco this spring and then buy a family-sized home in the I-680 corridor. My long-time real estate agent here in the City will handle the sale of my current home; however, she also has asked if she can ‘refer’ me to a professional agent in the area where I intend to buy. Can you explain why it is in my best interest for my SF agent to formally refer me to another agent?

Great question! There are actually several reasons – first, your current agent in San Francisco wants to insure that you get the best possible representation when you purchase so introducing you to a professional Realtor is a natural extension of her service. Second, your SF agent will no doubt be coordinating the timing of your condo sale and vacancy with the closing and possession date of your new home … the better the rapport between the two agents, the more seamless the transition will be for you and your family. Third, referring clients in exchange for a referral fee is standard business in the real estate industry; in your case, in exchange for introducing you to a great agent in the I-680 corridor, that Realtor will pay your SF agent a referral fee of typically 25% of the buyer’s agent gross commission upon the successful closing. It costs you nothing and the new agent is happy to pay the fee in exchange for getting you as a new client.

Q. Dear ALIVE Magazine Reader, this is my question to you! Is this monthly real estate Q&A column interesting and beneficial to you? I would love to get additional feedback from you regarding its content and overall value. The following are your 1 & 2 options regarding a reply:

• Email tom@tomhart.com just to let me know you read the column monthly
  (I promise your email address will not be distributed or utilized in any way.)
• Email tom@tomhart.com with comments and/or opt to receive my monthly email newsletter to stay up to date on Diablo Valley real estate market trends & statistics.

Tom Hart is a practicing Real Estate Broker and a partner at Empire Realty Associates in Danville. He is a Certified Master Negotiator by the University of San Francisco and a Certified Master Strategist by HSM Harvard Program on Negotiation. He is past president of the Contra Costa Association of Realtors (2005) and past president of the Realtors’ Marketing Association of the San Ramon Valley. Tom is in high demand as a speaker & trainer inside & outside the real estate industry.

You can contact Tom at 925-355-1187 or tom@tomhart.com

Pitchers and catchers report this month, so a new baseball season is upon us. It appears the A’s and Giants may have the best two pitching staffs in Baseball, so who knows. It is about time for a Bay Bridge World Series again. Let’s see if we can do it without an earthquake this time.

Here are this month’s questions:

1. Who was the female star of the 70’s disaster movie “Earthquake”?
2. Who was the MVP of the 89 Bay Bridge World Series?
3. Who was the TV broadcaster who nearly lost his mind when the quake hit?
4. Dropping that subject for a minute, what Oscar nominated movie director played “The Shadow” on radio?
5. What potent liquor was brewed up by Hairless Joe nad Lonesome Polecat in the “Li’l Abner” comic strip?
6. Who was the first astronaut to go into space?

January Answers:

1. Ann Rutherford
2. Rick Monday
3. Betty White
4. Second Avenue
5. Black Beauty
6. John Edwards

WIN LUNCH ON BEN!
The first person to email or mail, no calls please, the correct answers to all of the above questions will win a $25 gift certificate at The Uptown Cafe in downtown Danville, compliments of Ben Fernandez!
Entries must be received by February 20, 2011. In the event of a tie, the winner will be drawn at random. Please email your answers to info@aliveeastbay.com, or mail to ALIVE East Bay, 199 East Linda Mesa Avenue, Suite 10, Danville, CA 94526. Employees and family members of employees of ALIVE East Bay are not eligible. Restaurant may be changed without notice.

What is one of the secrets of a happy life? I believe most happy people would agree, it has to do with caring about others as much (or more) than you care about yourself. When we place your attention on others, we really don’t have time to worry or even notice our own problems.

The one thing that can really make one despondent, however, is hearing news that some very caring individual has passed away.

So it was this past week when I learned of Jack LaLanne’s death. I was engaged in an otherwise cheerful conversation with my wife, Peggy, when the news broke that LaLanne had died. Both our smiles inverted.

We had the honor of featuring a personal interview and story about LaLanne, by Antonia Venezia, in the March 2007 issue of ALIVE, when LaLanne was a spry 92. Since that time and for all of his years prior, Jack LaLanne lived and preached an active and vital lifestyle that has been the model for today’s fitness culture in the United States and around the world. Jack LaLanne was an American original. He was a patriot and, as Antonia called him in her article, he was a genuine, “nice man.”

By all accounts, I would also say that Jack LaLanne was a supremely happy person too, probably because he cared so much for others. It was what his life was about, as he taught America how to get in shape and how to be happy doing it.

In honor of Jack LaLanne and with respect and condolences to his family; his wife Elaine and children Yvonne, Danny and Jon, we are including in this issue of ALIVE, a revised version of the article and interview that appeared in our March 2007 issue.

In a way, this publication is a proper and fitting place to pay tribute to a man who was, after all, so very much alive. We will miss you Jack. Thanks for being the person you were.