The Canadian Association for Retired Persons (CARP) has announced a new President. It’s veteran public broadcaster Rudy Buttignol, a member of the Order of Canada. Here’s a refreshing thought from this guy: “I believe that retirement is not a condition to be endured. Instead, it is a major life’s accomplishment - a milestone to be recognized and respected.” You know, I’m aware of folks who strive for retirement and then, when they get there, don’t know how to handle it. They end up enduring what should be a wonderful time in their lives. Now, believe me, I’m certainly not trying to hold myself out as anyone accomplished, but I will tell you that I retired successfully from my career because I wanted to try some new activities… things my workaday life would not allow time for. So, today, I’m writing my ninth book, I’ve just sold my house, I’m buying an exciting new property and I’m ready to move. Retirement? It’s grand. So, here’s to you Mr. Buttingnol. I agree: retirement should be enjoyed as a major life accomplishment so you can enjoy the rights and rewards you deserve. That’s the way it ought to be. At least, that’s the way I think.
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World Indigenous Peoples Day occurred recently, marking a time to recognize the issues that Indigenous people from around the world are facing. This includes lack of access to healthcare, with Indigenous Peoples having to accept a scarcity of health services, particularly in remote communities. At a previous time in my life, I was Chair of Hope Air, the Canadian charity that helps ensure all citizens have equal access to healthcare, regardless of where they live. With the help of supportive airlines and private pilots, Hope Air provides families, from coast to coast, with free flights, as well as accommodation. Since 1986, we have facilitated 170,000+ travel arrangements for individuals, families and children. I continue to foster the care Hope Air has established and wish to direct you to a unique fundraising initiative that this important charity is establishing: Haul for Hope. This special venture will be hitting the tarmac in Toronto and Vancouver in September and is an opportunity for teams to test their strength and skills as they race against the clock to pull a commercial airplane (Toronto) or firetruck (Vancouver) 100 metres. Where you come in is to make a donation. And you can join me in doing so right here: https://support.hopeair.ca/haul-for-hope/donate On behalf of Hope Air, thank you for your consideration of Indigenous Peoples and of all Canadians who need assistance in getting to the healthcare they deserve. Actress Sandra Bullock's long-time partner Bryan Randall died last week at age 57. He had endured a 3-year health battle fighting ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) that he kept out of the public eye. “Bryan chose early to keep his journey with ALS private and those of us who cared for him did our best to honor his request," his family said in a note. Shades of Paul Reubens (Pee-wee Herman), who died recently at age 70 after a 6 year battle with cancer. He too chose to keep his struggle quiet, without crying to the media. (Sadly, he felt required to express regret for this choice at the end, which I don't think was necessary, saying “Please accept my apology for not going public with what I've been facing the last six years. I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you.”) You know, with social media surrounding us, it’s pretty hard to make a move without the world knowing about it. So when celebrated folks like Bryan and Paul choose to be quiet about their conflicts, I, for one, applaud: at the end of the day, we all deserve to live with the acclaim we desire, be that large on the public stage or calm, composed and collected, serene at home. And while Dylan Thomas rages against the dying of the light in his famous poem “Do not go gentle into that good night”, I’ll take Bryan’s and Paul’s approach anytime (not that I’m celebrated, of course), letting those who seek fame find it as they will. Fast on the heels of Tony Bennett’s death at age 96 comes news this week that Paul Reubens has died at 70. So long Pee-wee Herman. I certainly respect the man’s suffer-in-silence approach. He fought cancer for six years but chose to do so quietly, without crying to the public. I appreciate that. (Sadly, he felt required to apologize for this choice at the end, which I don't think was necessary.) A unique talent for sure. So long Pee-wee Herman. The man who was once Anthony Dominick Benedetto has died. It was Bob Hope who suggested the singer become Tony Bennett, and he passed away this week at age 96, just two weeks shy of his birthday. Tony had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for some time, so this is likely a blessing. Still… I will miss Tony Bennett, although we’ll have the benefit of listening to his vocal stylings via recordings. He was praised by many, including Frank Sinatra, who said, “For my money, Tony Bennett is the best singer in the business. He excites me when I watch him. He moves me. He’s the singer who gets across what the composer has in mind, and probably a little more.” Coming from the guy who championed phrasing and interpreting the composers’ words with such care, that’s pretty nice praise indeed! Until Alzheimer’s stilled him, Tony kept chugging along without a thought to age. For heaven’s sake, at 88 years old, he broke his own record as the oldest living performer with a No. 1 album on Billboard’s 200 chart. It was for “Cheek to Cheek”, presenting duets with Lady Gaga. Tony Bennett was never out of fashion. An internet article tells us: “After turning 60, an age when even the most popular artists often settle for just pleasing their older fans, Bennett and his son and manager, Danny, found creative ways to market the singer to the MTV Generation. He made guest appearances on ‘Late Night with David Letterman’ and became a celebrity guest artist on ‘The Simpsons’. He wore a black T-shirt and sunglasses as a presenter with the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the 1993 MTV Music Video Awards, and his own video of ‘Steppin’ Out With My Baby’ from his Grammy-winning Fred Astaire tribute album ended up on MTV’s hip ‘Buzz Bin’.” And it was never about Tony: it was always about the music and the composers of the Great American Songbook. Also, it should not go unrecognized that the man was a great painter too, having an amazing talent for the visual arts. I was fortunate to see Tony Bennett perform live. He included his iconic placing the microphone down on the stage floor at one point and singing a tune, with his voice filling the theatre, without the use of any amplification. It was masterful, spell binding. We’re fortunate to have young guys like Matt Dusk and Michael Bublé coming along, but there will never be another Tony Bennett. An era has passed. Did you have a chance to read the recent study confirming that happy people tend to perceive risks more that the average person might feel? Indeed, happy folks appear to be more open to new experiences, and are more optimistic about this (optimism being associated with living a longer, healthier life). All of which dovetails with findings from my newest books, “Pushing The Boundaries! How To Get More Out Of Life” (pushingtheboundaries.life) and “Being Happy Matters” (beinghappymatters.life). What I’ve learned is that happiness can be part of well-being. When you’re happy, this adds a sense of satisfaction and control over your life, all of which increases your ability to enjoy relationships. In fact, the study suggests there are certain actions you can take to cultivate this feeling: -Practice gratitude -Recall positive memories -Reach out to loved ones -Seek out novel experiences I’ve written previously in this blog about that first one: Practice gratitude. It’s a lesson I learned from a friend who encouraged me to start each day by offering an appreciation for something positive in my life. I do. It works. The second seems like a no-brainer: recalling positive times just has to kindle happiness. Reaching out to loved ones is something we don’t do enough. Or I don’t, anyway. Seek out novel experiences. Now, that’s not an activity that leapt to mind when I considered ways of sustaining happiness. And yet, as I look back at my life and career, I realize I’ve done just that, many times. And it upped the excitement meter, which added to happiness in my life. So I do see the purpose. We live in very demanding times. Seeking ways to latch onto happiness seems to me to be so very timely. It’s something I intend to keep doing. And I hope you do too. I just read an article about several shark species facing extinction. The piece says that hunting for their meat, fins, and other parts before they can reproduce fast enough is their biggest threat, along with unintentionally getting caught in fishing gear and the effects of climate change. The article goes on; “Of the thousand known species of sharks and rays (sharks’ closest living relatives), over a third of them are at risk.” I know someone who will be upset at this news, and you may be surprised who it is. Have you heard of Nicole Moore? She’s the nurse from Orangeville Ontario who was waist-deep in the water at a Mexican resort when she was attacked – twice – by a bull shark (considered to be the meanest of the bunch). She very nearly died. As it was, she had her left arm amputated and almost lost her leg. And yet today, Nicole is the most positive person I’ve met. She’s also in favour of keeping sharks alive, knowing that they are important to the oceans’ ecosystems. “Besides,” she told me, “the attack wasn’t the shark’s fault. It was just doing what it does. I was the person who shouldn’t have been there.” That’s a pretty surprising attitude. But then, Nicole’s a pretty astounding person. You can read about her in my book “Shark Assault: An Amazing Story of Survival” (sharkassault.com), where you’ll discover the astonishing tale of her life, and how she’s all for protecting sharks worldwide. How old is old enough? Good question. My mom died at age 100 and always told me I have her genes. So I’m hangin’ in til 110!! But here’s the point: this week, my son Charlie and I attended the Herbie Hancock concert at the TD Toronto International Jazz Festival. If you’re not into jazz, you need to know that Mr. Hancock is an American pianist, keyboardist, bandleader and composer who’s been showered with 14 (yup, 14!) Grammy awards, an Oscar, and numerous other accolades. His Toronto gig was rare, postponed twice due to COVID, but there he was, finally, at the Meridian Hall. Amazingly, this incredibly spry 83-year-old walked out on stage to thunderous applause and issued a warning: “It’s going to start out really weird,” Herbie told us. “Buckle up!” And with that, the master – playing with the dexterity of a much younger artist – began “Overture”, a fusion-induced trip back to visits of the funk and fusion era of his extraordinary career. Throughout the concert, he rocked back and forth between the grand piano, synth keyboard and even the keytar (a synthesizer-guitar hybrid). And at one point, he even sang, with his voice crazily distorted by a vocoder, chanting about how he was tired of making mistakes, but to do so was only human! It was clear he was having a ball, truly enjoying himself. Actually, the Meridian Hall crowd was blessed with the presence of other superstars. I’ll let Nick Krewen from the Toronto Star tell you about that: “Accompanying Hancock on trumpet and keyboards was multiple Grammy-winning and Oscar-nominated New Orleans native Terence Blanchard, filmmaker Spike Lee’s go-to film composer, who gave us ‘A Tale of God’s Will (A Requiem for Katrina)’ and, more recently, the score to the 2022 film ‘The Woman King’ – composed, Hancock said, on the tour bus ‘while everyone else was sleeping.’ On this night, Blanchard served as sideman, feeding his trumpet through pedals so it sounded like a chorus of horns. Rounding out the lineup was bass player James Genus, who has performed and recorded with everyone from Don Pullen and Lee Konitz to Chick Corea and Daft Punk, and a fresh-faced young lion on the drum kit, Jaylen Petinaud. ‘You’re going to be hearing a lot from him,’ Hancock promised.” And let the record show that Herbie had no problem, at age 83, keeping pace with these guys, Blanchard, in his 60s, Genus, in his 50s, and Petinaud, in his 20s. Each of them, including Hancock, appearing as team players, never hogging the spotlight. Only letdown of the evening? No encore. But that’s part of the always-leave-‘em-wanting-more adage, with the Toronto Star reviewer writing, “Ending the show with a mighty leap with keytar in hand, the masterful Herbie Hancock then scampered off the stage with such vitality you could almost read the mind of his elated onlookers: they can hardly wait to hear what he’s going to come up with during his next 83 years.” How awesome it was to be to be in the presence of one of music’s true innovators, entertaining an adoring crowd that came to witness his genius. And should I ever make it to age 83, I can only hope to be as energetic and young-at-heart as Herbie Hancock: he’s truly the master! I have a dear friend who’s awakened me to the need for banning animal testing for cosmetics. Well, guess what: Canada has now officially banned animal testing for cosmetics! Did you know that globally, nearly 500,000 animals suffer and die each year just to test cosmetics? Lush, a company making cosmetics and other beauty aids, says on their website, “Terrified rabbits, mice, rats, and guinea pigs have substances forced down their throats, dripped into their eyes, or smeared onto their skin—left to suffer for days or weeks without pain relief.” My education into this subject reveals that animal tests are being replaced by other methods which also just happen to be quicker, cheaper and more reliable. For instance, 3D skin models can be grown in labs to predict skin reactions in human beings. Such cruelty-free methods can determine product safety while paving the way for an animal-free research future. Lush reports that, “We intend to fight animal research into extinction, including flawed and failed regulatory tests and other experiments by continuing to pass legislation across the globe.” Way to go, Lush! I’m happy to add to your awareness. Canada is the 44th country worldwide to ban animal testing. C’mon Justin, what took ya so long? Today, June 21, is officially the first day of summer and the longest day of the year. Amazingly, June 21 is also listed as National Smoothie Day and International T-Shirt Day! But far more important is that June 21 is ALS Awareness Day and National Indigenous Peoples Day (formerly National Aboriginal Day) for celebrating the cultures, languages and heritage of First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities, nations and individuals across Canada. I wish I could count more Indigenous people in my list of friends. Something I need to work on. In the meantime, I will fix on today being ALS Awareness Day. For those of you who visit this blog from time to time, you’ll know that I have made it my calling to support Canadian and U.S. efforts to find a cure for this terrible disease. So, let me remind you that you can join me in making a contribution to the Canadian and U.S. efforts to end ALS, as follows: Canada: https://donate.als.ca/page/116715/donate/1 U.S.: https://www.als.net/donate/?soc=blog509 Thanks. |
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