Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Jack LaLanne -- An Appreciation

Apparently Rush Limbaugh mocked Jack LaLanne. For dying despite his vegetarianism. At 96 years of age.

There are very few great men in this world. But Jack was one. He plausibly added a million years of life, and many millions of years of better life, to the human race, by his presence on this planet. How many people lived longer or lived better because Jack LaLanne was there for decade after decade after decade, proving it could be done and encouraging them that THEY COULD DO IT.

I'm hardly ever shocked, but my God. Rush, listen to yourself.

MILLIONS OF YEARS OF HEALTHIER, HAPPIER LIFE ... for all of us ... because Jack LaLanne was a member of the human race.

Because Jack LaLanne was the best of us, the absolute best of what being human is, and walked the walk and told us that we could walk the walk, too, and made us not believe it, but KNOW IT. "Look," he said year after year, "here I am. Here's what I do. You do it too!" And people did, by the damn millions.

Jack LaLanne might have done more measurable good for the human race than any other human being of the twentieth century. Think about THAT.

I wasn't going to write about Jack LaLanne's death, despite having done jumping jacks with Jack when I was a boy, despite the fact that his presence in my life is one of the reasons I didn't have a heart attack at 44, like my father, why today at 48 I can run full court basketball for 2 straight hours. Folks, I bought the man's damn juicer (which was terrible) ... to this day when I exercise, I almost always hear Jack LaLanne's voice in my head. "One more!"


6 comments:

Sean said...

Well said!

Steve Perry said...

Absolutely, Dan'l.

Rush talks to hear his head rattle -- and to collect a nice fat check to go with his nice fat body. Fuck 'm.

Daniel Keys Moran said...

Jumping Jacks were named after Jack LaLanne, I heard today. Hope it's true.

Rob said...

For all that LaLanne has done, he's nowhere near the record for "most lives saved or enhanced in the 20th Century." That record seems to be pretty comfortably held by Norman Borlaug, who is widely credited with about a billion lives.

This is not a diminishment of LaLanne's accomplishments, though: improving the lives of millions is no mean feat.

Daniel Keys Moran said...

Thanks -- I'd never heard of him. Much appreciated.

J.D. Ray said...

Not to diminish Mr. LaLanne, but there was also Alexander Fleming, the guy that "discovered" penicillin in 1928...

Still, Rush is an ass, and Jack LaLanne was a hero.