Well, I've been a lifelong exercise fanatic. Even when I was a 10 year old in England, before I went to the Amazon. And I had so many brushes with near-death experiences - with wild animals and wild long horn cattle and wild horses - it really was sort of survival of the fittest. And so, I've always kept up with that and managed to devote an hour or two, seven days a week to physical exercise and, of course, really concentrating on good nutritional habits. I said to someone the other day, "When I was a schoolboy in England, we went to school six days a week, 8:00 in the morning until 6:00 in the evening, six days a week. And school lunches were served. And there weren't any sweet drink machines in sight or even over the horizon. I've never had a sweet drink in my life, never had a bottled soda. I cannot remember any kids in the schools that I attended that were obese. Everybody was kind of skinny."
And I'm
sure that half of that was good nutrition and the fact that exercise programs
were mandatory. Six days a week, when lunch was over, until 4:00 when classes
resumed, you were required to participate in some kind of physical activity -
whether it was rowing or soccer or rugby or tennis or cross country running or
boxing - it was mandatory for everybody. And, so many of the medical problems
that we see at our clinics are unfortunately self-induced. A lot of it is
related to education and of course, finances. It's just cheaper to go down the
road and eat in a fast food place and get a big fix of some giant hamburger
full of fat and it satisfies the constitution but it's very bad for the
constitution. So, I'd like to see rigorous programs at all age levels in
schools of exercise and nutrition and get all that trashy packaged foods and
drinks out of the school system and I know that in some instances, in some
places, they have.
They have gotten rid of them?
In some places, I noticed they have. So, if the kids in this country grow up in
that culture of good nutrition and exercise, then it will carry through for the
rest of their lives.
Is there anything else we haven't talked
about?
We've had a good session, Joan. I can't rightly think of anything offhand.
Okay. Thank you so much for joining us,
Stan. When I post this last portion of our interview, I'll include the link to
contact information. Hopefully, you'll get a flood of interest, volunteers, and
much needed funds.
And maybe someone in Washington DC will have a large building that they are
willing to loan us free of charge for a week in the very near future so that we
can take the program to the nation's capital where there are, indeed, large
numbers of people that need the help and a lot of them are in those homeless
shelters up there.
Well, let's add that to your wish list,
Stan. I'll look forward to following your schedule, or trying to keep up with
your schedule. Thanks again for spending so much of your time with me. You're
doing tremendous work.
Well, thank you very much, Joan. I've enjoyed the conversation andappreciate
your interest.
***
Part one of my interview with Stan
Part two of my interview with Stan
Part
three of my interview with Stan RAM on 60 Minutes, March, 2008 About the Los Angeles Expedition:
Learn more about this amazing individual
and his terrific project:
For context:
ABC
Person of the Week, August, 2009
