Longevity
Posted at 4:45 AM on August 3, 2009
by Dale Connelly
(22 Comments)
Today is Tony Bennett's birthday! He's 83, and still touring.
He has shows scheduled through February of next year.
If I ever get to be 83, I'll need an organization as vigorous as Tony's concert booking operation just to get me out of bed in the morning.
Dr. Kyle of Genway, the supemarket for genetically engineered foods, has announced a Bennett birthday special! Here's the promotional piece that showed up in my e-mail this morning:
While other old bananas turn brown and quietly liquefy, the Bennett Forever Banana stays a vivid, tasty yellow with firm, flavorful flesh! Just when you think it's as good as it can get, it gets a little bit better! That's a remarkable advance in fruit preservation, all thanks to a little bit of Tony's DNA, which he graciously contributed one night by putting his hand on a pen I gave him to sign a concert program.
Look for Genway to use the magic of Bennett DNA on a whole line of fruits and vegetables that will benefit from extended shelf life. Lettuce, grapes, strawberries, asparagus, broccoli ... even Tony Tomatoes and Bennett Beets will amaze and delight you long past the time you thought they'd be compost.
It's a brand new day for the produce section. Find these beauties under the Bennett Forever Banana banner and pick up a banana hat for yourself or the kids! It's not an actual hat, but rather, a new way of carrying a bunch of bananas (pictured) that I think has great potential to be a fashion trend for the rest of the recession! Carmen Miranda on a budget! That's the kind of innovation you expect from Genway, the supermarket for genetically engineered foods!
How does it happen that some people excel at what they do late, late in life?
Is Dr. Kyle right in thinking it's in the genes, or is it just plain good living?
Or might it have something to do with hard work?
Comments (22)
can it be all three things, Dale? it would make me feel better if it were just genetics - then i wouldn't feel guilty for being a slacker - but some folks just seem to want to work hard because they love what they do and they're good at it. Speaking of that, i've always hoped that you don't retire. ever. :-)
I'vc known about RH being at the Fair for a bit... but will Anne be "capturing" the fair for us as usual????
OH, and morning Heartlanders!
And, so get us started, any possibility we could hear one of Anne's State Fair songs this morning??
on thinking about this, i think my garden - especially the tomatoes, peppers, melons - is an experiment by Dr. Kylie. nothing is ripening. i thought it was the cool weather..... here it was the Tony Bennett genes all along.
yes, and Good Morning All!
Thanks for the compliment, Barb, but I hope I DO get to retire someday. How else will I get enough time to raise goats?
And Sherrilee, I'll put an Ann Reed State Fair song in the 7 o'clock hour for you. Do you have a favorite?
Happy Birthday Mr Bennett. He's a mere child in comparison to my musical treat of the weekend-Pete Seeger. On MPR.org they broadcast the Newport Folk Festival.It's now archived. There was amazing music. It was the 50th birthday of the festival and of course there aere Pete Seeger sing-a-longs.
Dale, can we honor Tony, Pete, and those of us just trying to shake out the cobwebs with a version of "Long MAy the World Spin" or another sing-along?
Thanks!
Hey Barb... hang in there. My Romas just started to turn over the weekend. Finally.
Dale, I love all Ann's Fair Songs, but I do think my favorite is the that has the "we're south of Manitoba" in the refrain! (& if you can avoid 7:45-8; I'm in the car then)
Morning Heartlanders. Let's not rush the fair, you know what follows don't you? Labor Day! It's only August 3, no melons at market yet, no 90s since June! Summer, rock on! Maybe we could hear that Greg Brown song about "Grandma put it all in jars..."?
I count those who excel at their work as lucky, not that they lack good genes or a work ethic. It's just that Grace is not equity based.
Kim - so sorry. It's hard for me to not be thinking of the fall already. My daughter is going into high school this year, so we've been talking about September for weeks! Bought the school supplies yesterday. And I agree with you about jobs and grace. I love my job but if I won the lottery tomorrow, it would be all I could do to hang around for the allotted two weeks!
Perhaps all those things, but you forgot a healthy dose of luck. ;-)
Hello, all! While I am glad to be once again reading the blog and listening to the show after a week of extra sleep, traveling, running, making photos, and time with the family, I can't say I'm really glad to be back in the fattening pen at work where I stream the show. It's going to take some seriously good music to ease me back into things!
I would say it's the combination - and a good splash of positive attitude (which is probably directly related in a chicken-egg sort of relationship with enjoying what you do).
As for TB Bananas - if my bananas don't get speckle-y and soft, how will I know when they're ready to smoosh up for banana muffins or banana bread (or even my latest discovery - banana water, which, honest is yummy and not as weird as it sounds)?
Morning all!
Ooh, that's a good question. My yoga teacher talks about Yoga/Water/Sleep as the cocktail for longevity. Tony seems like a pretty good-natured person, so maybe there's an element of karma at work too.
Speaking of hard work, I just finished my last paper for my last class required to complete my Masters in English Education, so if you can think of a good celebration song, I'd love to hear it :D Bonus points if it refers to comic books, which was the topic under analysis for the paper (finished in a motel room in Duluth with my poor mom at about 3:30 in the morning!) Thanks, Dale!
Anna,
Banana Water sounds like something I couldn't wreck. What's the technique for making it?
If you eat some of those TB bananas will you also stay fresh? This could be a problem. Where will we put every one if we live longer or don't die? I think we need to know more about the side effects of the TB bananas
Wow, Dale, this notice popped up on my facebook page! Your tech skills are increasing exponentially!
Hello All!
I want to send an invitation to you and all RHers to the "Summertime Extravaganza"
being held next Sunday August 9th, at the fairgrounds in Ada, MN
It is listed as an event on my fb page, with contact info.
The description for this is...because summer and life are both too short...
Your friend up north,
Sheila Capistran
That was fun to hear "Yes, we have no bananas!". Our family has an antique Edison phonograph and while growing up one of my favorite songs to play was that one.
Hopefully Anna will share hers, but I found this recipe for banana water - I forwarded it to my wife too:
http://mamirosa.vox.com/library/post/banana-water.html
I have two non-TB bananas sitting on my desk, my favorite fruit snack.
I like the banana-hat fashion statement. Of course, ~any~ hat that covers up my rapidly expanding forehead is welcome. (Right, Dale?)
Tony B. has a kind of ironic place in my heart but only indirectly because of his music. Of course, I love Tony as a musician. The ironic part is that after 10 years of working at the DECC up in Duluth. After all the Ice Capades, Shrine Circuses, Home/Boat Shows, UMD & High School Hockey, the concerts, and tours on the S/S Wm. A. Irvin. After door guarding, ushering, taking tickets, answering phones, and finally managing the Guest Services Department. After being yelled at by everyone from inebriated rock 'n roll teens (for taking their booze away), to hockey parents (for having to buy a ticket to see their kid play), to symphony sophiisticatos (for the weather being too cold), what was the last thing I was supposed to work? Tony Bennett in concert. And in a fate-orchestrated finale to my tenure, Tony was ill and had to cancel at the very last minute. I spent my last shift calling to cancel my staff and hung around telling disappointed fans that he couldn't make it. An ironically inauspicious finale. No bad feelings, just one of those shake-your-head and laugh situations. Happy Birthday Tony!
Dale, couldn't you raise goats and not retire? Let's work on an old folkies's retirement center, where we just sit around and play tunes in a HUGE kitchen.
It must be a combination: I think we all come in to life with something along with the genes, an "orientation" maybe, that has a lot to do with what/how much we do in the world. I'm currently looking around for what to do next in the world, after an extended leave of absence from Last Job... hoping that I will excel at SOMETHING late in life. :)
Eleanor -- sounds like PVRB (post vacation re-entry blues)...what type of place do you work, I forget?
I do have PVRB, Barbara in Robbinsdale!
I work as a network engineer for a medium sized company that provides address verification for the healthcare industry. Also do systems administration. Quite stressful but boring!
August in Minnesota is the Sunday of the months. Oh, sure, you'd like to enjoy it, and you might still be going through the summertime motions, but but pretty much all the fun stuff has already been done and inside you're already preparing yourself for what comes after Labor Day.
The banana water recipe I use is basically the one Mike in Albert Lea found at:
http://mamirosa.vox.com/library/post/banana-water.html
I have found that about a teaspoon of sugar for each banana I use is about right - though you may like your water more or less sweet (I also fudge a little bit on sugar depending on how ripe my bananas are).
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