Thoughts on Achieving Healthy Longevity

By Peter Ostroff

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Longtime and highly respected retired Beverly Vista English teacher, Merle Bauer, (who has tried her best in recent months to ensure that this column’s grammar and syntax meet minimal standards) suggested that I explore how to maintain physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health after we pass Jack Benny’s milestone age of 39 and achieve healthy longevity.

This reminded me of a friend whose uncle had turned 103. He asked his uncle how he had survived to be 103. The response was twofold:

First – you must reach 102; and second – don’t fall.

Another truthful but equally unhelpful answer is that healthy longevity is achieved by having good luck and good genes. Those are things which we cannot control, but we should control what we can. So I decided to seek the advice of some of the people whom I know best: the members of the Mature Men’s Book Discussion Group. All of these mature men are over the age of 39. In fact, they range in age from 71 to 92.

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Alan Dinner – retired head of New Product Development and Quality Assurance for Eli Lilly

Physical – I seem to be like the Energizer Bunny as I am always doing something physically active: walking, hiking, pickleball. When walking or hiking alone, I need to listen to something on my headphones to keep my brain active.

Mental – I keep my mind in shape by reading science, fiction or nonfiction, doing difficult math puzzles, or trying to answer the NY Times news quizzes.

Emotional/Spiritual – I have always looked at the glass as half full; there are no problems for me, just solutions to work on. I maintain a positive attitude and rarely let anything bother me to a great extent. Having strong family bonds and a network of friends for counsel is uplifting.

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Eliot Finkel – Investment Advisor and former City Treasurer

Having good genes and good luck helps. After that, exercise, whether it’s your mind, your body or your social life, is key. Use it or lose it.

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Howard Fisher – Beverly Hills City Treasurer

The key to a vibrant old age lies in a mix of good fortune and mindful choices. A good friend is fond of saying, “Choices have consequences”. It starts with “mazel”—being born with the right genes, marrying a partner who loves, supports, and uplifts you, having a close family – and the good fortune of being healthy! Surround yourself with good friends, including close buddies who are not just family friends, and cultivate interests that bring you joy—whether it’s something leisurely like reading or active pursuits such as jogging or kayaking. Most importantly, nurture a zest for life. Wake up each day feeling excited and grateful to be on the “green side of the grass.”

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Mark Hess – health care executive

Here are my Significant Seven Health Considerations:

• Taking medications as directed

• Self-awareness: weight, blood pressure, normal body functions, hydration, good nutrition

• Sleep

• Daily exercise: physical and mental

• Daily supplement of vitamins and probiotics

• Access and knowledge to quality healthcare providers (we are unusually blessed here in Los Angeles)

• Being with friends and loved ones

A bonus consideration: love life and all that it has to offer.

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Stanley Jacobs – great trial lawyer

I turned 89 on 1-7-2025 and have no secrets as to why I am alive and still kicking. My incredible wife and family, including my 3 wonderful dogs constantly give me a feeling of contentment, amazement and being loved. Laughter is ever present in my life. I think of myself as being like a salmon that swam out to the ocean, survived and thrived and now returned home to enjoy the fruits of my success. Thus I work out with a trainer, modify my vices, and revel in my good fortune to be experiencing the joy of being a husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. My regrets are few because I was told by my wife to forget my many mistakes and remember the great decisions I made in my lifetime.

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Joel Krischer – another great trial and labor & employment lawyer

Physical: Stay as active as you can. Find physical activities you like (or at least are willing) to do and do them relentlessly. Walking, swimming, biking (purely stationary for me these days), hiking, golfing, pickle balling, tennising - whatevering. Do it, keep doing it and then do it some more. You’ll get worse/slower with time, but STILL keep at it. But also get rest. And sleep, even if you have to get it on the installment plan. And do not ignore the medical community. You can swear at them, but don’t ignore them.

Spiritual: It will sound corny, but belief in some kind of deity, some purpose above a carbon-based life form helps a lot. And it is fine to doubt and be angry about a deity that has tolerated so much misery among and by humans, but finding a purpose above just being an accident of the universe can give more meaning to whatever life we have left.

Emotional: Cherish the friends and family you have. For your spouse, thank that deity each day that your partner is still with you and, if they are gone, cherish their memory as you continue looking for joy in your life. For your kids, accept that they are not kids, that you can’t raise them or direct their lives but help them in any reasonable way you can to live the life that they have chosen. And remember the adage (I heard it from Bill Cosby, but we are not allowed to quote him any longer): Grandkids and grandparents get along so well because they share a common enemy. And above all, treat everybody you meet the way you want to be treated. And when your favorite sports team stinks – and looks like it will stink forever – just be glad you only have to watch them and not play with them. And that God had the wisdom to invent hot dogs.

Mental: Be as active as you can. Read books, play games/puzzles – crossword, solitaire, word games, any damn thing you like – and forgive yourself when you can’t find the word you are trying to say, or the name you were trying to remember, or forget just why you came to the room you are in.

Universal: Be thankful for what you have (rather than worrying about what you don’t have) and the good luck that let you get this far.

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Tom Levyn – three time former Mayor and active land use lawyer

Questions that deserve study:

When and why did you retire? Do you wish you hadn’t? Is working part time even possible, and if so, isn’t that like semi-retirement? Were you “forced” out by comments from others, or work requirements that could not be relaxed? (Trial lawyers, that’s you).

If the analogy is a mountain. Working hard gets you to the top. Then, it’s inevitably downhill, either slow or fast. If you continue working in some capacity, will the top of the mountain flatten out some and prolong the ride downhill?

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Richard Mainland – arbitrator/mediator

Following Joel’s categories, I would just add a few things:

Physical: Ditto, Joel. But add sailing a small sailboat and walking up and down hills keeps the heart pumping.

Spiritual: As an agnostic, I still find time to stop frenetic activity and contemplate the universe with awe and wonder. How amazing that billions of years of evolution could have produced . . . us. How lucky we are to have come into existence, much less survived to our advanced ages. I also find spiritual comfort and joy in the beauty of nature. And I am spiritually nourished by art – any kind: music, painting, great literature. Music especially. And avoidance of social media and cable news.

Emotional: Well said, Joel and Alan.

Mental: Ditto. Wordle and Italian study on Duolingo daily.

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Daniel Ostroff – movie producer, Eames furniture guru and my baby brother

Have a really cute, really smart partner, who loves you. Read constantly, preferably books and good magazines on paper. Get paid for doing work that you would do for free. Walk often.

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Robert Wunderlich – former BH Mayor; economist; UCLA professor

I would encapsulate promoting mental, physical, and spiritual health in terms of being engaged, in mental, social, and physical activities that require focus and being in the moment, and that in return provide a sense of purpose. I believe in staying intellectually stimulated, regardless of whether it is from work or from other interests (including writing a column for the local paper), with additional benefit if these pursuits foster interaction across the ages so that you stay more in touch with the world as it changes. I believe in physical activity, as much for physical health as for its mental benefits. Feeling down in the dumps, stressed, at a block for decision-making or creative inspiration? Physical activity does wonders for changing the mood, relieving stress, and stimulating brain activity. Many of my best thoughts over the years have come from what is similar to a meditative state that comes from vigorous exercise, in which, after turning off my brain for a while, I make the connections or find insights that were not apparent when I was consciously seeking them.

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From Mrs. Bauer who suggested this column

I practice what I preach and I preach the following:

Physical activity: Keeping active is the key to both mental well being and physical health. Instead of driving my car, I prefer to walk and engage with friendly neighbors and former students whose children are now in our school district. As a form of exercise, many doctors also recommend brisk walking to improve bone health, flexibility and mobility. An added bonus is that walking also helps to relieve traffic congestion!

Emotional well being: Creating and preparing home-cooked dinner parties for family and friends, is an extremely satisfying and enjoyable experience. Our lives are enriched when we interact socially while breaking bread with one another.

Mental well being: In order to maintain mental acuity, continue to learn, research and discover. By indulging in intellectual stimulation and / or challenges, our horizons are broadened.

Spiritual awareness: Enjoy listening to classical music - it is good for the soul!

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Columnist’s note:

There is nothing that I can add to this compilation of wisdom except to emphasize that anything and everything that you may do to improve your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well being, large or small, is far, far better than nothing. And do it while you can!

BE WELL!!