Talking Our Walk
From the Editors

"Love you forever and forever. Love you with all my heart. Love you whenever we’re together, love you when we’re apart.”
The Beatles

If you want to see a man undergo a spontaneous transformation, observe him when he becomes a father for the first time. My friend, Steve, only a couple of years removed from being a confirmed bachelor, became a new dad to Violet, this past March, at the age of 48. While Lisa, his wife remains her lovely self, Steve is hardly recognizable. He, is a new man.

Fourteen years ago, this June, my perspective on life and my place in the world, was forever changed. My life-altering event was the birth of my daughter, Briana. The moment the nurse placed my newborn in my arms, unconditional love was born within my heart, and has resided there ever since. Sadly, the dissolution of my first marriage has separated our households. Nevertheless, the lyrics above, will forever echo my sentiments.

My union with Andrea, four years ago, has created a different scenario. Andrea came “fully equipped” with two kids and two cats from her previous marriage: instant second family. And that made me step-dad.

Becoming a stepparent to a 10 and a 6 year old, is a lot like arriving 30 minutes late to a movie: Joining these children’s lives already in progress, you’ve missed the first part of the film that was crucial in establishing relationship and connection with the characters. Under the best of circumstances, one cannot expect children to feel instantly connected to this new “character” (the step-parent) that literally walks into their lives. Thankfully, with Andrea’s patience and stability, we have blended into a family.

Well, Summer Fun means time spent outdoors. Paradoxically, the accepted credo for the past few decades has been to fear sun exposure. Richard Hobday, however, reveals in Sunbathing for Health, that for most of human history, the sun has been revered for its life-enhancing properties.

In The Yin and Yang of Golf, James Ragonnet offers duffers a Taoist tip to improving their game. A harmonious balancing of opposite forces—hard/soft, forward/backward, body/mind--will help your swing and lower your score.

Real Men Go Vegetarian, or they die sooner than their female friends. Michael Downey definitively states that the best thing men can do to live healthier and longer, is to trade in the chicken, beef and pork, for fruit, veggies and whole grains.

We debut another feature this issue. We are in the process of building a Healthy Dining Guide of eateries, which offer healthy/vegetarian selections on their menus. This list will continue to grow.

In Peace & Gratitude,