Recipe For Living

“He was the apple of my eye who was to take over when I was gone,” Art Linkletter said to me when I phoned him on learning of his son Jack’s death, at age 70. Art is 95. Last Saturday, Art had been at his son’s hospice bedside-all day — the cancer had spread too far. “All of a sudden, he closed his eyes and died. He was not in pain,” Art told me. “He was the third of the five Linkletter childen to have died, Diane and Robert preceding.

Art began reflecting with me and noted, “I feel well — I’ve been taking care of myself. You age pretty well as long as your life is meaningful. It’s not how old you are but how you are old.” His latest (28th) book is titled “How To Make The Rest Of Your Life The Best Of Your Life” (written with Victor Hansen). His recipe: “don’t smoke, don’t abuse alcohol,” he swims, bikes (stationary), walks, “don’t get fat,” “have a sense of humor,” “don’t retire to do nothing” and he sleeps eight-to-ten hours nightly.

He is active on several boards and chairs Solar Genix, which is teamed with utility companies in creating and storiing solar energy. He is on committees at UCLA, Pepperdine and on a Presidential Committee. He delivers 50-60 lectures annually. I met up with him one year when he was speaking to an SRO convention in Branson, Mo. Art told me, “My wife says I am so busy — If I were a girl I’d be a prostitute.”

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Martina Birk

Update: 2024-08-21

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