“On or off the road, I’ve got to exercise just about every day. If I didn’t work to keep in good shape, I couldn’t tour the way I do, or sing nearly as long every night.
In high school, I played football, basketball, baseball, and ran track. And one thing I can tell you, when Jesus said “Love thy neighbor,” there was no such thing as high school football.
When you get older, you’ve got to find a way to replace all the sports you can’t do anymore. On the road I play golf or I jog. More than once, I’ve gone jogging in a town I don’t know and had to knock on a stranger’s door and ask directions to get back to where I started.
I still box a bit, too. I’ve got a speed bag hanging in the bedroom of the bus, and I can put on some gloves and work out on it when we’ve got a long drive. Trying to throw a roundhouse when Gator is changing lanes on the highway either keeps me on my toes or dumps me on my ass.
I feel a lot healthier now than I did thirty years ago and that tells me that thirty years ago, I was pretty messed up.
I’ve seen a lot of guys hit their seventies and decide they ought to just sit down for a while. The problem is, the longer you sit, the harder it is to get back up again. It used to upset me when I’d meet a fat doctor with a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other who told me I should give up pot or that running wasn’t good for a guy my age. There are some good doctors out there, but if they tell you not to exercise, the first thing I’d do is change doctors.”
— Willie Nelson
The Tao of Willie
a Guide to the Happiness in Your Heart
Willie Nelson, with Turk PipkinÂ
Willie Nelson’s bus and his bike.
