and physically.

I travel with a recumbent

exercise bike, free weights and other equipment, my brilliant fitness trainer, and my
trusty road manager of41 years. It's a team
effort. I talk to my family on the phone every
day, albeit briefly, because if I talk at length,
I lose my voice. But the primary survival
something that's hard
tool is perspective
to get and even harder to keeP.

How should a man handle getting old?

What's that line in the poem "Desiderata"?
"Thke kindly the counsel ofthe years, gtacefully surrendering the things ofyouth." But
that doesn't mean that we should just sit on
our asses and let atrophy set in. We have to
stay curious, stay engaged, and, above all, stay

fit. Family, friends, travel, music, books, gardening, a litde good wine now and then - all
these things, coupled with the right attitude,
can make aging enjoyable.

How do you know when it's time to say

goodbye to something?
When it no longer contributes to you, or you
no longer contribute to it. Your intuition will
tell you, ifyou listen.

Don Henley

What should every man know about

women?
That they want basically the same things we
do. Theyjustwant to talk about it a lot more.

What adventure shanged your life?

Packing up my car in l97o and drivingwith
my bandmates from Linden, Texas, to Los
Angeles, where the only person we knew was
Kenny Rogers. He ga.ve us our first big break.
Ultimately it didn't work out, but it got us to
L.A. and got us into the game.
How do you win an atgument?
By agreeing to disagree and moving on.

T\

something most
people in Congress have forgotten how to do.
to find common ground

What have you learned about fame?

That it's a blessing and a curse. The loss of
privacy is hard to handle, especially at first,
butyou always have to be as gracious as possible because it comes with the territory.
Though I think, as a culture, we are far too
obsessed with the idea ofcelebrity. These
days you can be famous without having
accomplished anything worthwhile. That

doesn't speak well for our values' We've

become a nation of exhibitionists and voyeurs. Ifproperly channeled, fame can be
used to accomplish good things. Otherwise
it's just a tool for making money, satisfring
narcissistic urges, or getting good tables
at restaurants.

How did becoming a father change you?

You look at your children and it's like you're
peering into a big magic minor, and it speaks
to you: "What you see before you is a reflec-

tion ofyour best and worst qualities. DeaI

with it." Best thing that ever happened to me.
How should a man handle leglet?

to dream. I could roam the

woods and the fields, swim in the lakes, ride
my bike to school. I started driving a car at
age 14, sitting on a cushion so I could see over
the dashboard. I was exposed to different
kinds of music from all diflerent directions,
since my part ofTexas was at a cultural crossroads, where the Old South meets the West.

Never ever allow yourselfto be defined by

past mistakes. We all make them, but the real
shame lies in not leaming the lessons inherent
in those mistakes. I'm not the same man I
was, and I'm not the man I'm going to be. I'm
a work in progress. But some regret is only
natural and right, as long as we dontwallow
in it. Move on. Life is long. You'll have more
chances to get it tt*nt'
wooDs
-,*,r*u,rw By

How did you sulvive life on the load?

Apparently I'm still surviving life on the
road, but at 68 it's a real challenge, mentally

Don Henley's new solo album, Cass County,

his first in 15 years, is out this month.

What did growing up in Texas give you

as a person and

It

artist?

ga.ve me space

'EAN

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MEN,s Jouonoa 94

ocroBER 2ols