| Davis wasn't always on the road to a long and healthy life. Back in 1976 when he was in his forties, Davis started to take a turn for the better. Davis was an avid smoker who smoked Camel straights, often referred to as "coffin nails." But a good friend hit him with the right message at the right time. Davis used to play bass for the Miss America pageants back then with his long time friend Bill Lavorgna. "He was a drummer and I was a bassist, " Davis recalled. "We would pre-record a lot of stuff before we would go to Atlantic City. I walked into the studio and he hadn't seen me in several months. He said 'Richard, are you still smoking cigarettes man?' He was very outspoken with anyone. I said 'Yeah.' He said 'Anyone with the intelligence of Donald Duck knows better than to smoke.' And it hit me like that. Something clicked. I had seven Camels in a pack. I purposely smoked all seven within two hours. I was saturated with nicotine. I could smell it in my nose, everything. I haven't smoked another one since. I quit and didn't have the desire even at my first meal." Several years later, Davis conducted an experiment on himself and took a puff off of a cigarette just to see what it would do to him. "I took a puff in my car and I just couldn't stop coughing," Davis said. "That was the immunity I built up. My body was resisting something. I haven't had a puff since, and I have no desire." Who knows how many years he added to his life that day. Tension and anger also can take years off your life because they have a negative effect on one's cardiovascular system. Davis admitted that he had a bad temper years ago. "A lot of people say they can't believe I had a temper," Davis said. Davis is a pretty mellow person. But meditation and a trip to Japan made Davis change his ways back in 1976. "At that time, I was a Buddhist," Davis said. "They say if you chant long enough and well enough with quality, you get inconspicuous benefits." The inconspicuous benefit came when Davis was in Hiroshima, Japan at a peace conference. "I was in the same hotel next to the river the people jumped into when the atomic bomb exploded back in 1945," Davis recalled. "There were people lined up looking at the memorabilia of the bomb. They had thousands of little boats floating in that river. And I saw these little kids, all of this beautiful black hair in front of me. I was standing over them like a tower. And I said '40 years ago, it was their parents standing here.' I equated it to the fact that that bomb could be inside of me, exploding when I have a temper with poisons going through my body, throwing darts at people. I swore that day that I would never lose my temper again because I was poisoning the universe. It was that serious for me. And when I went to bed that night, I woke up in the middle of the night and tears were flowing down my face. I said 'God, I will never lose my temper again.' And I have no problem with controlling it. I don't even see it coming up anymore. Isn't that beautiful? It was an inconspicuous benefit." While Davis routinely exercises, that routine started getting boring. Instead of giving up exercising all together and the health benefits that go with it, Davis switched to walking, something that was made into a new experience every time by the people he met. It all started when Davis went on a walk near Dodgeville with a friend. "One day I asked him how far I had walked," Davis said. "He told me four miles. I replied that if I had known we were going on a four mile hike, I never would have said yes. A lot of it was uphill." But Davis began walking in earnest this past spring. "I would see a guy in my neighborhood walking," Davis said. "He's still doing it, walking by my house all of the time. I thought about there was something about him that I was so impressed with. I did meet him eventually. I asked him how many miles it was if I walked this way or that way. He knew exactly what the mileage was. So I bought one of those pedometers. I just didn't know how to use it. So I said I was going to walk to the end of John Nolen Drive and back home. Then I got in the car to see how far I had walked. It was a little over five miles round trip." Davis walked his route on John Nolen Drive religiously. Since Davis is a very sociable person who likes to meet people, his selected path allowed him the opportunity to meet others and served as an incentive to continue his daily routine. Davis' routine was interrupted by a hernia operation last September. Before the operation, Davis progressively lost weight as he put on the miles. He continued to lose weight during his convalescence. He knew it was a false weight loss caused by not eating whole food. When he started gaining weight after he started eating solid foods again, Davis returned to walking and to losing weight the right way. "Every two weeks, I get on the scale and my weight is going down," Davis was happy to exclaim. Walking has had other benefits for Davis. "Walking has improved my circulation," Davis said. "My ankles used to swell when I was out all day without my support socks on. Now my circulation has changed. And when I'm walking, my hands feel so warm; I stopped putting hand warmers in my gloves. And then I started taking my gloves off to see if they would get cold." Since he started walking every day, Davis has had a problem with some bicyclists who come whizzing by, sometimes coming within inches of the walkers. "When bicyclist pass me, I'll shout 'Passing on the left' to let them know what they should be saying," Davis said. "And a few people have given me the 'up yours.' Some people will stop and say 'I'm glad you reminded me I should be saying that. I'll start saying it again. Some of the cyclists have ipods on. Some don;' want to hear you. The rules require that you notify the person moving slower than you are when passing. I think the four points of etiquette were placed there to make it comfortable for everyone using Law Park. So I remind people to say 'Passing on your left.' One of the persons I shouted that to stopped me the day after. She said 'I'm one of the people you shouted to.' She had a great attitude. She said 'I used to say it all the time, but I got out of the habit.' She told me I should get some flashers to put on my clothes in order to let people know I am present." The bicyclists need to give the pedestrians the same respect they want from motorists," Davis continued. "We all need to give each other respect. I wrote the bicyclist federation to see what they can do about this. I need someone to make me a sign to place on my back with 'Shout Passing' in fluorescent paint." Safety is an important component of staying healthy. As the cold days of winter have returned, Davis left his outdoors route and is now keeping up his routine by walking in the basement of the UW-Madison's Humanities Building. Davis is committed to staying healthy. "I have a daughter," Davis said. "She's my pride and joy. And I want to be around when she has children. I want to be around for her and myself." Isn't that what it is all about? |
| Professor Richard Davis shares health tips Staying healthy and fit By Jonathan Gramling |
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| Richard Davis (l) and his jazz protege Ben Willis |
| Richard Davis, music professor at the UW-Madison and world-renowned bassist, is already beating the odds for life expectancy for African American men. While the average life expectancy is 66.1 years, Davis will be turning 77 years old next April 15. Davis, doctors say he is healthy as most 50 year olds. |
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