Originally written in 2015 for the Athlete of the Month section of the Rolling Hills Living magazine
Updated for this missive in May 2024
Prologue
I have been writing missives (life stories) featuring myself for some time, and now I wanted to write one about my wonderful husband Stan.
The producer of our local Rolling Hills Living magazine occasionally includes a missive of mine in the publication. In 2015, he was looking for young athletic residents to feature in the Athlete of the Month section. I told him that he should consider some of the older residents who had been great athletes in their younger days and were still active now.
Following is the missive that I wrote about Stan which was published in the October 2015 issue of the magazine. I have added additional material that would not fit into the three-page, centerfold article. The published article is included at the end of this missive.
🌊🚣🏼🥾⛷️🎾🚴♂️ My Husband, My Hero 🏋️♂️🚐🥋🧗♖
Stan Levine
Athlete of the Month, Rolling Hills Living Magazine, October 2015
By Barbara Levine
I met Stan on a whitewater rafting trip in 1972 when we were in our 30’s. We each had a previous marriage and children. Neither of us had had a chance to participate in sports until we each had finished graduate school in electrical engineering and were working full-time with a spouse and family.
We didn't start dating until late 1975 – over three years after we first met on a raft. Little did I know that I had met a man who is every bit as adventurous as I am, but who is also as intelligent and more so.
Stan and I are in front of the Either/Or Bookstore in Hermosa Beach in 1978. This is my favorite photo of the two of us.
When we started dating, Stan's son Dave was 14, my son Mike was 12, and Stan's daughter Tiffany was 10. We took the kids with us on all of our sports activities wherever we went until they reached adulthood.
We have now been together nearly 49 years, including 17 years of dating followed by 32 years of marriage. I call these years with Stan, "My Wonder Years."
Stan at nearly 87 is four years older than I. If I had not had the misfortune of genes and mishaps, I might be in the running for Athlete of the Month.
We have both participated in most of the same sports activities until the last several years when I have been forced to cut back. Fortunately, Stan normally has no aches or pains, and is able to remain very active.
A list of Stan's various sports activities is shown below.
The following sections offer snapshots of Stan participating in each of the above sports activities over the years.
🌊 Whitewater Rafting and Whitewater Kayaking
Stan and I met on a raft on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon in 1972, when I was 31 and Stan was 35. Stan's 10-year-old son Dave was with him on the trip. We had each worked at The Aerospace Corporation for the previous seven years (Stan had been there for 10 years), but we had never met before this trip.
🌊 1972: Whitewater Rafting through the Grand Canyon
Left: Stan & his son Dave (age 10) on their raft,
Right: I am on shore with the boyfriend of a girl I met on the trip.
This rafting trip through the Grand Canyon started our lifetime of water adventures including whitewater rafting, whitewater kayaking, sea kayaking and sea kayak camping on rivers, lakes and oceans throughout the Western U.S.
Click on the photo collage above to read my missive titled, "🌊 39 Years of Whitewater Adventures, 1971-2009 💦."
🌊 A Few of Stan's Whitewater Kayaking Adventures
Upper left: Stan whitewater kayaking through Ewings Rapids on the Kern River in CA in 2002.
Upper right: Stan and I are about to tackle the rapids on the California Salmon River in 1996. We enrolled in a week of intense whitewater kayaking lessons for five years from 1996 to 2000 at the Otter Bar Lodge Kayak School in far northern CA.
Lower left: Superimposed photo of Stan whitewater kayaking Lunchbox Rapids on the Snake River in WY in 2000.
Lower right: Stan whitewater kayaking in Troublemaker Rapids on the American River in CA in 2002. He is heading straight up the rock wall where I am standing – he almost wipes me out before he capsizes!!
Click on the photo collage above to read my missive titled, "🌊 5 Years of Intense Whitewater Kayaking at Otter Bar, 1996-2000 🦦."
🚣🏼 Sea Kayaking and Sea Kayak Camping
Stan met Gary at a ski clinic on Mammoth Mountain in California in 1996. Gary and his wife Ann were mountain hosts and lived in there in their RV during the winters.
We became close friends and introduced them to whitewater kayaking. They in turn got us into sea kayaking and sea kayak camping. In 1999, we bought our first sea kayaks so we could join them on an eight-day sea kayak camping trip down the Green River in Utah.
We had several other sea kayak camping adventures with Gary and Ann including a second longer trip for 10 days down the Green River, as well as kayak camping on Lake Marguerita in California and through Black Canyon on the Colorado River in Utah below Hoover Dam. We also drove our RV's to the San Juan Islands off Washington and British Columbia where we sea kayaked with the killer whales (orcas).
🚣🏼 Several of Stan's Sea Kayaking Adventures
Upper left: Stan sea kayak camping on a 10-day trip down the Green River in UT in 2006.
Upper center: Stan and I below Hoover Dam at the start of a sea kayak camping trip down the Colorado River through Black Canyon in UT/AZ in 2001.
Upper right: Stan kayaking on Mono Lake, CA, among the tufas in 1999.
Lower left: Stan sea kayaking off Palos Verdes Peninsula in Southern California in 2001.
Lower center: Stan sea kayaking with an orca (killer whale) in the San Juan Islands in 2001. (Spoiler – I have superimposed two photos of the same relative sizes. However, we did get nearly this close to three of them.)
Lower right:. Stan climbing below the pictographs above the Green River in Utah in 1999. This was during the first of our two sea kayak camping trips down the Green River.
Click on the photo collage above to read my missive titled, "🛶 Kayak Camping Down the Green River in Utah, 2006 🦟."
🥾 Backpacking, Horsepacking and Hiking
Although I had been backpacking once before Stan and I started dating, he involved me in it in earnest. We started out carrying everything on our backs.
Years later, I began having back problems, so we rode horses into the high Sierras in California with mules carrying our packs. After spending several days hiking from our campsite, we then either had the mules pick up our packs while we hiked out, or we rode out on horses.
🥾 Some of Stan's Backpacking and Horsepacking Adventures
Upper Left: Stan and I in front of my house after returning from a backpacking trip to Rock Creek Lake, CA in 1977.
Upper center: Backpacking at Rock Creek Lake in 1977: Stan, I, Mike and Tiffany.
Upper right: Stan and I hiking by Thousand Island Lake during a horsepacking trip in 1999.
Center: Stan cooking dinner on a horsepacking trip in 1999. He knows how to cook outdoors in any situation and make wonderful meals.
Lower left: Stan horsepacking into Thousand Island Lake out of Mammoth Lakes in 1999. We had black bears visiting us every one of the five nights that we were there.
Lower center: Backpacking at Rock Creek Lake in the Sierras in 1977: Stan and I with Mike (age 13), and Dave (age 15).
Lower right: Tiffany (age 12) and Stan with a fish that Stan caught while backpacking at Rock Creek Lake in 1977.
Click on the photo above to read my missive titled, "🐴 🥾 🏕 Horsepacking with Black Bears, 1999 🐾 🔥 🛶."
⛷️ Skiing
We have skied most of the resorts in the western Northern Hemisphere, as well as many in Europe.
Since we started dating in 1975, one of us has had a condo at Mammoth Mountain in California. We normally spend a week a month there – skiing in the winters and biking/hiking in the summers. I had to stop skiing in 2008 when I started having body parts replaced.
⛷️ Snapshots of a Few of Stan's Skiing Adventures
Upper left: Stan and I skiing in Zermatt, Switzerland in 1991. The Matterhorn is in the background.
Upper center: Stan in a ski race in Val Gardena, Italy, in 1986.
Upper right: Stan skiing in Park City, UT in 2003.
Center: Stan and I at the top of Mammoth Mountain, CA in 2023. I rode the gondola to the top to take some photos and watch Stan ski down.
Lower left: Stan skiing in Chamonix, France in 2001.
Lower center: Stan skiing in Banff, Canada in 1989.
Lower right: Stan and I skiing in Sun Valley, ID in 1996.
🎾 Tennis
We were each already playing tennis when we met. When we were first dating and we lived in the beach cities, we joined the West End Tennis Club in Torrance before it had finished construction.
When we moved to Rolling Hills in 1987, we became very active in the Rolling Hills Tennis Club. We also went to tennis clinics out of town and out-of-state.
For many years, we played tennis at our condo in Palm Springs, at various Club Med resorts in Mexico, and at our timeshare in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. More recently, we played at our resort in the desert in Indio where we keep our motorhome.
🎾 A Few of Stan's Many Tennis Activities
Upper left: Stan and I sitting beside our tennis courts at our condo in Palm Springs in 1980.
Upper center left: Stan on a tennis court in the Los Angeles area in 1971 before we met.
Upper center right: Stan playing at the West End Tennis Club in 2022.
Upper right: Stan (on the left) with four other members of the Rolling Hills Tennis Club in 2007.
Lower left: Stan hitting the ball on the Rolling Hills tennis courts in 2010.
Lower center left: Stan is ready for the ball on the Rolling Hills tennis courts in 2015.
Lower center right: Stan and I on the right with a friend on the tennis court at Club Med in Sonora Bay, Mexico in 1996.
Lower right: Stan about to hit the ball at the Motorcoach Country Club in Indio in 2008.
Until very recently, Stan played tennis three times a week with a group at the West End Tennis Club. That group has now fallen apart due to injuries or members moving away. Stan has stopped playing with other groups due to his failing eyesight.
🚴♂️ Biking
Ever since I have known Stan, we have ridden bikes. We have always lived on or near the ocean where we frequently ride on the bike paths along The Strand in cities from Long Beach to Santa Monica.
Wherever we travel, the bikes go with us. We also keep bikes at our two vacation homes in the mountains and the desert.
🚴♂️ Snapshots of a Few of Stan's Early Biking Activities
Upper left: Stan on his tricycle in The Bronx, New York City, in 1940.
Upper center: Stan with his son Dave on a bike in Inglewood, CA, in 1963.
Upper right: Stan and his son Dave on Stan's motorcycle in CA, in 1968.
Middle left: Stan on his motorcycle in an alley in Los Angeles in 1975.
Middle right: Stan biking on the beach at Hilton Head, South Carolina, during a Van de Meer Tennis Clinic in 1995.
Lower left: Stan biking in Yosemite National Park, CA, on an RV trip in 2000.
Lower center: Stan and I riding our bikes in Palm Springs, CA, in 1983.
Lower right: Stan and I riding our bikes in Jackson Hole, WY, in 2000.
🚴♂️ More Snapshots of Stan's Biking Activities
Upper left: Stan on a bike ride in Indio, California, in 2019.
Upper center: Stan biking along the Strand at the northern end of El Porto, CA on our weekly 14-mile ride in 2020.
Upper right: Stan with his small, foldable electric bike in front of the Long Beach Convention Center, CA, in 2021. The name of the mural is "Planet Ocean," and it was painted in 1992 by the world-renowned marine-life artist Robert Wyland.
Middle left: Stan riding up the ramp to the parking lot from the bike path at Torrance Beach, CA, at the end of our weekly ride in 2020. Palos Verdes Peninsula, where we live, is in the background.
Middle right: Stan biking with our dog Henry on a leash in the desert at the Motorcoach Country Club in Indio, CA in 2024. Snow-capped Mount San Jacinto is in the background, and our waterway can be seen under the bridge on the right.
Lower left: Stan biking near Mammoth Lakes, CA, 2019. Mammoth Mountain is in the background.
Lower center: Stan biking in Hermosa Beach, CA, in 2022. One of the 10 large murals in the city, titled "Volleyball in Hermosa," is in the background.
Lower right: Stan at the beginning of our weekly bike ride at Torrance Beach, CA, in 2019. On a clear day, you can see all the way north to the Santa Monica Mountains and Malibu.
🏋️♂️ Gym Workouts
Stan has always impressed me with his workouts. Ever since I have known him, every morning on rising and every evening before getting into bed, he does 25-30 pushups by the bed.
He had a pull-up bar in his beach house during our first 11 years of dating, and he frequently whipped off a few, sometimes with his daughter Tiffany hanging on his legs.
When we bought a home together in Rolling Hills in 1987, it came with a four-horse stallion stable. Stan converted one of the stalls into our home gym, which he regularly visits to lift a few weights and do some pull-ups. We also have a personal trainer work us out in our stable gym three times a week.
🚴♂️ Several Snapshots of Stan Working Out
Upper left: Stan is doing pull-ups in our stable gym while our personal trainer watches in 2024.
Upper right: Stan is doing one-arm push-ups using his son Dave in Manhattan Beach, CA in 1962.
Middle right: Stan is lifting weights in our gym at the Motorcoach Country Club in Indio, CA in 2022.
Lower left: Stan is doing pull-ups in our gym while our dog Henry watches at the Motorcoach Country Club in Indio, CA in 2019.
Lower right: Stan is doing step aerobics in our stable gym while our personal trainer watches with our dog Henry in 2022.
🚐 RV Traveling
Stan and I each took early retirement in 1992. This allowed us to travel and partake in our sporting activities for many more years than if we had retired later. The first thing that we did after retirement was to buy a motorhome so we could travel with our four dogs (we left our three cats at home). We always towed our Jeep, which carried our kayaks and bikes wherever we went.
We are now on our third RV, with each one getting larger with more features. We started with a 26' RV, then a 32' RV with two slideouts, and now a 36' RV with four slideouts and a diesel engine.
We have traveled in our RVs over most of the western U.S. between the Canadian and Mexican borders. In 2006, we purchased a lot at the Motorcoach Country Club in Indio, CA, where we park our RV between trips so we don't have to drive it to and from home through Los Angeles traffic.
🚐 A Few Glimpses of Our RV Life
Upper left: Our first RV and Jeep at a campground in Sun Valley, ID, on a ski trip in 1996.
Upper center left: Stan driving our first RV with one of our dogs on his lap on a trip to Yosemite National Park, WY, in 2000.
Upper center right: Surprise snowstorm in Yellowstone National Park, WY, in September 2000!!!
Upper right: In Arizona on the way to the Green River in Utah in 1999 for an eight-day sea kayak camping trip.
Lower left: Stan is standing behind our Jeep and RV on Firehole Drive in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming in 2000.
Lower center left: Stan is inside our first RV with our dog Tuffy on a kayaking trip to the Colorado River in 1993.
Lower center right: Stan is eating dinner in our RV on the American River in CA in 2000 – note the chess set that we play with during every meal.
Lower right: At our 'Trailer Trash" party in October 2004 at our home in Rolling Hills, CA. I am standing on the right in front of our new RV, dressed in my trailer trash outfit – nightgown, robe and a large blonde wig. Guests had to remove their footwear and put on booties to view our new coach.
🥋 Martial Arts
In 1996, Stan started taking lessons in the martial arts, in particular in Tae Kwon Do. He got his black belt in 1997.
Shortly afterward, we both started taking lessons in Tai Chi Chuan, a much milder form of martial arts. Although I had to stop Tai Chi after two years, Stan is still taking weekly lessons whenever we are in town.
Wherever we travel in the world, especially in Asian countries, if Stan sees anyone doing Tai Chi, he joins them.
🥋 Snapshots of Stan's Martial Arts Activities
Upper left: Stan, third from the left, taking Tai Chi lessons in Rolling Hills in 2022.
Upper center: Stan, The Tae Kwon Do Kid, practicing his moves on our patio in Rolling Hills in 1997 shortly before receiving his black belt. I created this fake cover of him on Black Belt magazine.
Upper right: Stan joins a group doing Tai Chi Chuan in a park in Shanghai, China, in 2008.
Middle left: Stan doing Tai Chi Chuan in a park in Beijing, China, in 2008.
Middle right: Stan practicing his Tae Kwon Do in Mammoth Lakes during a ski trip in 1997.
Lower left: Stan doing Tai Chi Chuan with a woman in a park in Hanoi, Vietnam, in 2005.
Lower center: Stan practicing Tai Chi Chuan in El Segundo, CA, in 2003.
Lower right: Stan practicing Tai Chi Chuan with a fellow student in El Segundo, CA, in 2003.
🧗 Rock Climbing
Stan’s daughter Tiffany and her husband Jason are renowned rock climbers that have been featured on the covers of Rock and Ice and Climbing magazines. They have given both of us lessons in gyms and outdoors.
🧗 Several of Stan's Rock Climbing Adventures
Upper left: Stan climbing in the Sender One gym near the Los Angeles airport in December 2023.
Upper right: Stan with his daughter Tiffany comparing their muscles in the Sender One gym in June 2023.
Middle right: Stan climbing at Mt. Charleston, NV, in June 2001.
Lower left: Stan climbing at Calico in Red Rocks, NV, in 2002. I am below, having just climbed the same route.
Lower right: Stan, his daughter Tiffany, and I at an indoor climbing gym in Las Vegas in 2002.
Click on the collage above to read my missive titled, "🧗🏼♀️ Rock Climbing at Red Rocks, Nevada, 2002 🏞."
♖ Chess
We each played chess before we knew each other, and we have enjoyed playing together ever since. We have a chess board set up between us each time we eat wherever we are, and we normally play two or three games during each meal.
♖ Early Beginnings of Our Chess Battles
1978: Playing chess together in California in our early dating years on Stan's patio
in Hermosa Beach (left) and in my living room in Manhattan Beach (right)
In case you wonder why I have listed chess as one of Stan's sports activities – chess is now recognized by the International Olympic Committee as a sport. More than 100 countries recognize chess as a sport as well.
Here is an article that I wrote titled, "Chess With the Levines" that was published in the December 2017 edition of the Rolling Hills Living magazine.
⛷️ Epilogue 🎾
This has been a summary of the sports activities that Stan has been (and still is, for the most part) involved in.
When we are home, Stan does Tai Chi once a week and we bike along the beach bike paths weekly.
We both work out with our personal trainer three times a week in our gym in the stable. Stan also takes our dog(s) for a walk on the horse trail by our house daily.
On the left, Stan and I at a Charity Ball in 2002
On Saturdays, we hike with a group on the myriad of trails on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
During the winter, Stan skis a week each month at Mammoth Mountain from December to May. In the summers, we go there a couple of times to ride our bikes.
We spend several days each month from October to May in the desert in Indio where we keep our RV on a lot at Motorcoach Country Club. There we bike, swim, workout in the gym, as well as kayak and ride in our 18-foot electric boat on our two miles of waterways.
Stan's failing eyesight has made tennis more difficult in the past couple of years. Until recently, he was playing three times a week, but his tennis days may be over.
And if sports weren't enough, Stan is always busy working on our hilly acre and a half, often with his tractor – tending to his several garden areas, pulling weeds, trimming trees and chipping/shredding the cuttings, and harvesting the fruit from the 70+ trees he has planted,
Not too shabby for a man in his late 80's.
⛷️ Postscript 🎾
The article below, featuring Stan as Athlete of the Month in the October 2015 issue of the Rolling Hills Living magazine, covers three pages, including the centerfold.
🎶🥰 And Lastly, A Song to Go With My Missive 👩❤️💋👨❤️
The lyrics to the song "Only You (and You Alone)" best express my feelings for Stan – My Husband, My Hero.
It was originally recorded by The Platters in 1955. I have chosen the version sung by Reba McEntire in 1981, which represents me, a female, singing it to my husband, my hero.
Click on the image of Reba below to listen her singing the the song.
Lyrics
Only you can make this world seem right.
Only you can make the darkness bright.
Only you and you alone can thrill me like you do,
And fill my heart with love for only you.
Oh, only you can make all this change in me.
For it's true, you are my destiny
When you hold my hand, I understand the magic that you do.
You're my dream come true, my one and only you.
Oh-oh, only you can make all this change in me,
For it's true, you are my destiny.
When you hold my hand, I understand the magic that you do.
You're my dream come true, my one and only you (one and only you).
⛷️🎾🚴♂️🚣🏼 The End 🥋🥾🧗 🏋️♂️
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