FIT after 50

Bus Hestekin
Bus' Little Black Book

"Keep in mind the whole point of exercise is to enhance your life."
        -  One of the quotes Bus wrote in his journal

When I first met Bus at the Y.M.C.A. he was 74 years old and running half-marathons and 10K races.  Just about everyone at the gym knew him.  He was a septuagenarian in excellent shape, so I was impressed with him from the start.  He had run the Race to Robie Creek, a half-marathon dubbed "the toughest race in the Northwest"  multiple times with his wife Irene, also a runner.  I know this for a fact, because the 200 races that Bus ran are all listed in his little black book.  

That was 16 years ago.  A lifetime of fitness has kept Bus lean; a lifetime of caring about relationships has left him in touch with old and new friends alike.  There are pages in his black book that are filled with names and contact information of his friends, some entries dating back to the 1940's.  Bus, in running shorts and t-shirt still makes his rounds to everyone in the gym to quip a quick joke, tease a little, or mention a funny anecdote from his long life.  Unassuming, modest, and with a glint of mischief in his eyes followed by a smile, Bus tells me something interesting about himself just about every time I talk to him, like stories of his time serving in the Korean War as a U.S. Army Military Police Investigator, and the two businesses that he helped create.  I know this because I got to see the diligent records of letters he wrote while serving in South Korea, and notes about his business accounts in his black book.

Bus joked that he had girls' phone numbers written in his black book.  Friends at the gym had seen it.  He told me there was a sketch of his idea of a studded tire for snow and ice - before they were invented.

Then, one day Bus finally let me borrow his leather-bound black book with the stainless steel letters "LH" (initials for Lawrence Hestekin) embedded on its cover.  Bus was a sheet metal worker and Treasurer of Hovland Sheet Metal, Inc. in Eau Claire, Wisconsin in 1951.  After that, he served in the Korean War.  I felt honored to be trusted with this unique record of his life, and I handled it gingerly, then carefully put it in my gym bag in my locker.  I had finally earned his trust.

Bus Hestekin - 1952
U.S. Army Military Police Investigator
Korean War Veteran

Bus (second from right) and friends in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, just before being drafted into the Korean War

Inside the old leather cover are pages and pages of names, numbers and quotes written neatly in blue ink, the kind of old ink that fades with time.  Small tabs with labels mark different sections.  The first page is a 3x5- inch index card typewritten front and back with Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If”.  The holes on the card that fit into the metal rings are reinforced with clear tape.  I surmised that this poem was a model for Bus’ life; it seemed to be an appropriate introduction to his black book.  Bus says that he continues to this day to live by it.  Following this are pages of inspiring quotes. ​

Bus Hestekin, 89 years old
Boise High School field

Bus Hestekin, 23 years old
Serving in Korean War

First page in Bus' black leather-bound book  - "If" by Rudyard Kipling

Two of the many pages of quotes Bus recorded in his black book
These were entered in the late 1940's

​One definition of "treasure" is "something that is very special, important, or valuable".   This book to me was a valuable chronicle of a man's life that is treasured by Bus and his family.  An important recording of history.  I suggested to Bus he should have its pages digitized to be kept forever for future generations.  He grinned and said, "I don't know about that, but lots of people have read it."  I turned each page carefully and saw parts of Bus' life unfolding before my eyes.  Here is a man who literally loves life!  Bus kept a meticulous record of letters he wrote during the war.

As Bus did his stretches on the gym mat next to me, I took photos of the images in his Korean War photo album, and he told me stories about the war; some funny, and some very grim.  In one photo, two soldiers stand in front of a tent, both wearing U.S. Army fur pile field caps.   He remembers how cold it was during the war in Korea, and recollects stories of soldiers' bodies being brought back to his station.  He said that when he looks back, he realizes what a remarkable effect the war had on his life.

I asked Bus how he got his name.  "I don't know for sure,"  he said. "I've been Bus all my life.  For some reason my parents and family called me that.  Maybe I looked like a bus when I was a kid!"  

Bus doesn't run half-marathons or 10K races now, but he gets into the gym nearly every day to ride the stationary bike, lift weights and do his stretches.   With a bit of mischief in his eyes, he jokes with the rest of us "gym rats".  Bus likes people; I bet many consider him a friend.  He told me, with a grin,  that he is meeting a long-time friend in Las Vegas soon.  He also returned recently from a trip to the Caribbean.  Way to go, Bus!  He always had fun, and stayed curious and healthy.  I hope I can have that outlook when I'm nearly 90 years old!  He is now looking forward to his trip to Thailand.
​
I'll have to read Bus' little black book in another year - maybe it will have a new quote about words of wisdom or inspiration about becoming a nonagenarian.  Maybe it will have an illustration of a new idea or invention.  Or maybe it will list some more friends' contact information in blue ink.  Bus told me that he put my name in his book - I'm honored to be included!

Following are more photos of Bus' journal entries and Korean War photographs.

Fellow Military Police Investigators 10 miles from Korean War front line

38th Parallel dividing North Korea from South Korea - Bus' unit was stationed 10 miles from the front lines 

Bus recorded his races and times - 20 pages of races that listed 200 races!

Market in Korea during Korean War

Bus (seated) as U.S. Army Military Police Investigator in Korean War
Korean Military Police Officer and Bus' interpreter (standing left to right)

Bus' military identification card from 1952 in back cover

Bus' Ladies - early 1950's

More Quotes recorded in the 1940's
Bus is faithful to idea of quote on upper left

Bus and friends in mid 1950's - Northern Wisconsin

List of friends and family and dates in which letters were written to them
Jackie and Mom have two lines - Jackie liked to write a lot, according to Bus

Bus Hestekin, 89 years old
Boise, Idaho

Celebration of Bus' 90th birthday at Boise Downtown Y.M.C.A.
(Bus second from right)

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