I had just moved to Los Angeles with my late husband Tim Robinson and one of the first big projects at my new job with Braun Ketchum Public Relations was as part of a team coordinating publicity for the concert.  I grew up with Orbison’s haunting, sometimes heartbreaking, operatic rock music and so was not surprised that the evening event brought together so many rock icons who were friends and also influenced by his talent, including Bob Dylan, David Crosby,  Bonnie Raitt, k.d Lang, BB King, John Fogerty, Emmylou Harris, John Lee Hooker and so many more.  On youtube, you can listen to “Only the Lonely” performed by the entire ensemble of super stars and hear Patrick Swayze talk about how Orbison’s friendship  and music changed the actor’s life – songs that he told the audience were about cracking open the shells of our lives and letting other people in (just google “Patrick Swayze at Roy Orbison Concert”).

Because of the work of Barbara Orbison, new generations have been exposed to Orbison’s powerful music and beautiful  lyrics about connecting.  I was saddened that this beautiful woman, like her husband, has left us too soon.  The Orbisons were entrepreneurs and artists who knew how to give back – that memorial concert was also a benefit for the homeless — and the music reminds us to reach out to each other.  What a great message for this season of giving. I’ll never forget the power of that night in Los Angeles and I thank Barbara Orbison for impacting so many lives by sharing her love.

As we head into the elections, a great portion of the American electorate is angry and ready to throw out the current legislators at the state and national level.  Yet an interesting thing about the anger is that while studies show blacks have been hit harder by the nation’s lingering economic conditions, they are more optimistic than others.

I recommend watching videos of CNN reporter Soledad O’Brien’s recent documentary Almighty Debt: A Black in America Special, if you want to understand the studies better The answer, she reports, has to do with strong faith and community support, often through churches like New Jersey’s First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens, where Rev. Soaries preaches about Black financial literacy and responsibility and personally counsels parishioners in trouble

“The black church is different,” O’Brien says in an interview about the documentary. “It’s always offered something different to its churchgoers. It’s always offered leadership, it’s offered jobs, food and clothing. I think people go to church expecting a message that looks toward…bettering themselves.”  You can view clips on CNN at http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/in.america/black.in.america/

Another recent series also tackles a similar theme. This time, Jane E. Brody is writing about common traits in the increasing number of citizens who become Centenarians (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/19/health/19brody.html)

She asks, “Do optimists live longer than pessimists?” And her answer is “Yes, studies indicate.”  She cites Dr. Hilary A. Tindle of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center who found that among 97,000 women followed for eight years, those deemed optimistic were significantly less likely to die from heart disease and all causes than were pessimistic women, whom she described as “cynically hostile.”

The optimists, Brody reports, “were also less likely to have high blood pressure, diabetes or high cholesterol, suggesting they take better care of their health. Indeed, the pessimists were more likely to be overweight, smoke cigarettes and avoid exercise, indicating, Dr. Tindle says, that negative thinkers make poorer lifestyle choices than positive thinkers.

So whether it is for your long-term health or your current business success, you might want to consider emulating those people with optimism and solid social networks who handle hard economic times with resilience!   My guess is there will be plenty of fodder for pessimists for a long time to come.

Rachel Alexandra, who won the Preakness, the second leg of the Triple Crown, is getting rock star treatment at Saratoga this summer as her owners debate which Stakes Race she should be entered in next.  Early in August she cruised to her eighth straight win in the Haskell Monmouth Park in New Jersey, just a few ticks off the track record.

http://www.nj.com/sports/njsports/index.ssf/2009/08/rachel_alexandra_romps_in_hask.html

The other super filly is in California. Zenyatta, five years old, has never tasted defeat in eleven starts, including winning last year’s Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic, but she has only run against fillies.  Zenyatta was a late bloomer, who did not begin racing until she was a three year old and last year was a strong contender for Horse of the Year. She was awarded the Eclipse Award as American Champion Older Female Horse for 2008.

However the rap is that Rachel’s owner Jess Jackson says he won’t run on the “plastic” tracks out west where California’s racing surfaces are synthetic and Zenyatta’s owner Jerry Moss  seems in no hurry to head east.  I wrote about horseracing and spent a year working for a few trainers at the New Jersey tracks in the late 70s, when it truly was a male dominated sport. I was thrilled to get to know one of the few  gutsy women trainers then and watch that era’s super filly, Ruffian.  It was the same time that women were just beginning to challenge the status quo in the workplace as well as in sports.

I’m excited to see we’re moving to a new level this year. Although, as one sports writer put it, it seems that not even the sport of kings can get a pair of queens into the same race!  Stay tuned, the story’s not over yet.