It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Alan Isaacs has always been on the move. The 85-year-old is a lifetime jogger who has slowed to a brisk walk in his older years.
“I could go from my house, around the park twice, and get back to the house took about four hours, and I said that’s about 11-12 miles, and that works just great for me,” says Isaacs. “The country music station at 6 o'clock plays ‘My Old Kentucky Home’ with a guy singing. And so I sing along to 'My Old Kentucky Home' and that’s my time check.”
That’s what Alan does for himself. But it’s what’s came next that affects the rest of us.
“And then I discovered that I like picking up the trash.”
And that he does almost every day in his familiar red coat or jacket, all through Jacobson Park, unless the groundskeeping crew beats him to it.
“The guys in the park here at Jacobson Park are wonderful and they do a whale of a great job of taking care of this park," Isaacs says. “And when you come out here to visit, it’s all clean and neat, and all that kind of stuff, and most of that’s them. Some of it’s me, but most of it’s them. But I do it because it’s fun. I listen to music or sports or news in the morning with my earphones, and it works great.”
And up and down Richmond Road as well. Isaacs says he takes great pleasure in keeping the major thoroughfare clean.
“I also clean the trash up on Squires Road from Richmond Road past the little lake down there. And then up and down Richmond Road both sides to Ellerslie subdivision. And so when you drive through there going or coming from Lexington and you look over there for trash alongside the road, there isn’t any! Cause I got it! And that’s what I do. I love it!”
Sometimes, the daily adventure turns into an unexpected treasure hunt.
“Larry, it’s amazing what I find the park. I’ve got sweaters, I’ve got bath towels, I’ve got money I’ve got…you just wouldn’t imagine what I find in the park!”
It’s those finds – and a cleaner Lexington – that keep him going.
“As long as my health’s good, I turned 85 last Saturday and I’m walkin’ good, feel good. It keeps my weight down, my heart rate down, my blood pressure down, it’s great.”
