Merrill Matzinger works out three times a week with a personal trainer. On the weekends he can be found in the foothills of Mount Olympus. He loves to play the flamenco guitar. And in his spare time, he paints.
Matzinger is legally blind and recently turned 91.
"He is just a little guy, but his spirit is just gigantic," said Richard Gordon, Matzinger's neighbor. "Everyone who gets to know him just thinks he is wonderful."
For many people, Matzinger is the result of what can happen if people take care of themselves.
His wife, Mary Lou, remembers that when she married him 30 years ago, he still looked so young.
"Merrill intimidated everyone away from me," she recalled. "He is a real fanatic on exercise and diet. He doesn't eat anything that isn't right for him."
About 15 years ago when Matzinger felt his workout was getting dull, he went to Rocky Griffino, who had previously helped his wife and taught his son karate.
Matzinger is at the gym at 9:30 a.m. three times a week. He also does 1,000 sit-ups every day.
"Most of the time, I will personally work out with him just because I get a big pump," Griffino said.
He laughs because when he and Matzinger work out together, it becomes a game. If Griffino does 12 dips, Matzinger will do 13.
Apart from working out together in the gym, they are good friends.
"We've done so many fun things together," Griffino said. "When I get my Harley out, he just sits on the back with a big smile on his face."
Matzinger has done a lot with his life considering he was diagnosed with macular degeneration at the age of 12. He has traveled much of the world and had the opportunity to experience many things.
After graduating from Amherst College, he went to work for his uncle at Merrill Lynch. Because of his experience with Spanish, he moved to Cuba to work as a broker. He also met his first wife there.
Later on, he spent time in Spain where he started to realize his love for music. He recalls the first time he heard the flamenco guitar.
"The first time I heard it, I thought what was that strange racket? It was so ugly," he said. "But the older I get, the more interested in strange sounds I get."
Matzinger eventually had a flamenco guitar made and also learned to play. While he can no longer see notes, his hands gently caress the strings and polish the wood.
When Mary Lou married Merrill, she worked at Bonneville Communications. She scheduled time for her husband in the studio.
"He has an album I made him record," she said.
On his album he talks about the songs and shares his personal feelings.
Another of his loves is art. This was one of the things that drew Mary Lou to Merrill.
"People I ran into were always average kids, and I quoted Shakespeare," she said. "We (Merrill and I) had a good time talking about art, philosophy and all sorts of things."
Perhaps the reason Matzinger likes art so much is because his mind can see the memories as if they just happened. He recalls a Sunday afternoon walking on the golden beaches in Spain.
He saw a sleepingchild who was being tended by nurses. When he got closer, he noticed the child's head was deformed. However, when the baby awoke, it gave Matzinger a "huge smile."
He gets emotional as he tells the story, but this is how most people know him. Matzinger credits his way of looking at things to his mother and father, who he never heard say negative things to one another.
"In all the years I have known him, I have never heard him say anything bad about anybody," Griffino said. "If anyone ever did anything bad, he looks at it from a different angle as to why things happened. As a matter of fact, just being around him makes you a better person."
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