IN THE PIPELINE:

A few weeks ago while on my morning wetlands walk, I saw a man who was bird watching. He had white hair (I’d have guessed he was perhaps in his late 60s, early 70s), his gait was strong, he had lots of energy and his eyes twinkled when I asked him what he was looking at on this foggy morning.

“Willets mostly,” he said. “But all kinds of things — ruddy ducks, cranes, whatever happens to pass by.”

We spoke for a few minutes and he told me, smiling throughout, that he was out with his binoculars on most mornings before heading off to golf. You had to appreciate the gentleman’s rigorous schedule and I as headed back to my walk he called out, “Not bad for 88 years old, huh?” I was sure he was kidding but did the math for me and sure enough he’ll be turning 89. His vigor and mien were so impressive that I had to ask him what his secret was for such vitality.

“Enjoy life,” he smiled. “It’s that basic.”

So simple and elegant was the philosophy of Bob Pinning that I thought it’d be good to talk with him some more, so we met back at the wetlands a few days ago to chat on the boardwalk, surrounded by the birds he loves so much.

Pinning told me he’s lived in the area almost 20 years, and he grew up in Baltimore as a shipyard worker. He has four kids and a couple of grandkids (his wife has passed on).

As for his longevity, he reprised what he’d told me earlier, that he chalks a lot of it up to simple enjoyment. “Stress is the killer,” he gestures with an index finger. “Never worry about anything you can do something about — just do it! If you can’t do anything about it — why worry? I’m a Christian so it’s easy for me to turn my problems over to God, and I find that over time, the answers you need will eventually come to you.”

On society today, he says, “Most people are afraid of responsibility — I always loved it. As a supervisor at the shipyard, I looked for responsibility — I craved it — there was no stress in it. Kids today could stand to learn more about personal responsibility.”

In addition to his nature walks and golf, he also stays busy as a videographer taping Sunday morning church services every week for people who cannot attend, due to illness or other reasons.

“I’ve been doing it for almost five years. The quality they used to shoot was not very good, and so when one of the men in the choir told me his wife had cancer and couldn’t attend; I started taping them for her, but made them really good.”

Pinning’s health has always been good; some broken bones, but not much else. He’s a class-two diabetic and he has glaucoma, but he says these are no problems. Against a morning breeze he tells me that in 1941 he tried to join the Navy, but his bad eyes kept him out. So what did he do to get in? Memorized the eye chart.

Of all the presidents in his life he’s liked Roosevelt best, but “disliked most of the others because of the wars they’ve got us into. They’re committed to war, but not winning the wars!”

He’s taken a lot of pictures in the 10 years he’s been bird watching, and the wetlands are his favorite spot. His videos and photos are what have carried him into the computer age.

As for his daily routine, he said, “I get up at 5 a.m. — I have two birds, two cats and two Aquarians, so I take care of those. Then I take care of myself — I have breakfast, then I get dressed and come here for a couple of hours, walking slowly, getting a good look. People need to slow down a bit and see all the stuff they’re missing. Not just here but in life! Then I go play golf. Then home for lunch, take it easy, edit my pictures I took in the morning, have dinner, watch some news or spots and then in bed by about 10 o’clock.”

If you’re ever out on a walk around the wetlands and you see a smiling, gentle man with a camera or binoculars, know that it might be Pinning.

Huntington Beach resident Jill Craybas is entering the fourth round at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells. We just returned and it remains my favorite on the tour — a collection of players that rivals any other tournament in the world, in the prettiest setting. The desert this time of year is a spectacular backdrop for this event, which you can still catch through this coming weekend. It’s less than a two-hour drive and a chance to see the best in the world at one of the best facilities in the world — the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Go, Jill!

CHRIS EPTING is the author of 14 books, including the new “Huntington Beach Then & Now.” You can write him at [email protected].