Neil Young clean and sober. Don Felder tour and album. Richest Americans. Middle age starts at 55? What the flowers he buys you really mean. McRib return delayed.

NEIL YOUNG

Neil Young revealed that he's one year clean and sober from booze and pot for the first time in decades. On October 2nd Young will publish his autobiography, called, Waging Heavy Peace, and spoke to The New York Times in advance of it's release, revealing, "I did it for 40 years. Now I want to see what it's like to not do it. It's just a different perspective." Young explains in the book the differences he sees in himself as a sober man: "The straighter I am, the more alert I am, the less I know myself and the harder it is to recognize myself. I need a little grounding in something and I am looking for it everywhere."

In Waging Heavy Peace, Young recalls his CSNY partner David Crosby's own heavy drug days, joking, "I still remember 'the mighty Cros' visiting the ranch in his van. That van was a rolling laboratory that made Jack Casady's briefcase look like chicken feed. Forget I said that! Was my mike on?"

Over his 45-year career Young has touched upon, folk, country, blues, rock, rockabilly -- and even grunge -- on some of his albums. He was asked if there was a certain method to the madness when recording so many different styles of albums: "There's no real logic to it. I may do two rock n' roll albums in a row at some point, or I may do two soft ones in a row, or I may do some different kind of album that everybody wonders what the hell I did that for. I mean, y'know, I could do that. Y'know, it just depends, and there's no plan. I'm just going with the songs. The songs dictate the direction."

DON FELDER

Ousted Eagles lead guitarist Don Felder is back with a series of road dates and his second solo album, Road To Forever, due out on October 9th. Felder, who was fired from the band over a decade ago, says that he's once again regained his spiritual footing, telling BrowardPalmBeach.com, "I was raised in the deep South. My mother was extremely religious, a Southern Baptist, and I think I still have the scars and calluses from being dragged into church and Sunday school for years. But once I was in the Eagles, I was drugged -- not dragged -- into all sorts of promiscuity and drugs and everything that was not part of my upbringing. I realized how that had influenced my life and turned me away from all the morals and ethics that I had been raised with."

He went on to explain: "Part of the confusion when I left the band was wondering how did I ever get there? I wanted to go back into my childhood and understand the process that had taken place, from being raised dirt poor to becoming a multimillionaire, from the values of the church that my mother had tried so hard to pound into me, to living a life of sin and promiscuity and drugs and alcohol. So I really went back and looked back at those different areas of my life. I didn't find it difficult -- I found it very cathartic."

BILL GATES TOPS FORBES' RICHEST AMERICANS LIST FOR 19TH YEAR

  Microsoft founder and chairman Bill Gates is on top of Forbes' annual list of the richest Americans for the 19th straight time, in a year that saw the net worth of the nation's 400 wealthiest grow by 13 percent to $1.7 trillion, and their average net worth rise to a record $4.2 billion, up 10 percent. In addition to Gates, the top five people on the list are unchanged from a year earlier. The top 10 are:

1. Bill Gates, Microsoft founder and chairman, $66 billion
2. Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, $46 billion
3. Larry Ellison, Head of Oracle Corp., $41 billion
4. Charles Koch, Koch Industries, $31 billion
4. David Koch, Koch Industries, $31 billion
6. Christy Walton & family, Wal-Mart heir, $27.9 billion
7. Jim Walton, Wal-Mart heir, $26.8 billion
8. Alice Walton, Wal-Mart heir, $26.3 billion
9. S. Robson Walton, Wal-Mart heir, $26.1 billion
10. NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP, $25 billion

Two notable names dropped off the top 10 list: casino magnate Sheldon Adelson fell to 12th place from Number 8 last year, and financier George Soros dropped five spots to Number 12. Wal-Mart heir S. Robson Walton and Bloomberg entered the top 10. It was a tough year for Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who fell from Number 14 to 36th place and saw his net worth cut nearly in half to $9.4 billion from $17.5 billion after Facebook's rocky IPO in May and 40 percent decline in share price since then.

MIDDLE AGE STARTS AT 55?

Middle age begins at 55 -- but only lasts for 14 years before "old age" begins -- at least according to a new survey. The poll found respondents believe they are young up to the age of 54 and old age sets in at 69 -- although one in five say middle age does not begin until you are past 60. The finding, from online company 'Love to Learn' pushes middle age far higher than previous research, with a Kent University study two years ago saying middle age began at 36. (Daily Mail)

WHAT THE FLOWERS HE BUYS YOU REALLY MEAN

 This week is National Flower Week. If your man does end up buying you flowers, the flowers he chooses can say a lot about your relationship. Use this key to figure out what the flowers he brought home mean.

1. Carnations: Carnations are one of the cheapest flowers, but they come in a ton of colors. So either your guy knew your favorite color was hot Pink and decided to get a flower in your favorite color (how sweet!) or he ran into the flower shop and grabbed the cheapest flower without putting any thought into it. If he did the latter, don't get too upset. Maybe he just needs a little coaching or a hint for next time!

2. Tulips: Tulips are my favorite flower. I think they're the perfect gift for any special moment in a relationship, and they're more unique than roses. They come in a variety of colors, and if your guy gets you a multi-colored tulip bouquet, he obviously put a lot of thought into the gift.

3. Peonies: The peony is a favorite of Gossip Girl's Blair Waldorf. Blair has impeccable taste (as if you didn't know that), because peonies are so classy and pristine. They're also an omen for good fortune, and they're known as the flower of riches and honor, according to Teleflora.com. If your guy picks up some peonies, then you may just have good relationship luck coming your way. And chances are, he likes your classy style!

4. Daisies: If I were a guy, I would get a girl daisies if the relationship was new. Daisies are fun, pretty flowers that don't mean anything too serious (like "I love you"). Daisies represent innocence, so it's the perfect flower for the honeymoon stage of a relationship when you haven't had any real fights or issues yet.

5. Red Roses: On the total opposite end of the spectrum, we have red roses, which, if I were a guy, I wouldn't get for someone I wasn't serious about. Many guys may be afraid to get girls roses too early in the relationship, so if he ends up buying them for you, then either you have something very special or he's completely clueless about what flowers mean. Which, to be honest, a lot of guys are.

MCRIB

There's bad news for fans of the McRib, McDonald's pork sandwich with the cult following, with news that they won't be making their annual appearance on menus next month as usual, but instead will be pushed back until late December. Inspired by pulled pork sandwiches, the McRib made its debut in 1981, but was taken off the McDonald's menu in 1985 because it wasn't selling well. It came back in 1989, but disappeared again in 2005. Since then, it's only been offered for a few months a year, and only in select locations, with the limited availability having become a marketing tool. There's even a website for its fans, called The McRib Locator, to track the elusive sandwich. But Yahoo! Shine has some help for fans who just can't wait, pointing to Top Secret Recipes, the website of Todd Wilbur, who comes up with recipes that duplicate favorite restaurant items.  

 The McRib Locator 

Thanks for listening to The Eagle while you work. Keep it fabulous Houston!

xoxo,

Jennifer Tyler

Fabulous Mid-Day Diva