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Saturday, March 6, 2010
How to get really old
The oldest woman in Switzerland died shortly before her 113th birthday. She fell asleep one night and didn't wake up. What a way to go! In an interview shortly before her death she said that hearing and eyesight weren't perfect anymore, but she was still able to walk. I wonder if it was genes, the daily hike, the mountain air? No, I think it was chocolate.
Christa Polkinhorn, originally from Switzerland, lives and works as writer and translator in the Los Angeles area, California. She divides her time between the United States and Switzerland and has strong ties to both countries. She is the author of five novels and a collection of poems. Her travels and her interest in foreign cultures inform her work and her novels take place in several countries. Aside from writing and traveling, she is an avid reader and a lover of the arts, dark chocolate, and red wine.
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Christa, I might have told you this story . . . you know my grandfather lived to 102. He was completely mystified as to why he had managed to live that long. He had know men who were so much more physically fit . . . he was older than his wife . . . why was he alive and they were all gone? One thing he knew for sure--one day he thought "I'm old, maybe I should just take it easy and act 'old.'" So, he acted old for about a week. Then one morning he noticed that he had dressed with one sock on, one sock off. He was amazed, it only took a week of 'acting old' before his mind began to go! He said from that point on, he was going to keep as active as he could and never 'act old.'
ReplyDeleteYou sure got a point there. Okay, so perhaps it wasn't chocolate. Come to think of it. My mom got to be 102 as well and she didn't even like chocolate. Besides, she smoked until her late nineties. Go figure! I always thought I kept her young, because I was born late into her life--I was what they call "a menopause-baby." Watch out women!
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