Saturday, January 03, 2009

the 'hard to hold' record


It is never too early to start watching your weight.










Maria held the record for 37 days. The previous record holder, Edna, held the record for an amazing 15 months and 13 days. Gertrude now holds the title. It is the tile to which we all aspire. I am talking about the worlds oldest living person. Maria was 115 years old. Edna was born almost 5 months before Maria. The new title holder is just a paltry 114 years old; a veritable spring chicken. I hear someone say that we, as human beings will spend all our health trying to make money and then spend all our money trying to recover our health.

These title holders have found a way to balance these things. Most of them I read about lived simple lives without a mass of excess. Edna was a teacher in a two room school in Indiana and lived out her later years on a farm until she moved to a nursing home. Gertrude was a house mom at a university in Ohio, before divorcing and moving to Los Angeles. She now lives in a nursing home there, and recently cast her vote for Barack Obama. Maria worked in agriculture, never learned to read or write, and raised six children. All lived fairly simple lives.


I am 51 years old. My family history supposes I will make my 90's. I can't imagine another 40 years and what it may bring. I think the key is to see what tomorrow will bring. I will look to what the next hour, or the next minute will bring. If I can string enough of those next minutes, next hours, next days, next weeks, or next months together, I might just make it to the end. Of course, I will make it to my end, even if it comes tomorrow. Yogi Berra once said, "I will live to be 100 or die trying." Sounds good to me.

I have discovered the secret to living to be 100. Don't die !!


3 comments:

Heather of the EO said...

Good plan! Don't die until you die.

I have to admit I don't want to live to 115. Heaven sounds much better than being really old for a really long time :) Ha!

miruspeg said...

I love the saying:
"And in the end,
It's not the years in your life that count,
It's the life in your years"

Here's to a very, very, healthy 2009 Ron.

Cheers
Peggy

Debbie said...

I just try not to think about it too much! I am a little like Scarlet in that way.