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Friday, June 19, 2015

One More Birthday Party

My gardening friend Julie has an annual birthday party for her
husband, usually attended by the same group of friends and
neighbors. The event took place last evening in Julie's
enchanting garden where I had a chance to visit with people
I hadn't seen since last year's party.

The one person I look forward to seeing is Al, Julie's 101
year old neighbor.  It's not too unusual for someone to reach
the bright and snappy age of 101 but Al is using that bright-
ness to live in total independence. Living alone, Al performs
all his housely duties, buys his own food and cooks. But get
this, AL STILL DRIVES A CAR. He said they made him
take a driving test that consisted of him driving around the block.
That was it!

What is so amazing is that Al joins in on almost any
conversation. He knows exactly what is going on in the world
and expresses his ideas in a strong, clear voice.

Those of us who love history are forever bombarding him
with questions concerning his early life. Last night I heard
him say he moved to Helena in 1930 (year I was born) and
bought the land where his house stands, for $95.

In my mind I was comparing Al to the ladies in my Bliss class.
Their average age is somewhere in the early 70's but take my
word that Al could run circles around many of them. I've heard
them use the phrase......"but at my age"..........which is complete
non-sense to keep referring to a number. Al knows exactly how
old he is but when someone asks, "are you one hundrea and
one" I've heard Al laughingly say, "Am I?"

Who can say what it takes to live a long and healthy life.
Genes? Diet? Attitude?  I really don't have the foggiest but
it's a delight when you see it in action. I know one thing, Al
loves ice cream and he ate a lot of it.  hahahaha

52 comments:

  1. lol $95 bucks for a plot of land, I'll have to invent time travel so I can go back and buy some up cheap.

    Not sure what makes one able to live so long and still be full of life. But awesome indeed that he can still do it all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pat
      I thought you already did time travel. If you do go, I want to go along. Do I need a ticket? If we went forward, do you think it woud be just dumb people sitting around drinking the water? LOL

      Delete
    2. lol probably, as they get more moronic with time

      Delete
  2. Al sounds delightful. I see why you look forward to that party.

    I have no idea what makes some people so active as they get older and others not so much. But, I also enjoy watching it in action!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Robin
      Maybe we have to dance more and eat ice cream. I've been lactos intolerant since I was young so I've had very little ice cream but now I'm making kefir and I can tolerate the fermentation a little better.

      Delete
  3. Al must have resolved to live forever--so far, so good!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fishducky
      That must mean attitude or something like it prevails. Yeah, I think the mind plays a large part in the direction we take of our lives.

      Delete
  4. I love that Al is still so active and cool, even though he's 101. I love people that have spunk. Al is an inspiration.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Murees
      Yeah, Al is a spunky one and sends one on their way, it seems. You too, Murees, possess that spunk and you'll still have it when you get old.

      Delete
  5. Dear Manzanita,

    Al is quite the dude! Of course, in Al's case, 101 is the new 21! Great stuff and party on!

    Have a lovely weekend, my dear friend.

    Gary :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gary
      So nice to see you out and about again. Let's see.... Are the "out" and "about" said Canadian or American style? Doesn't really matter, does it...... as long as we enjoy life as we are going about.
      Wishing you a fabulous week end that would knock your socks off (and your booots).

      Delete
  6. Dear Manzanita,

    Al is quite the dude! Of course, in Al's case, 101 is the new 21! Great stuff and party on!

    Have a lovely weekend, my dear friend.

    Gary :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Gary
      How sweet of you. You wanted to write twice. Yes, we should devote a portion of our life to a party so heck yes, "Party on" dear friend.

      Delete
  7. What a man! I hope he keeps going and going!

    Is that your new floor?! Looks wonderful.
    Glad to see your name again!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Susan
      I get so bogged down with other things so I have to set aside blogging sometimes. Dang..... I don't know why I take on so many projects.

      Delete
  8. Good for Al. I think all three contribute but especially attitude.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Paula
      Yes, attitude would be setting one's mind and that can be ever so powerful.

      Delete
  9. What a remarkable old gentleman. I would enjoy Al's company enormously. Older people are so much more interesting.

    And I don't think there's anything we can do regarding our longevity. What will be will be. Methinks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wendy
      I can see by your blog that your are really going to town on the writing. (that photo gave me a huge chuckle)

      Thanks for taking some time from your busy schedule to look at some blogs. You are such a dear and I respect your enthusiasm.

      Delete
  10. I hope I make it to 100. My family is starting to tire of my stories. I'll need great-grandchildren as a fresh audience.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Al
      Just hang in there and it's called survival. mmmm a fresh new audience of little ones. Rook...I think you're starting a whole new language. Hahaha

      Delete
  11. Al sounds like a truly inspirational gentleman :)
    Popping by on the A to Z Road Trip
    Debbie
    www.myrandommusings.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Random Musings
      So nice of you to pop in for a visit. Thank you it's nice to meet you. I did visit you blog this morning.

      Delete
  12. I will have to start eating ice cream

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. joeh
      Yeah, bring back the old ice-cream makers for a Sunday afternoon where we all take turns at the crank. (no, not the cranky person LOL)

      Delete
  13. I love Al. I bet a lot of women have their eyes on him.

    By the way is that a Macintosh SE30 I see in your photo. That was my first Apple machine.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susie
      It's an old DVD player but perfect for playing a dance DVD that we are plagiarizing something from. lol

      Delete
  14. He sounds amazing.
    Merle...............

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Merle
      Some people are just destined to a long life. (I think) lol

      Delete
  15. 101 and still bright as a button!
    Good strong genes there.
    I hope to get another 40 years in too, perhaps I should buy more ice cream....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. River
      That's what I've been thinking.... about the ice cream, I mean.
      He seems so happy too. Perhaps that is a clue, too.

      Delete
  16. I hope I live as long as Al - I want too. I love this life - don't want to give it up, well not yet, maybe one day...
    Loadsa love
    Anna :o]

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anna
    If the desire is strong, you will. Old age can be very short and brief, but right now I am truely happy too. It pleases me that you are enjoying life to the fullest and wish to hang around for some time yet.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I wonder how much of it is attitude? You see a lot of people living into their 80s and 90s who just seem miserable all the time. Then you see the people who are still having a blast despite their aches and pains. Instead of sitting around talking about all their surgeries, they interact with other people and laugh and get out there and have fun. If I were going to live to my 80s/90s, that's the type of person I'd want to be!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Stephanie
      That woud be the way to "go out."
      After some thought, it must all depend on genes. If the old person is still going strong and free from pain, it's easy to have a good attitude. But it sure is a drag when you don't feel well.

      Delete
  19. Hey Sweetie!!! Sounds like you had a wonderful time. You have a great little spot out in that one fenced in area that would make a great spot for a little party.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Terry
      You must mean the rock garden. I'm still trying to clean that up as it's so tucked away, I always leave it until last. That is where I'm going to build the earth oven or Pizza oven as so many call it. Projects, projects. I can't ever be without one.

      Delete
  20. My grandmother was 96 when she died but the last few years she was very frail. Someone 101 still driving is remarkable.
    R

    ReplyDelete
  21. Rick
    Your grandmother lived to welcome grandchildren and great-grandchildren. That is a nice little bonus to life. Driving at age 101 blows my mind too. My eyes are so bad that I'd like to give up driving right now. Al must have exxcellent eye sight.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Both my great grandmothers on mom and dad's side lived to be 98. I have both grandmothers now ( I am in late 40's) and they are both 88. I have a feeling I may live to be old. Its definitely in my genes.
    I hope I'm not driving though if I live to be old. Or maybe by then we will have the Jetsons space car and it will be easier to drive.
    My mom lives in Montana. She lives in small town called Basin right between Butte and Helena. Helena is where I fly into and where we go out to eat.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Holli
    Oh I love Basin..... right by the mines that I try to vist every summer. Not many people there and in fact a guy up in the mountains a little ways took the remainder of my llamas. Yeah, I think there is only one place to eat in Basin.
    See, age-wise you aren't even half-way there yet. I believe genes tell the whole story.

    ReplyDelete
  24. How much i love hearing such stories!! It's a great joy to be around people like Al, motivating and energizing! Thanks for sharing! :)
    Hugs!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Zara
      Thanks and I also enjoy being around people with such colorful stories. Remember when I asked if you had any good Eastern music in mind. I was serious.... because you know I love it. I'm thinking of teaching the classes another dance and introducing them to mid-eastern music.
      Love to you

      Delete
    2. Ah, that's great, Manzi! So, this weekend, i'll e-mail you a few Arabic songs in different styles, you'll choose what you like the most and then i'll make a selection specially for your classes! :)
      Much love!

      Delete
    3. Zara
      I would love it. I've been looking over my music but non seems appropriate or the beat is wrong. The one bad thing in using popular music with a copyrite is that we can't ever make a video or use it on line. I tried that once on something I thought was obscure and YT ordered me to get it off immediately OR ELSE. I wish I could make music. Hahaha

      Delete
  25. Genes, diet, attitude... and luck. No man in my family has ever reached the age of 72, so you might say I'm conscious of my age, Manzanita, much to my own annoyance.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Poor Blue, Now you are worrying about that. Stop. We have to take care of what we were given, no matter what...... if it's the strength of a bull or the weakness of a wimp. My ancestors lived long but my constitution has always been frail so I learned to take care of what I had. On the other side, my 1st husband had the genetic make-up of the bull and he used it to the nibs. He just plain used it all up and he died. Maybe that strong genetic background gives false hope. Who knows? But I recently thought of you as I read something about your soma thing. It had to do with candida, as I was researching candida overgrowth, which I seem to have been lucky enough to add to my already frail body. But I did run into some valuable information.

      Delete
    2. Just knowing someone like you was thinking of me, puts a smile on my face. Look, here it is... :))

      Delete
    3. Blue
      And there is nothing I like better, than to see a smile on a blue face. "I'd rather be blue...thinking of you...." You are my favorite blue man.

      Delete
  26. This is just so fabulous! I had to read this post to my husband because it brought smiles to both our faces. I wish we could meet Al too. What a thoroughly amazing man!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kay
      Each year, I'm delighted to see him again. I've seen him for the past 3 years and he hasn't changed. Haha

      Delete
  27. I'm going to take that as an endorsement for ice cream... and I might even indulge. :)

    Glad you had a good time at the party!

    ReplyDelete