2013 Centenarians
By Nancy Hall
I was privileged to be asked to be on the Centennial Commission and specifically to work on the Centenarians program. When we first started our task, we thought we might end up with about 20 . When we finished there were 40 identified, although 6 had recently died. So for the lunch in their honor, some 34 were in attendance. There was a nice lunch, some entertainment by the Ole’ Dixie Dawgs and the Snappy Tappers. Mike Wells, local attorney gave a few suggestions on how to live to be a hundred .
1.A realization of what’s not as important as you thought
2. The great value of friends and significant relationships
3. Be fit-but you don’t have to be a champion
4. Something to look forward to
5. Emotional intelligence, and the value of keeping on an even keel
6. Humor, and how it buoys the spirit
7. It’s not what you see, it’s how you see it
8. The great power of faith
9. Optimism. It really is all they say it is
10. In search of the unseen crown of content1
I call Mike “senior friendly” because of his seminars and columns on vital issues facing seniors. He has just recently published a book WHAT I’VE LEARNED ABOUT LIFE ON THE WAY TO THE COURTHOUSE. An interesting read.
The research which has been done on characteristics of 100 year olds reveal the following:
they live in the northeast and Midwest. California, New York, Florida and Texas have the most;
they are overwhelmingly women,
this group is less diverse
they live with others
they live in the city
they have close ties with family and friends
they had family members who lived a long time
they have good health habits such as not smoking, handling stress without alcohol or drugs, getting physical activities, eating fruits and veggies
they have a positive outlook and challenging the mind 2
Some of these sound very familiar, right?
One final note on the Centennial-I was named an honorary citizen of the community and subsequently, had the fun of riding in the parade on Saturday in an old model car with a rumble seat. This brought back memories of a little blue coupe with a rumble seat which my family owned.
There is a dvd which has been made of the merging of Winston and Salem. You might want to see it . Very interesting.
I am nancappy@msn.com
References
1. Mike Wells talk at the Centenarians’ Lunch, May 10, 2013
2. Various sources, internet