Aging

About four years ago, a New York Times writer began following six people who were at least 85 years of age or older. This year’s follow-up titled “Pioneers Inch Ahead into the Twilight,” was found in the January 6, 2019 edition of The New York Times. I remembered reading that first article about those six individuals. They were doing fairly well without many health issues at that time. This article was different as two of the six passed away, leaving just four.  All four were in their 90s and one was faced with the onset of dementia and the other three with physical illnesses.

One of the themes included memory issues, which was not surprising. Also noticeable was a significant decrease in physical activities. Medical complications were not kind as well. One woman stated that she had to present a theme about surviving and in no way could talk about not surviving with her family. She added that her son would say “oh ma, you’re going to keep going forever.” She translated this by stating “the thought of my passing is very upsetting to him.” In other words, her son’s issue with guilt meant that she now has to live for her son’s mental health.

One man was born in Lithuania during World War II; and during Nazi occupation, apparently wrote in the paper anti-sematic calls for violence, per a recent article in the New York Review of Books. The Lithuanian denounced the article and added, “After 75 years, that period remained unreal to me because it was such an unnatural intrusion that I cannot identify myself. It’s like it does not belong period.” This man was confronted with that unflattering article, as well as a hemoglobin deficiency and polyps in his digestive tract.

A more uplifting article titled “Australia’s Fastest 92-year-old Woman,” was also published in that same newspaper. Heather Lee holds five world records and eight Australian ones for her race walking. She attributed part of her success in that she started at the youthful age of 85. Heather was quoted “age is no barrier to anything, really.” This remarkable young lady spoke about her life’s purpose, which was to convey to younger people about the importance of living right. This meant a healthy diet and plenty of exercise. In fact, one of her mottos “take the stairs, not the lift, always.” Another positive component, in aging, is looking to the future and having a goal. According to Heather,” this year’s a big one, because-is it going to be better than last year? 2018, was an amazing year for me.”

In conclusion, I agree with Heather-healthy diet, plenty of exercise and looking forward to the future. Not having a physical or mental diagnosis helps greatly as well. Also, it’s demonstrated that the past can have negative effects on the present.

 Heather, I’m running the Jed Smith 50 K on Saturday. My friend Tony is accompanying me. Also entered, but in a different age group, in the race is Mark Richtman. I met Mark about 20 years ago at a Ride and Tie event and found out then as well as now that he is still a world class runner. He’s the favorite in Saturday’s race and I wish him well.