How often do you get to talk to someone who’s 100 years old? My friend’s dad was about to have his 100th birthday and he flew in to Denver for a little celebration before a bigger summertime event in his hometown of Pittsburgh. When he checked in at the airport for his flight, they didn’t have his birth year in the computer system (1915), so there was a bit of a delay while they figured a way around it.
If there’s one word to describe Frank, it’s Spunky! I met him for the first time at his surprise bowling party his daughter and granddaughter had for him during his visit…can you believe he still bowls three times a week? He doesn’t look a day over 80. He only uses a hearing aid and glasses to help him along and has only recently lost his driver’s license thanks to his failing eyes. Otherwise, he’s fully mobile, as evidenced in his zest for bowling and his incredible memory. He remembers the exact year that he bowled a perfect 300!
Frank loves talking about his life and has so many stories, it was hard to keep up. A couple days after bowling, I sat down and talked with him and he willingly talked about his youth, his work and his insights on how the country has changed since he was young.
He was employed for forty years at Union Switch & Signal in Pittsburgh, which worked on railroad signal systems. It was work that eventually took him to the New York City subway systems and two hundred miles from the Arctic Circle for a new railroad being built, just to name just a few of the projects he was involved with. He got his first car in 1931 when he was 16 (26 Model-T). He went to the World’s Fair in Chicago in 1933. He played clarinet at the Sugar Bowl in 1939. He retired in 1981, which means he’s been retired almost as long as he was working.
Some of his thoughts on religion:
–Even though he’s a member of the Presbyterian church, he contends that all religion comes from fear of uncertainty, and is used to control man. He thinks it’s OK for people to have something to believe in, but he would consider himself more spiritual than religious.
On his health:
–He’s only been in the hospital twice in his life (!). Once for a hernia and once in his nineties for intestinal blockage.
— His secret to his health? He cooks with lard, eats meat and potatoes, loves maple syrup…but he eats in moderation. He doesn’t eat processed junk food. “What you learn as a kid, you carry with you through your life.” Frank was a teenager when the great depression hit. He never went hungry, but was never overfed. So he’s carried that with him; he knows when he’s full and stops eating. He was never overweight, but once in his life, when he was married, he gained fourteen pounds (he knew the exact year). Around that time, he got false teeth and had to slow his eating, which is what he mostly contributes to losing all the extra weight. He poses the question “Are you eating to live or living to eat?”
–He still mows his own lawn, and just recently had to replace his lawn mower; the new one practically pushes itself!
On relationships:
–Nature chooses. “We’re part of the animal kingdom whether we like it or not.”
–“The best dancing was when you had your girlfriend in your arms; you knew where she was. If you had her tight in your arms you knew she was going home with you.”
–He met his wife at the gas station he worked at. She was a customer.
On what’s different from when he was younger:
–Decay of the family is the root of many of America’s problems, in his opinion. Both parents are working instead of home teaching kids. He saw these changes coming out of the time of WWI, when women had to go out and find jobs when their husbands were overseas.
–Back then, people helped each other. “If you got a flat tire, you wouldn’t have to wait long before someone pulled over to help you.”
–We don’t have time for one another now, which leads to bad things.
–People want answers NOW and are not willing to take the time to gather information (ie: they demand antibiotics from doctors for ailments that won’t be cured with them); we want instant gratification and that can be worse in the long run. People also whine too much now. Frank is a big believer in hard work.
On what’s still the same:
–People don’t stand together and fight for things; only in war do they stand united.
Frank’s ability to stay young at such an old age probably has more to do with genetics; but I think his curiosity and resilience probably added to that and got him farther in life. He’s made a lifelong habit out of going with the flow and being flexible and highly adaptable to change. He was good at solving problems, rolling up his sleeves and figuring out how things worked and he wasn’t scared of new technology. Resilience is a proven factor to longevity, and the significant changes that happen in our lives across so many decades must certainly require that kind of resilience.
Back at the bowling alley, Frank was unable to bowl as well as he normally does. We blamed the ball, the lane, the altitude, the venue. Frank was irritated by it, but it didn’t stop him from having fun, eating cake and telling stories. But being the truly resilient person he is, when he got home to Pittsburgh, he promptly went bowling, and scored over 200 in the first game!
