Guess What Came in the Mail?

Last week I got my Medicaire card in the mail. Yikes! Can it be? I am going to be 65 in December? Holy cow! It just seems like I was in high school. And my wife and I have been on Social Security for almost 3 years now. It always seemed like "old people" were on social security and medicaire and now I am one of them.

My father died when he was 66 and my father in law also died at 66. And I had grandparents die in their 60's. That always seemed so far away and now I am at that age. But my father and father in law both smoked 3 packs of non filter cigarettes a day! And I have never smoked. Its interesting how the circle of life works. My parents are gone, and all my aunts and uncles have passed on as well as my grandparents many years ago. And now I have become the aunts and uncles and this fall I will be a grandparent for the first time.

But I don't feel old, whatever that means. If you asked me to pick an age that I feel, I would say 28. I don't have an ache or pain anywhere. I feel great. I have been going for annual physicals since I was 35 and have had all the appropriate tests and procedures at the proper times and have had no issues. As I have written about before I have Type 2 diabetes, but if I didn't take my blood sugar every day I would not know I had it. I take medicine and its under control.

But I often wonder why me? I have never been in a hospital overnight except to be born. I know many people younger than me who have passed on and I have friends and relatives with all kinds of health problems and aches and pains. Why them and not me? Is it luck, genes, or what? And why do bad things to good people? Entire books have been written about that. I think about this a lot.

I have tried to eat right, exercise several days a week, have a positive attitude, be enthusiastic about everything and give back to the community. I will try to do that the rest of my life. My goal is to live in retirement as many years as I worked-35. That will get me to 93. I am also shooting for 100. I wonder if the government sends you some type of card if you reach that milestone! So Medicaire, bring it on! I hope to hardly ever use you!! Thanking you for your time, this time, until next time! Regards, FRAN

Reading

I think a key component of living a healthy life is reading. Yes, reading! A book, a magazine, newspapers, an e-book, whatever. And holding a real book in your hand, a Kindle or a Nook. It doesn't matter. I don't know what I would do if I didn't read. Some of my earliest memories are going to the local library with my mother and going into the Children's section and seeing all those books and checking out as many as you wanted. I can still see the two ladies that worked there-Mrs. Doane and Mrs. Ford, sitting behind the desk and checking me out. They are long gone now but not those wonderful memories.

And I loved reading all those Hardy Boy books in junior high. Some days I would take a book home, lie on my bed and read the whole book and return it the next morning. I don't know when I did my homework that night. And I used some of my lawn mowing money to join a Sports Book Club where I would get a different biography every month.

One of life's pleasures is just walking into a book store and walking around, browsing all the books. I love history, biography and thrillers. We are fortunate to have 3 book stores in Newburyport, including one used book store. And how about the Newburyport Library? I think its a national treasure. The people that work there, the programs, the features, and all those books. Wow. What a place!

Former President Truman's daughter Margaret was once asked what her father's definition of Heaven was. She said something to the effect it was having a stack of new history or biography books on the table, next to his favorite chair. I think I would agree with him! Just add a cup of coffee and a fireplace to go with it!

And former Prime Minister of Israel, Shimon Peres, said, " I know there are good books and bad books. It can be fiction or nonfiction. It can be philosophy. It can be history. Really, when it comes to books, it is its value, its depth. You make an acquaintance with a book as you do with a person. After ten or fifteen pages, you know with whom you have to deal. When you have a good book, you really have something of importance. Books are as important as friends and maybe more so. Because all of us are living in very limited circles, books enable us to run away from them." Great advice!

Many of us waste too much time each week, watching television or surfing the internet. Skip a tv show and read a book. Try keeping a book by your bedside table and read 15-30 minutes a night before you go to sleep and read a few hours during the weekend. You will be surprised at how many books you can finish this way. I read about a couple of dozen books a year this way.

I hope to see you browsing the shelves in the Newburyport Library. Thanking you for your time, this time, until next time. Regards, FRAN