There was a time when I figured that I would be dead by now. Fifty seemed an impossible age. It never occurred to me that I would still be kicking at 51. Of course that was when I was a genius, around, say, the age of 18 or so. Back then, anyone older than 40 was a doddering fool, fertilizer on the hoof.
Being a lot less intelligent now, I am nonetheless smart enough to realize that I still might have one or two more good years. More if I don't start smoking again. Shoot, I might even live to be 60.
According to Time magazine, a few people in my age group might live to be 100, though why we would want to is yet another matter. Given that 100 is another 50 years away, I can once again assume that I won't see it.
The odds are with me this time. People with the sort of mileage I have put on myself don't usually see their hundredth birthday. I am lucky to be here now.
According to a study conducted by Leonard Poon, director of the University of Georgia Gerontology Center, people who live into triple digits have a number of things in common besides wrinkles.
For starters, none of the "superold" are fat. Apparently being fat after a certain age is like holding a gun to your own head. It's going to go off sooner than you think.
Oddly enough, only about 20 percent to 30 percent of how long we hang around is related to our genes. Most of it depends on how we live, or our life's coping mechanisms.
According to Poon, the superold exhibited four primary mechanisms they use to cope with life, the first of which is that they are not easily pushed around.
Makes sense. Let other people tell you how to live your life and pretty soon they'll be telling you when you ought to be dead. But if you go your own way, following your heart so to speak, you have more say in the outcome.
Such determined independence naturally brings us to skepticism. The really old also tend to have a heightened sense of suspicion when it comes to information. They prefer to think things through for themselves rather than rely on routine advice.
Skepticism. Wow. If that were all it took, I'd live to be 500.
Next is another logical step. Centenarians are usually more practical than idealistic, something that makes a huge amount of sense to me. Hoping for the best isn't nearly as health-promoting as learning to live with what you're dealt.
I suppose that's why many of Poon's test subjects aren't rich. I doubt any of them own a Bowflex machine. They all live active lives mentally and physically, and kept their diets simple.
Finally, the superold tend to be relaxed in their attitude toward life. You won't find a lot of road ragers among them.
All this bodes ill for me. My life is not simple. I eat too much. I stress a lot. Also, I let my family, church, government and work boss me around more than I like.
I'll probably be dead tomorrow. [rc]
Robert Kirby
E-Mail: rkirby@sltrib.com.
Copyright: The Salt Lake Tribune
August 10, 2009
USA: "Not sure I want to join the super old"
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SALT LAKE CITY, Utah / The Salt Lake Tribune / Columnists / August 10, 2009
By Robert Kirby, Tribune Columnist
Robert Kirby is on vacation. This is a reprint of an earlier column.
There was a time when I figured that I would be dead by now. Fifty seemed an impossible age. It never occurred to me that I would still be kicking at 51. Of course that was when I was a genius, around, say, the age of 18 or so. Back then, anyone older than 40 was a doddering fool, fertilizer on the hoof.
Being a lot less intelligent now, I am nonetheless smart enough to realize that I still might have one or two more good years. More if I don't start smoking again. Shoot, I might even live to be 60.
According to Time magazine, a few people in my age group might live to be 100, though why we would want to is yet another matter. Given that 100 is another 50 years away, I can once again assume that I won't see it.
The odds are with me this time. People with the sort of mileage I have put on myself don't usually see their hundredth birthday. I am lucky to be here now.
According to a study conducted by Leonard Poon, director of the University of Georgia Gerontology Center, people who live into triple digits have a number of things in common besides wrinkles.
For starters, none of the "superold" are fat. Apparently being fat after a certain age is like holding a gun to your own head. It's going to go off sooner than you think.
Oddly enough, only about 20 percent to 30 percent of how long we hang around is related to our genes. Most of it depends on how we live, or our life's coping mechanisms.
According to Poon, the superold exhibited four primary mechanisms they use to cope with life, the first of which is that they are not easily pushed around.
Makes sense. Let other people tell you how to live your life and pretty soon they'll be telling you when you ought to be dead. But if you go your own way, following your heart so to speak, you have more say in the outcome.
Such determined independence naturally brings us to skepticism. The really old also tend to have a heightened sense of suspicion when it comes to information. They prefer to think things through for themselves rather than rely on routine advice.
Skepticism. Wow. If that were all it took, I'd live to be 500.
Next is another logical step. Centenarians are usually more practical than idealistic, something that makes a huge amount of sense to me. Hoping for the best isn't nearly as health-promoting as learning to live with what you're dealt.
I suppose that's why many of Poon's test subjects aren't rich. I doubt any of them own a Bowflex machine. They all live active lives mentally and physically, and kept their diets simple.
Finally, the superold tend to be relaxed in their attitude toward life. You won't find a lot of road ragers among them.
All this bodes ill for me. My life is not simple. I eat too much. I stress a lot. Also, I let my family, church, government and work boss me around more than I like.
I'll probably be dead tomorrow. [rc]
Robert Kirby
E-Mail: rkirby@sltrib.com.
Copyright: The Salt Lake Tribune
There was a time when I figured that I would be dead by now. Fifty seemed an impossible age. It never occurred to me that I would still be kicking at 51. Of course that was when I was a genius, around, say, the age of 18 or so. Back then, anyone older than 40 was a doddering fool, fertilizer on the hoof.
Being a lot less intelligent now, I am nonetheless smart enough to realize that I still might have one or two more good years. More if I don't start smoking again. Shoot, I might even live to be 60.
According to Time magazine, a few people in my age group might live to be 100, though why we would want to is yet another matter. Given that 100 is another 50 years away, I can once again assume that I won't see it.
The odds are with me this time. People with the sort of mileage I have put on myself don't usually see their hundredth birthday. I am lucky to be here now.
According to a study conducted by Leonard Poon, director of the University of Georgia Gerontology Center, people who live into triple digits have a number of things in common besides wrinkles.
For starters, none of the "superold" are fat. Apparently being fat after a certain age is like holding a gun to your own head. It's going to go off sooner than you think.
Oddly enough, only about 20 percent to 30 percent of how long we hang around is related to our genes. Most of it depends on how we live, or our life's coping mechanisms.
According to Poon, the superold exhibited four primary mechanisms they use to cope with life, the first of which is that they are not easily pushed around.
Makes sense. Let other people tell you how to live your life and pretty soon they'll be telling you when you ought to be dead. But if you go your own way, following your heart so to speak, you have more say in the outcome.
Such determined independence naturally brings us to skepticism. The really old also tend to have a heightened sense of suspicion when it comes to information. They prefer to think things through for themselves rather than rely on routine advice.
Skepticism. Wow. If that were all it took, I'd live to be 500.
Next is another logical step. Centenarians are usually more practical than idealistic, something that makes a huge amount of sense to me. Hoping for the best isn't nearly as health-promoting as learning to live with what you're dealt.
I suppose that's why many of Poon's test subjects aren't rich. I doubt any of them own a Bowflex machine. They all live active lives mentally and physically, and kept their diets simple.
Finally, the superold tend to be relaxed in their attitude toward life. You won't find a lot of road ragers among them.
All this bodes ill for me. My life is not simple. I eat too much. I stress a lot. Also, I let my family, church, government and work boss me around more than I like.
I'll probably be dead tomorrow. [rc]
Robert Kirby
E-Mail: rkirby@sltrib.com.
Copyright: The Salt Lake Tribune
