Dear Nesta,
How you, dear heart? Ef I remember rightly, as long as you healf hol’in’ up, you would be bizzy at somet’ing or ethuh, age or no age! Yuh got de right spirit, soul! I hey readin’ ’bout some ethuh “young-at-hearts” dat refusin’, like yuhself, to leh age stan’ in duh way, an’ mekkin’ duhself happy ‘til duh get ’pon de “eithuh side”!
Now, ef yuh been keepin’ up wid we local news, yuh would know dat when it come to “centurions”, sorry, I mean “centenarians”, Buhbayduss right up dey wid countries like Japan! I won’ be surprise ef one day, we get in de Guinness Book as de country wid de mos’ 100-year-oles!
In fack, a li’l while ago, we hit de headlines when one gentleman reach 111 years, mekkin’ ’e de secon’ oldes’ livin’ person at present in de worl’! Some science people from Amurica, wantin’ to fine out wuh causin’ dis long life, gone back wid some o’ e’ blood to tes’ it, aldoh I en hear ’bout no results yet!
A few o’ we ole people look real good fuh dah age, doh! Some while back, a picture o’ a 100-year ole man had muh in shock, de way dat man look, nobody would t’ink dah was he age!
I was discussin’ wid my nighber how come some people livin’ so long! We all know dat evuht’ing in de Fadduh han’s, but good genes an’ eatin’ right does play a part too, an’ don’ fuhget, also de way yuh look at Life! Ef you allow people to start puttin’ yuh down an’ sayin’ yuh ole an’ yuh pas’ it at 50, – an’ you believe dem, dah suit you! Youngsters always quick to show yuh to de rockin’ chair, but even ef dem look ’pon yuh as ole, dem word is de Bible?
I jes’ done readin’ in one o’ you English papers ’bout de way a 100-year-ole man celebrate he “big day”. He went skydivin’ at 13 000 feet! True, he was a pilot in de 1930’s, an’ ’e heart doctor say he in great shape, but still, dah tek a lot o’ nerve to do at dah age! An’ when ’e ’pon de groun’, he drivin’ a Jag! So yuh see, he might be ole, but cole? Not yet!
Anethuh ol’ster – a federal judge, at 103 still hearin’ cases. It seem he is de ol’es’ wukkin’ federal judge – app’int sence de days o’ President Kennedy! Wuk start fuh he at 8.30 in de mornin’ an’ en’ at 3 o’clock, an’ he does keep up wid current events by usin’ de computer ’pon ’e desk! Now, you would ’gree dat he is neffin to do wid Alzheimers! He say devotion to wuk is he reason to live an’ ’e plannin’ to lef’ de job “feet firs’”!
But it en only men dat showin’ all dis drive an’ determination! Women in dis group too.
A 74-year-ole black Amurican woman gone in de Guinness Book as de worl’s oldes’ competitive female bodybuilder! Dah woman body look fantastic wid she six-pack abs! She does run 10 miles evuh day an’ it is nuff years now she been runnin’ marathons. She also win two bodybuildin’ contes’s! You go girl!
Well, sence I read dese stories, I run out an’ buy a skippin’ rope, but I won’ fool to tell yuh, de firs’ mornin’ de palpitations near kill muh!
Anyway, I stickin’ to muh guns! One . . . two . . . t’ree . . . four . . . .
Tek care o’ yuhself
Yuh frien’ Babsie