I WANNA BE GORDIE

My husband’s Uncle Gordie turned 100 this month. You might have seen news of his birthday celebration on TV. He was the guy from Richmond California hitting the century mark by driving 105 Miles an hour in a Lexus sedan and 130.4 miles an hour in a high speed boat on the San Joaquin River Delta.

Gordie made the perfect media star. We like seeing an old guy doing something wild that makes the rest of us whoop and holler. It makes everyone 99 years old and under feel that maybe they, too, will never be over the hill. Gives you hope. All that inspiring feel good stuff.

Reporters ate it up. There was white haired grinning Gordon Miller breaking the Guinness World Records for the fastest 100 year old man. On that day’s news cycle he was the perfect antidote to sour reports about the economy, the war and the latest political sex scandal.

Gordie warmed to the cameras and microphones. When asked how he felt to be turning 100 that day, he said, “not much different than yesterday.”

Maybe it’s those healthy ions that come from being on the water all the time that’s kept him going. He’s been hooked on boats since he was a young man and he and his wife Margaret have always found a way to live on the waterfront.

Twenty years ago they sold their house on the Richmond side of San Francisco Bay where they’d raised two sons and moved to a retirement community. Worst decision of their lives, Margaret, said. They hated it. Too quiet and too far from salt water. They made their way back to the bay and moved into a condo.

Reporters always like to ask old people how they managed to live so long and so well, especially ones who look good when the cameras zoom in. “He sure doesn’t look 100,” said the CNN anchor.
There are many ways to choose to live when you’re young but when you get old, there’s not a lot of alternatives and most don’t seem very attractive.

Gordie makes living 100 years look like something you might want to do if you got the chance. He’s charming and mobile, has a lot of family and friends. He’s a little hard of hearing and doesn’t jump on and off slippery decks as ably as he used to. But he has a lot of moxie, a lifetime of bar toasts and enough boating buddies to go sailing at least once a week.

Gordie credits Margaret for keeping him going. She makes sure they eat well and take vitamins. Margaret says another secret to Gordie’s longevity is that the man is almost always happy.
I asked Gordie about that and he said that when he was a kid he saw a sign that said “keep smiling.’ And so I did,” he said.

Is it that simple? You find someone to love who makes you take your vitamins. Then you pursue a passion that keeps you wanting to get up every day and put on your windbreaker and tennis shoes. Then you just keep smiling into the sun and the wind.

Susan Swartz
www.juicytomatoes.com