The Phil Factor

Pic from Popular Mechanics

The pic at the top is oddly from Popular Mechanics, and it was used for an article titled How to Live Forever or Die Trying. This blog post is already taking a left turn from where I thought I was going. Today I read a blog post by my friend Kristen at Jots For Sanity. She touched on a topic that is near and dear to my heart, and she got me to thinking, and maybe even feeling. You should go read her post and then come back here to chime in on my thoughts.

The point of Kristen’s blog post was that as we get older, certain moments in life that we cherish, disappear. For me, today, I decided that I should write, because it’s possible that someday I might not be able to do that. Like I said, it’s possible, but I’m betting against it. Then I came across the Popular Mechanics article.

Pic from Popular Mechanics

For me, the question that they are raising, is how long can humans live now that we have new information, medical expertise, and vaccines that didn’t exist for our parents and grandparents.  I’ve always said that I want to live as long as I possibly can, but many people don’t feel that way. In the comments at the end of this, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this regardless of how you look at it. In having conversation with friends, I’ve gotten more comments against the idea of living over 100.

Pic from Guiness Word Records.

French woman Jeanne Calment lived from 1875 to 1997. Since then, several people have claimed to be older than 122, but none had the documentation to prove it. Jeanne’s birth certificate was preserved and she was listed in fourteen census records. Her husband died at 73 due to cherry poisioning. Cherry poisoning? How is that possible? I think he choked on a cherry pit.

Jeanne said that her longevity was due to olive oil, which in addition to eating, she rubbed it into her skin daily. She had a killer Tik-Tok account dedicated to this habit. Reportedly, after dinner each day she ate dessert, drank a glass of wine and smoked a cigarette. She only stopped smoking at age 117 because her eyesight was failing and she was having trouble lighting her cigarrettes. She also exercised regularly by riding her bike until she was 100 years old. She did not move into an old age home until she was 110.

Now in the age of A.I., I asked A.I. “what was the trait, behavior, or habit that “super-agers” have in common.” I found the synopsis of a 25 year study of the super-agers and the answer was simple; People. No, not the magazine! (Although some super agers did subscribe.) The simple answer is this; eat healthy, execise, and have people in your life. Socializing seemed to be the one thing in common amongst the most super agers.

Granted, all of the studies identify several genetic and biological things that impede our ability to live long, our generation does have the advantage of better and more medical interventions. So, that being said, if you could live to 90, or 100 or more, would you? What would keep you going? If you don’t want to live that long, why not?

Pic from Freepik

If lots of people in your life is the key to longevity, I would be remiss if I didn’t again thank my blogging friend Kristen for her post that inspired these 626 words. As I said earlier, I would sincerely love to hear your thoughts in the comments on this topic. You are my people, and who knows, one more comment might help me and you to live longer. We need our people.

Thanks for reading and happy Thursday!

~Phil