Finally, some advice by which I can live!
As regular readers of this blog can tell you, I am going to live to at least 100, hence the name “The Road To 100.” Since making the proclamation of my expected longevity, I have received advice from many people. The issues I have with the advice I have received thus far are it usually involves a certain lack of fun and always comes from someone who has yet to see the century mark. It isn’t that my friends and acquaintances don’t mean well, but I have a problem taking advice from someone who, according to the Census Bureau, has little chance of receiving a birthday greeting from Willard Scott. On the occasions when I do receive unsolicited advice, it usually revolves around eating vegetables and living clean. Alcohol is of course evil, and with all the calories in beer, forget about it!
Advice on completing the road to 100 is even available online.
Mrs. Agnes Fenton - Photo by Carmine Galasso/staff photographer NorthJersey.com
Today I found a story about a woman who may as well be speaking right to me. Meet Agnes Fenton, a beautiful woman living in Englewood, New Jersey who turned 105 on August 1. Born in 1905 on a farm in rural Mississippi, she moved to Memphis as a teenager where she opened Pal’s Duck Inn, one of the cities first black-owned businesses. After getting married, she and her new husband moved to New Jersey where she still resides. At 105 years-young, she remains independent, living alone and cooking for herself everyday. Despite her advances years, she even says she would like to travel abroad someday.
So, the question is, what advice can Agnes give to us centenarian wannabes? First, she takes no medication. Agnes has a natural remedy for just about everything. Second, she remains active. You won’t find Mrs. Fenton sitting on a couch somewhere waiting for others to serve her. Third, she eats a healthy diet. As stated, she cooks her own meals which often include chicken and greens for dinner. Fourth, she has always “made room for God.” Agnes is a long time member of St. Mark’s Methodist Church in Harlem.
Even with all this, Agnes says she feels lucky to be still alive.
None of her advice sounds all that out of the ordinary. Staying active, natural remedies, eating healthy, and serving the Lord are all ingredients for a long life you might hear from anyone. Certainly quality nuggets I should keep in mind if I wish to be any more than a vegetable when I reach triple digits.
It is her final piece of advice, however, that I will follow very closely. From the article,
But what may surprise most people, Fenton said, is her daily ritual, which she has sworn by since 1943.
“Three cans of Miller High Life a day and a shot of good booze at 5 p.m.,” Fenton said.
Her cocktail of choice is Johnnie Walker Blue.
The Miller High Life beer was recommended to Fenton in 1943 by her doctor, and it didn’t go down easily, she said.
“I almost cried. I said, ‘But Doctor, I don’t like beer,’ and he said, ‘You will learn to like it’ and I did,” she said. (emphasis added)
Bingo! A daily ritual I look forward to following (maybe Sam Adams i.p.o. Miller) for the rest of my days as I continue on the Road To 100!
