Edie’s aunt, Hazel Fischer, passed away over the weekend at the age of 102. If she had started a blog like this at the age of 80, she would have been at it for 22 years and would have had at least 8,030 separate posts. Thank God, such a silly idea never entered her head.

Hazel’s life was both long and interesting. She was born near Brisbane, Australia, in 1921. How many Jewish families could have been in Brisbane at the time? Edie’s mother’s brother, her Uncle Izzy, was in the United States Navy during World War II, stationed in Australia. He and Hazel met at a dance held, I think in Brisbane, for unmarried Jewish-American servicemen, and young unmarried Jewish-Australian ladies. I don’t know if there were 2000 people at this dance, or just 20, but that’s where they met.

They got married in Australia and in 1944, while Izzy was still in Australia, Hazel at 23 got on an American ship, traveled the troubled Pacific to California and hopped on a train to Washington DC. Izzy joined her a year or so later. She lived in the DC suburbs the rest of her life, never returning to her home country, but always keeping up with goings on in Australia, collecting stuffed Australian animals (not stuffed through taxidermy), and even keeping her eye on the royal family in Britain. She was able to remain in her house (which she shared with one of her sons) until the end of her life.

This was the last of Edie’s aunts and uncles. Not that many years ago, my last surviving aunt (my father’s youngest sister) also died at 102. She had lived most of her married life in Dallas, but moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas, after her husband passed away, living in a retirement community that provided her with friends and amusement and sometimes frustration.

Although both aunts outlived their husbands, in both cases their husbands lived until their 90s, making for very long, successful marriages. Neither of my parents, nor either of Edie’s, made it even to 80.

Of course, today you get all sorts of advice on how to stretch out your lifespan. Just this morning, on my Yahoo news feed, I got an article about a 53 year old man who has found the magic way to have his body age decrease as his chronological age increased. He is now 53 by the calendar, but inside he says he is only 43. He is happy to share his secrets. No breakfast (maybe a spoon or two of yogurt), no lunch (maybe a small salad a couple of times a week). Dinner, but not before 7 p.m. – generally plant based, but not religiously so. No dairy ever, and no alcohol. Various vitamins and supplements. Working out with weights maybe 3 days a week. Trying to run or walk most days. At least six hours of sleep (working on increasing that to seven). I guess we (or some of us) will see if it works.

As to Edie’s aunt, and my aunt, and my grandmother, who died just before her 100th birthday (I always round her age up a bit), they didn’t do any of those things. Every evening, my grandmother had a drink – a combination of Southern Comfort and cranberry juice. I never saw her walk, except to or from the car or the bathroom. I think she ate whatever was before her, as long as it wasn’t a pork chop (bacon and ham were okay). My guess is that Edie’s aunt was much the same – minus the nightly drink. And my aunt? She I know did what she wanted – she wasn’t one to take advice from others.

Although I don’t know either aunt’s medical history, they obviously avoided fatal diseases until the very end, and my grandmother had been remarkably healthy (I only remember a serious case of shingles when she was in her 80s), avoiding disease altogether, I believe. And weight? Edie’s aunt was small and got smaller, my aunt was (I would say) of average weight throughout her life, and my grandmother was not obese, but certainly did not maintain an ideal BMI.

So what do we learn from all of this? And from all the advice we get from the experts, and the results of all the medical studies we see? I am not sure. I know that some things might really lessen the chance of a long life – things like entering a submersible to view the Titanic or piloting a small plane through the Himalayas. I am pretty sure that vaccines will help ward off serious disease, and masks will help you if you are stuck in a crowd of feverish people. But that’s about it. Does exercise help? I don’t know – the studies show that people who exercise are healthier. But what’s the cause and effect? Maybe they exercise BECAUSE they are healthier to begin with. And so on.

But it does seem that there is a mind-body connection. So if exercise helps you think you will live longer, maybe it will. Or maybe it will just make you feel healthier during the time you have left (whatever the amount of that time may be). This is important, too.

Well…..the day is already getting away from me. I did not start off with a healthy breakfast, and I probably won’t have the healthiest of lunches (eating at a restaurant not known for such things). And it will be 90 degrees, so I probably won’t go for a run (ha, the last time I went for a run was about 40 years ago, I would guess).

Will I make 102 (or the proverbial 120)? Maybe. But don’t bet the house on it.