You have just turned 100 years old, and a reporter has to come to interview you.What do you want to tell this person? Your accomplishments? Regrets? Success? Chances taken? Hidden secrets? Last night, you considered how much your life has changed in the last 4 years. Consider how much it will change in the next 80…
Laine St. Paul, who turned 100 two days ago, spoke of the highlights of her life, along with a few regrets during our interview with her. She never expected to make it to 100, but when the day came, she celebrated with all of her family and friends. The interview was interesting, influential and encouraging, as Laine gave us a glimpse into her life.
ReplyDeleteLaine spoke about love, of the importance of family, and how life is about taking risks and exploring who you really are. She stated that she never knew who she was, and what her values were, until she took a trip alone. “It was the most wonderful experience, I backpacked through Europe, encountering new people and making new friends. I learned more about myself than ever, as I had decisions to do or not to do what I pleased.” She advised the reporters to take some quality time alone, time to walk, to think, to enjoy life and all it has to offer. We asked Laine if she had a ‘bucket list,’ or if she had completed it. She stated that she had no list, but had done many adventurous things in the later years of her life. Laine and her husband ventured to Europe and went hiking in China near the Great Wall, and rode elephants in India. They travelled to China, India, and Italy, over a time period of six months.
Laine seemed to be content with herself, and the life she had lived so far. However she told us her one regret; to laugh more often. Laughter creates a healthy soul. “Laugh often, avoid grudges, and live in the moment; you’ll never get it back.”
LS
Yesterday, I had the chance to interview Emily Anderson who turned 100 years old this past week. She happily celebrated her birthday with family, friends and her husband of 75 years. During her life, Emily accomplished many things. She graduated from the College of Charleston in 2015, got married in 2020 and later on had 4 children. After her children moved out, her husband and she traveled the world. They even lived for Italy for a year, just experiencing the culture. Emily stated she never regretted anything in her life. “Take chances, take risks, never be afraid to mess up, doing so will teach you lessons and make you wise.” Two of the greatest things she has done in her life are skydiving and bungee jumping. Emily has lived an adventurous life and says she will not stop trying new things until she is gone. “I might be 100 but I can still do things a 40 year old does, my time is not here yet!” Before the interview was over, Emily left me with two things to live by. “Things in life are never as bad as you truly think. Take a look at all the great things you are blessed with and then look at someone who lives in a third world country, you will stop complaining.” And “Don’t hold grudges. If everyone in life held grudges, no one would like anyone. We all make mistakes, it takes a bigger person to admit they are wrong.”
ReplyDeleteStill sitting on the same couch she grew up sleeping on, Carolyn Houren tells the stories of her life after the celebration of her 100th birthday. She spent most of her life traveling around the world. Although Carolyn was quite the globetrotter, she lived in Zimbabwe for a majority of the time petting zebras at a local zoo. She worked on a farm picking berries for a number of years before finding her true calling as a florist in Russia. Carolyn, always on the move, did not seem to last long in the floral industry for she found her true passion in the kitchen inventing chip flavors in Mexico. Mexico became her home away from home where she remains living to this day in her house in Tijuana. Additionally to her inventor skills, she was a businesswoman on the rise owning a Mexican food restaurant on the border selling her chips and flowers from Russia called Ethopeliafo. The restaurant always filled with the sketchiest of people never has a dull moment. Her chip business really seemed to blow up when she turned 73, and she discovered the recipe to her hit chip the jalapeño firewood pizza chips. These chips really made it big in Russia until they began to make people sick and grow beans out of their ears. Carolyn’s life never seemed to be the same after the JFP chips. She had to board up all the windows to her house in Tijuana and pretend like no one was home. She grew her own food in an indoor garden and never left her house. Carolyn finally left her house on her 91st birthday to catch a frog outside and then returned back to life on the inside until her 100th birthday. She finally opened her doors to visitors allowing me to interview her upon the condition that I sit only on the rusty, old couch that she has owned since high school. Carolyn lazy as ever sat on the couch eating a bag of her homemade chips while telling me about the ins and outs of her life.
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Ali Valach celebrated her 100th birthday this past week on Halloween. The highlights of her life include marrying the love of her life, having 4 healthy, beautiful children, and her beloved grandchildren. Ali attended college in Southern California, and after she graduated she ended up settling down in her native state. Her husband and her purchased their first house in Los Angles, California, and they continue to reside in California 76 years later. Some of Ali’s greatest memories include vacations to Europe and other places out of the country. Ever year, Ali and her husband would set aside at least 2 weeks to travel to a foreign country. After their kids left home, they decided to spend 6 months living in London, and those are 6 months that Ali will never forget. As a career, Ali worked as a journalist for a number of magazines, and she is still a guest writer for some of her previous employers. Ali loved and continues to love doing community service, especially anything that helps underprivileged or sick children. She continues to volunteer at the pediatric hospital three days a week. Her hobbies other than community service and writing include spending time with her husband, kids, and grandchildren; walking her two dogs; and shopping. Ali’s passion for shoes has not faded since high school rather it has only strengthened. Her tips for enjoying life include “live every moment to the fullest” and “smile every day”. Ali has enjoyed her 100 years, and she is excited to continue loving life for many more years.
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Hello, I am reporter Sally Sue and I had the privilege of interviewing Casey Goff this morning. Casey Goff was born in Houston, Texas on October 20th 1992. She was raised in a loving household. Casey dealt with incredible hardship at a young age. Her younger sister, Jesse, suffered from neuroblastoma cancer for a year. She also spent time in the hospital herself when she nearly lost her right foot in an ATV accident. Although these incidents stain her memory with pain, she seems to look at them with a smile on her face rather than a frown. When asked about her childhood she said, “it couldn’t have been any sweeter, my faith was tested many times during childhood but I believe that the struggles I faced truly were blessings in disguise.”
ReplyDeleteI could sense the sincerity in her voice and in her eyes. She looked so peaceful. This peace may have come from her wise nature developed over years of traveling the world. When asked about why she is so passionate about traveling Casey said, “I can describe it to you using a quote from the book Into the Wild, ‘So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.’” Every fiber in Casey’s withered body had something to live for. She lived her life with a greater purpose in mind, and it showed.
CG
Today Natalie Wahl celebrated her 100th birthday with her closest friends and family. Born in 1993, she was born and raised in Houston Texas with her mom, dad, and younger sister. Gymnastics was a huge part of her life from when she was in 2nd grade to when she started high school. When Natalie moved on from gymnastics she was a cheerleader at Episcopal High School where she attended high school. During high school, Natalie had a chance to volunteer at an underprivileged school for kids ages 2-6. “It was the most rewarding thing I have ever done and I still hold those kids near to my heart,” she said. “They showed me how much I love kids.” After high school she attended a four year university where she met her husband. They were married for 70 years and had 3 kids. I asked her what her advice was on marriage and she responded saying that forgiving and laughing are the two most important things to keep a healthy relationship. When asked if she had any regrets, Natalie responded with “never -everything happens for a reason, and it made me who I am today. I wouldn’t change a thing.” To this day, Natalie enjoys spending time with her kids and grand children. She volunteers at multiple charities as well. Her favorite moments in life were her wedding day and the births of her kids and grandchildren. “Although, she adds, her sky diving adventure is close behind them. It was the scariest moment of my life and it was the closest I think I have ever gotten to death,” she laughs. As our interview wound to a close, I asked for one more piece of advice for the readers. “Laugh at every chance you get. It is the best thing you can do in life.”
ReplyDeleteA few weeks ago I had the wonderful opportunity to interview a "young" gentleman at heart, Mr. Favio Gonzalez, who recently turned 105 last year on September 5th, 2096. It is June 5th, 2097 and the world has gone through a lot of change, just like Mr. Gonzalez's life. He has witnessed his children, his grand-kids, and great-grand-kids being born. In total there are 37 kids 12 female and 25 male, who are successful in their own way. He has witnessed many things from the first African-American President being elected to the this past year the first Woman President being elected. Favio set out to live an adventurous life-style and never take life for granted. He said, "My greatest accomplishment was moving to Boston and being with the person I care the most."
ReplyDeleteI asked, "Was it hard to live your old life behind?"
He replied, "No, because I never really had a life to begin with."
He has traveled all over the world and is known worldwide due to his outstanding writing skills about his personal life in his autobiographies. When asked what his code or personal moral is, he says, "Nothing is set in stone, that is why I never leave any thoughts of 'What if?' in mind, kind of like living in the moment." Constantly, even at his age, he jokes around the changes the government has gone through. He joked about the government regulating pets, and how when he was asked to go to war, he went no questions asked. He told me while growing up, he never listened to authority, so I asked him why does he seem so poise and well mannered?
“Never does a man stop growing, whether inside or out,” he replied.
Those words linger ‘til this day in my head. I asked myself if someone so genuine still exists in this world besides him. He has witnessed many struggles and has surpassed and proven many doubters wrong. He has even surpassed the life expectancy of others and therefore he has lived a full life and still keeps a smile on his face.
FG
Sarah celebrated her 100th birthday recently, and I had the chance to sit down with her as she shared stories of her life. She was born in New Orleans but moved to Houston, Texas, where she grew up. She has a younger brother, but no other siblings. During her teenage years, martial arts became her passion, and she achieved her black belt during the spring of her senior year in high school. A trip to Honduras one summer after her freshman year really changed her life, introducing a love of travel, languages, and helping others in need. She attended college in New York, where she earned a degree in International Studies, learned Russian, and got her Airborne jump wings. She had a successful career and got married, having two children. She said her long life, while certainly tainted with hardships, was a blessing, offering her the opportunity to serve her country and to serve other people. When asked whether she had any advice to give, she said to live life to the fullest, accepting challenges as they come and over coming them with a positive attitude. She said to never give up on others, and never give up on yourself. Risks are worth taking, and challenges are worth facing. She looks forward to spending the rest of her life with her family, and living each day to its fullest potential.
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I got a chance to sit with the oldest person in the world, Dillon West. He had just turned 100 yesterday and well I wanted to investigate the life of such an accomplished individual. The First question I asked was, "Do you feel 100 years old?"
ReplyDelete"You know, I really do not. I have had such a wonderful life with having children and a wife that i could not ask for much more."
"Out of all the accomplishments in your life, what has been the most valuable to you?"
"I would have to say having a family literally as well with all of my football teams that I have coached." Tears started to swell in Dillon's eyes.
"Is there any regrets that you have had along the way of your life span?"
He responded firmly with, "see that is the thing is I do not want to live my life with regrets, so I don't. I coached for 40 years and won some games and I could not ask for any more. I played and coached the game of football and it has done so much for me. I just hope i have given so much to the game. I also hope i made a lasting impact on the kids i coached because i know they made one on me. It truly is cool to see these kids become men and i am just glad to be a part of that."
"Alright well thank you so much Dillon for giving me some time to speak to you today."
"No Problem, thank you"
DW
Today I had the opportunity to sit down with Mark Roberson, who celebrated his 100th birthday this week. Mark was born in Houston, Texas in 1992. Went on to the University of Texas where he and his room mate discovered the cure for cancer in one of UT's biology labs. After graduating he purchased the country of Bosnia and named it Broville. There he helped turn the country around by fighting hunger and poverty with one hand tied behind his back. After he traveled around the world and climbed the tallest mountain in east continent. He won the Olympics for Broville in 2034, being the only athlete to represent the country. With an energy crisis on his hands, he created a new element that radiated energy, providing the planet with clean energy. In his 80s he had a brief sponsorship with Dosequis, as the most interesting man in the world. He married Scarlet Johanson and lives peacefully spending time in each of his 50 homes in each state of the United States.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting lives! I like it!
ReplyDeleteGarrett Marsh
ReplyDeleteHello this is reporter Andy Killstone proud to be here meeting David Garrett Marsh, who has just turned 100 years old one hour ago. Standing here are his family and friends. He has lived a long life, as you all know and is proud to have reached 100 years old.
From the day he was born he always dreamed of becoming a world-renowned chef, unfortunately to many obstacles came into his life for him to reach this achievement. The first thing that threw his life off course was the death of his cat, it wasn’t necessarily the actual death of his cat, but the way it died. He was working in his first restaurant, Le Concombre. He was cooking when unfortunately his cat Pickles was walking around when he accidentally stepped into the freezer. Mr. Marsh never found his cat; witch of course had frozen to death in the freezer. When the health inspector came to inspect, his restaurant was shut down due to a health code infraction. When this happened he swore to never return to commercial cooking. Unfortunately once he had been forced out of the business and raised a family he went broke and was forced to return to his one talent, cooking. His second restaurant is still running today managed by his son Guido. David hopes to live seven more years so that he can be one of the few people who have ever lived through two new millennia. After that he says he will have “lived to the fullest that he could have live ever done”.
Today, on the seventeenth of October, Margaret Rose Zietz, commonly known as Maggie to everyone, is celebrating her 100th birthday with close family members in her quiet Fort Worth home. “Maggie” was born and raised in Houston, Texas. She grew up in a nice, two story house with her father Barry, her mother Hallie, and her older brother Jake. Maggie used to be a phenomenal soccer player. She started playing soccer at the age of four and continued till she graduated from Episcopal High School. I asked if she regretted not playing soccer in college; and she said, “not one bit.” During her high school years, she even traveled to Israel to play for the USA Maccabiah Junior Girl’s Soccer Team. “My trip to Israel was one that I will never forget; even at the age that I am at, I still remember missing the penalty kick that lost my team the championship game to Canada,” she joked. After high school, Maggie took a year off to live in Israel. “My trip to Israel during my sophomore summer in high school really helped mold me into the person I wanted to become. Being Jewish and having the opportunity to go to a place where I felt I belonged filled me with joy. My month in Israel that summer was not enough for me; I needed more time, so I decided to move there for a year,” she informed me. When the year was over, Maggie decided to attend St. Edward’s University for a year before transferring to UT. UT not only provided her with the necessary education she needed to pursue her career, but it also introduced her to the love of her life. After graduating college, Maggie became one of the top physical therapists in the Austin area; also, she got married and eventually had 3 children. Before the interview was over, Maggie left me with some lifelong advice. She told me that “you never know how much someone means to you until they aren’t there anymore; and to live everyday like it is your last.”
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