"To what do you attribute your long life and good health?", I asked my uncle.
"Common sense and plain luck," he replied. "I was told what not to do, and I didn't disobey my folks. Don't touch a hot stove. Make sure your food is not too hot before you taste it."
"Do you have any other examples of things that have contributed to your long life and good health?"
He listed several:
- Don't overeat.
- Don't smoke.
- Exercise but don't overexercise.
- Use moderation.
- Don't worry.
- Don't be in too much of a hurry.
He also said that heredity may play a role in longevity. Many of his mother's male ancestors were long-lived.
Uncle Art's daughter said she felt that a positive attitude and good genetics played major roles in her dad's long life and good health. She said that a recent test showed that her dad's lungs were 97% efficient, an efficiency many younger men would love to have. She also noted that his doctor attributed his long life to not taking drugs. "Many people take a combination of over-the-counter drugs and have various side effects and interactions," she explained.
Unusual for Uncle Art, the day I interviewed him he had shingles and was in the midst of a seven-day regimen taking a daily dose of a medicine prescribed by his doctor.
But he's still hanging in there. Not bad for a man of 101 years.