Making new friends; losing old friends

I was asked recently about my friends and longevity. My childhood friends are the ones I consider true friends. That may be the time of life when we develop friendships that can truly last a lifetime. Several from my teenage years I had kept in touch with for decades. Later I had close business friends but while they were good friends at the time it was still business.

We all lose our relatives and friends through the years. I’ve been fortunate in having gained some new friends and relatives. Among them are four grandchildren, two of them just recently learned to walk! That makes me happy and keeps things lively and interesting. And, over the last few years, I’ve had my oil well project that keeps me in touch with a circle of bright energetic people. Things change and we adapt and keep busy. I’m 92 with things to do, and plans for the future.

We all lose our relatives and friends through the years. I’ve been fortunate in having gained some new friends and relatives. That makes me happy and keeps things lively and interesting.

I have one friend from long ago. We were in our teens when we met and we’ve kept in touch over the years. We’re meeting in a couple of weeks and I’ll tell you all about it later. He was an outstanding track athlete in his youth and became a leader in more than one industry sometimes making headlines! He turned 91 a couple of weeks ago and still exercises regularly!

That's me in the front row in 1947 with arms crossed and crease in my pants (I ironed them).

One day last December while exercising I heard Dick Van Dyke’s name in the news. I always liked him, funny, positive and happy, a great dancer! He had to evacuate his home because of fires near Los Angeles and it turned out his 99th birthday was coming up the next day. So, the news that he was around, healthy and active and soon to be 99 got my attention. He has been exercising actively all his life and believes it’s the “secret” to a long life. He went on to reveal his secrets in an interview.

Dick Van Dyke dancing with his wife for his 99th birthday music video with Coldplay.

He makes sure he goes to the gym at least three days a week. He talked about his exercise routine and staying “young minded forever.” “I’ve always exercised,” he said. He went on to say his friends don’t follow his lead when it came to working out. “And I think that’s why I have no friends left. They’re all dead.”

He continued, “It’s especially crucial to keep the momentum going when aging. As people get older, they get a little stiff and sore, and it begins to hurt to move. So, they just stop moving all together, and you start to age fast. I’ve always exercised three days a week.”  He went on, “I work out with weights and the treadmill also and try to keep that up. You can’t stay young forever. You can stay young minded forever. That’s why I never grew up.”

Dick Van Dyke’s touching Coldplay music video "All My Love" produced for his 99th birthday last December 13th is an inspiring tribute to life. He dances and sings and talks about his long life and about death.

At 99 he enjoys his life, his family, his children, keeps busy, and continues to exercise!!