# Just in case you think your old



## Kadee (Nov 13, 2020)

I was sent this email and thought it was worth sharing



*Just in Case You Think You're Old!*





Jeanne Louise Calment had the longest confirmed human lifespan on record: 122 years and 164 days. It seems that fate strongly approved of the way Madame Calment lived her life.

She was born in Arles, France, on February 21, 1875. When the Eiffel Tower was built, she was 14 year old. It was at this time that she met Vincent van Gogh. "He was dirty, badly dressed and disagreeable," she recalled in an interview given in 1988.

When she was 85, she took up fencing, and she was still riding on her bike when she reached 100. At the age of 114, she starred in a film about her life; at age 115 she had an operation on her hip, and at age 117 she gave up smoking, having started at the age of 21 in 1896.

Apparently, she didn't give it up for health reasons, but because she didn't like having to ask someone to help her light a cigarette once she was nearly blind.

In 1965, Jeanne was 90 years old and had no heirs. She signed a deal to sell her apartment to a 47-year-old lawyer called André-François Raffray. He agreed to pay her a monthly sum of 2,500 francs on the condition that he would inherit her apartment after she died.

However, Raffray not only ended up paying Jeanne for 30 years, but died before she did at the age of 77.

His widow was legally obliged to continue paying Madam Calment until the end of her days.

Jeanne retained sharp mental faculties. When she was asked on her 120th birthday what kind of future she expected to have, she replied, "A very short one."

Quotes and Rules of Life from Jeanne Louise Calment:

"I'm in love with wine."

"All babies are beautiful."

"I think I will die of laughter."

"I've been forgotten by our Good Lord."

"I've only got one wrinkle, and I'm sitting on it."

"I never wear mascara; I laugh until I cry too often."

"If you can't change something, don't worry about it."

"Always keep your smile. That's how I explain my long life."

"I see badly, I hear badly, and I feel bad, but everything's fine."

"I have a huge desire to live and a big appetite, especially for sweets."

"I have legs of iron, but to tell you the truth, they're starting to rust and buckle a bit."

"I took pleasure when I could. I acted clearly and morally and without regret. I'm very lucky."

"Being young is a state of mind, it doesn't depend on one's body, I'm actually still a young girl; 
it's just that I haven't looked so good for the past 70 years."

At the end of one interview, in response to a journalist who said, "I hope we will meet again sometime next year." She replied, "Why not? You're not that old; you'll still be here."


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## Aunt Marg (Nov 13, 2020)

Wow! 

Thank you for this, Kadee! 

What a life!


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## RadishRose (Nov 13, 2020)

Kadee46 said:


> I was sent this email and thought it was worth sharing
> 
> 
> 
> ...


@Kadee46 , thanks. This a fascinating read!


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## Pinky (Nov 13, 2020)

@Kadee46  Now, that's a great attitude for living life!


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## SeaBreeze (Nov 13, 2020)

Thanks @Kadee46, cool story about a nice lady.


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## Manatee (Nov 14, 2020)

I am exhausted just reading that.


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## jerry old (Nov 14, 2020)

wonder is she looking for a husband


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## Aunt Marg (Nov 14, 2020)

jerry old said:


> wonder is she looking for a husband


Sigh... you missed the boat, Jerry, Madame Calment, passed in 1997.


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## Tish (Nov 14, 2020)

Wow! What an amazing woman.
Thank you for sharing this Kadee.


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## Damaged Goods (Dec 26, 2020)

They should've analyzed her genetic structure when she kicked off,


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## win231 (Dec 26, 2020)

I remember reading about her when she was still with us.


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## peramangkelder (Dec 26, 2020)

@Kadee46 all I can say is a really big WOW!


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## peramangkelder (Dec 27, 2020)

Sounds very much like Captain Tom Moore who walked 100 laps of his backyard and raised millions of pounds for charity
There is Capt Tom and the next photo is of all the 100th Birthday cards he received in the hall of the Bedfordshire School


And on the morning of his special day, Captain Tom received a very special birthday card from Queen Elizabeth II herself, delivered, as the Royal Family Instagram account notes, by “the Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire, The Queen’s personal representative in the county.” The monarch wrote in the card that she’s, “so pleased to know that you are celebrating your one hundredth birthday. I was also most interested to hear of your recent fundraising efforts for NHS Charities Together at this difficult time. I send my congratulations and best wishes to you on such a special occasion. Elizabeth R.”


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## Pepper (Dec 27, 2020)

Wow.  And she smoked!


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## Kathleen’s Place (Dec 27, 2020)

That just made me smile from ear to ear. Thank you for sharing, Kadee!!!


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## horseless carriage (Jan 7, 2021)

My maternal grandparents were married for a little over eighty years before granddad died suddenly. Grandmother followed him eight months later and that was in 1978. To this day I still miss them both, but Jeanne Louise Calment is an inspiration, I intend to emulate my grandparents, I've been married for 52 years, so another 28 to go. 
I do hope that you are all still around to join in our celebrations.


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## Kadee (Jan 7, 2021)

I know a couple who’ve been married 75 years ,they still come to our social ballroom dancing
venue but sadly they are getting slower each time we see them ( once a week ) they still dance so neither use anything to assist with their walking, and Marg still dose all their cooking .
They married when I was 6 days old and have kids a few months younger than me
I still miss my grandparents who died at 69 and 77 many years ago ( in 1967 - 1968 )
@horseless carriage


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## horseless carriage (Jan 7, 2021)

Kadee46 said:


> I know a couple who’ve been married 75 years ,they still come to our social ballroom dancing
> venue but sadly they are getting slower each time we see them ( once a week ) they still dance so neither use anything to assist with their walking, and Marg still dose all their cooking .
> Have you ever seen Virginia Harvey? Here she is dancing the quickstep, a dance every bit as lively as a jive.


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## Aunt Marg (Jan 7, 2021)

horseless carriage said:


>


I'm speechless.


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## Kadee (Jan 7, 2021)

Our friends are 97 and 96 ,I’d love to see them both get to 100 and still be able to get up for a dance or two.


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## horseless carriage (Jan 7, 2021)

For what it's worth, my wife and I are life long ballroom dancers. In our youth we thought that we might be good enough to turn professional. Ha! Some hope! We spent three months re-enacting a dance made famous by Fred & Ginger, and we had the help of a professional choreographer. It was an enlightening experience, we realised that we just didn't have the talent. I became a manager in the world of logistics and my wife became a paramedic in the ambulance service. We continued to dance, but only as amateurs, and only for fun. It was hard to accept at first but when I discovered that even those at the very top of the dance ladder, didn't make anything like the squillions that I thought they did, it was quite cathartic to accept our limitations.

This was the famous routine that we did but nowhere in the league of the maestros.


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## Pinky (Jan 7, 2021)

horseless carriage said:


> For what it's worth, my wife and I are life long ballroom dancers. In our youth we thought that we might be good enough to turn professional. Ha! Some hope! We spent three months re-enacting a dance made famous by Fred & Ginger, and we had the help of a professional choreographer. It was an enlightening experience, we realised that we just didn't have the talent. I became a manager in the world of logistics and my wife became a paramedic in the ambulance service. We continued to dance, but only as amateurs, and only for fun. It was hard to accept at first but when I discovered that even those at the very top of the dance ladder, didn't make anything like the squillions that I thought they did, it was quite cathartic to accept our limitations.
> 
> This was the famous routine that we did but nowhere in the league of the maestros.


Ah, but you must have had a lot of fun and enjoyable moments (and tired feet)!
Fred and Ginger .. can't get much classier than that.


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## Kadee (Jan 7, 2021)

We are only amateurs ( social dancers ) we enjoy the social side of the dancing it keeps our brains sharp remembering the steps , well it helps  we did a waltz on NYE called the alpha modern waltz .....easy as ...but we along with many others who haven’t seen it on a program for well over 12 months we couldn’t remember the middle part of the dance ..oh well we had fun laughing at ourselves for stuffing it up . We have a friend who says  says there are no medals on the stage at our dance.




We on average know about 140 maybe more ....different dances ... it I’m not admitting I’d be able to get up and dance them without looking at a clip of certain dances first .

On average we have about 50~ 60 dancers attend a Tuesday afternoon or a Saturday night
a good 15% of those are over 90 years old and pretty fit for ages


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## Kathleen’s Place (Jan 7, 2021)

My husband and I cant dance worth a hoot, but dear lord how we do love trying


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## Sassycakes (Jan 7, 2021)

My Mom had 5 Sisters and 5 Brothers, the only one remaining was the youngest sister who is 95yrs old now. 2 of my Mom's sisters lived till they were 101yrs old.


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## Chet (Jan 7, 2021)

She should have donated her body to science. It might have been useful to see what made her what she was. Personally, I think we are pre-destined to live a certain number of years and there is nothing we can do about it. On a related note, I just got done watching a cooking show where the chef started the dish with butter, but only half of what her mother used in trying to be heart healthy. Her mother died at 96.


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## Liberty (Jan 8, 2021)

Aunt Marg said:


> Sigh... you missed the boat, Jerry, Madame Calment, passed in 1997.


It was reported she loved chocolate...ate about 2 lbs a week:

https://allthatsinteresting.com/jeanne-calment


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## Liberty (Jan 8, 2021)

Chet said:


> She should have donated her body to science. It might have been useful to see what made her what she was. Personally, I think we are pre-destined to live a certain number of years and there is nothing we can do about it. On a related note, I just got done watching a cooking show where the chef started the dish with butter, but only half of what her mother used in trying to be heart healthy. Her mother died at 96.


Telomeres:

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/blood-test-determine-quickly-body-aging/story?id=13613344


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## Aunt Marg (Jan 8, 2021)

Liberty said:


> It was reported she loved chocolate...ate about 2 lbs a week:
> 
> https://allthatsinteresting.com/jeanne-calment


Wow! Just goes to show how genetics play a role in ones overall lifeline.


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## Liberty (Jan 8, 2021)

Aunt Marg said:


> Wow! Just goes to show how genetics play a role in ones overall lifeline.


Yep, when in business we attended some brilliant university lectures on that - the discoveries made to lengthen the telomeres, also.


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## Aunt Marg (Jan 8, 2021)

Liberty said:


> Yep, when in business we attended some brilliant university lectures on that - the discoveries made to lengthen the telomeres, also.


I have always wondered about those who dedicate themselves to strict diets, exercise, controlled weight, etc, just how much that really adds (overall) to the projected lifeline of a person.

I imagine it would contribute marginally, but my perspective of such is, we are born with what we are and how we are, and while taking care of ourselves may buy us a little additional time, ultimately, we all have an expiry date and nothing much changes that.


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## Liberty (Jan 8, 2021)

Aunt Marg said:


> I have always wondered about those who dedicate themselves to strict diets, exercise, controlled weight, etc, just how much that really adds (overall) to the projected lifeline of a person.
> 
> I imagine it would contribute marginally, but my perspective of such is, we are born with what we are and how we are, and while taking care of ourselves may buy us a little additional time, ultimately, we all have an expiry date and nothing much changes that.


Yes, they are working on what works to  increase the length of the telomeres.  I've always thought the ability to live out your years in good condition, permits enjoying life to its fullest. That  is what is so important.  Learning about how to help do that to keep from becoming incapacitated, if possible, would be invaluable to me.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/288515


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## Ruthanne (May 29, 2021)

What a long life she lived!  A person would want to be happy to get that old.  Wouldn't be worth it if one were miserable!


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## Kadee (May 31, 2021)

Thanks to all who responded to the post,   I thought it was a fascinating story worth sharing.

There are times I have my doubts about some “stories“ we get emailed , however from what I was able to google at the time about her it appears to be true


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## fmdog44 (May 31, 2021)

"at age 117 she gave up smoking, having started at the age of 21 in 1896." That's 96 years of smoking!!


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## Aunt Marg (May 31, 2021)

fmdog44 said:


> "at age 117 she gave up smoking, having started at the age of 21 in 1896." That's 96 years of smoking!!


Some people definitely hit the jackpot in the way of good genetics.


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## Paco Dennis (May 31, 2021)




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## Pepper (May 31, 2021)

It's a typo on his identity card, I bet.  Color me disbeliever.


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## Aunt Marg (May 31, 2021)

Paco Dennis said:


>


I question content such as this, regardless of birth documents suggesting such and such a date, but the man has definitely lived a long life.

If I have to go earlier to avoid being cared for like a baby or young child, then so be it. I wouldn't want to have to face life every day being dressed, fed, and changed.

My husband and I talk about it all the time, reminding each other how great life is when one has their health, but without our wits, good health and mobility, we have nothing.


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## Murrmurr (May 31, 2021)

Pepper said:


> It's a typo on his identity card, I bet.  Color me disbeliever.


Could be possible. Doesn't say which one, but he lives on an island, probably only eats real food, no contact with a lot of plastics, if any at all. I didn't see a microwave oven or TV. There's probably very little air pollution there. 

Could be a typo on his ID. Maybe the 7 should be a 9 and he's only 131 now. (if my math is correct)


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## DaveA (May 31, 2021)

I hated dancing at 17 and have the same feeling today, at 87.  I've staggered around the floor over the years when it has been a necessity but could count on one hand, the number of times I've danced with someone other than my wife.  She insists that I do well but , bless her, I think it's just kindness on her part.


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