Dr. B’s Secrets to Longevity
I have been a Doc a long time. Along the way, I have learned some secrets about longevity from my patients.
Years ago, one of my patients made it well into his hundreds. I got to where I didn’t charge him. He was way too valuable in terms of advertisement. When people asked him how he lived so long, he said it was because he chased young women, chewed Wrigley’s Spearmint gum, and that Tommy Bibey was his doctor.
In a small town word of mouth is everything. A number of people signed up for me as Doc because of that man, but today I have to tell you what is true; all the credit was due to the Good Lord.
Last week I saw a lady who was 96. She was in a hurry to get to the Walmarks. I asked her if she was going to drive, and she said, “Heavens no, Sis is gonna take me.” Sis is my patient too and she is 99. I attribute her long life to that baby aspirin I prescribe for her on MWF, but that is not it. She knows the real secret is to choose your ancestors carefully!
Another fellow I had was a volunteer at the Nursing Home in his 90s. Someone asked him why he did all that, and he said, “Someone has to look after these old folks.” I love his spirit. It never occurred to him to ask anyone to look after him; he was all about helping someone else.
I am not certain why some people live so long, but it seems most of them are sweet little old ladies or farmers. For the most part aggressive and hostile chain smokers don’t seem fit the profile, although I guess there are a few.
The Lord knows all the real secrets. As the song says, when we get to heaven ‘farther along we’ll know all about it.’ There we will have an eternity to figure out what we don’t understand here.
Dr. B
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Dr. Tom Bibey: Stories of the Bluegrass Music Road 
March 9, 2009 at 7:23 am
I’m convinced that longevity (and, more importantly, QUALITY of life) is a delicate balance of genes and attitude. I think that Doc Leckridge over at Heroes not Zombies is on to something important in his musings about what makes a GOOD life, and I keep trying to remember that how I feel emotionally/spiritually is just as – if not more – important than how I feel physically.
March 9, 2009 at 7:57 am
I love that song, Doc.
Ever notice how with some people, you hope they’ll live forever? With others, it seems as if they already have.
Susan
March 9, 2009 at 8:05 am
mrschili,
I agree. And no matter how long I live or don’t live, I think I am one of the luckiest human beings ever.
Dr. B
March 9, 2009 at 8:10 am
Ms. Susan,
You know, I figure life is brief, but I have enjoyed it to the max while here.
Besides, Tommy is gonna live forever in ‘The Mandolin Case.’ That is why the book is so important to me. I know I will have eternity in heaven, ’cause I am genuinely sorry for my faults, but the book gives me a little slice of immortality here on Earth too.
Dr. B
March 9, 2009 at 4:15 pm
Dr. B,
I think the most incredible thing about these men and women who have lived so long isn’t the simple fact that they’re in their 90s – no, it’s that they’re at that age but still have their minds, their spirits, and enough of their bodies to keep them happy and fresh. If they’re able to be content after so many years here on this cold Earth, it must mean there’s some light in the world, right?
March 9, 2009 at 8:33 pm
Ms slightly ,
That is exactly right. I guess they have found the grace and dignity we all look for.
Dr. B
March 12, 2009 at 8:57 pm
Doc, I always love it when senior citizens go to the nursing home to visit the old folks;something is wrong with the picture. I love to tell this story in Sunday School about how Mrs. Oma and Mrs. Nora took care of each other. Mrs. Nora would say she had to get home to take care of Mrs. Oma.
A show that they loved to watch was Wheel Of Fortune. The volume would be turned up and they would be sitting almost in the tv.
Mrs. Nora would not tell her age and I am quiet certain she did not have it put on her tombstone. We all knew it anyway. I know by now you can guess the rest of the story. Mrs Nora was in her lower nineties taken care of Mrs. Oma who was one hundred.Mrs Oma and I have the same birthday. The two sisters were part of a family of 17 kids. The majority of the family all lived into their nineties.
March 13, 2009 at 6:20 am
Smitty,
Some families just have the secret, don’t they?
Dr. B