Tag Archive for: Don Jones

How to Live to Your 90s

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Today’s message is based on my father-in-law, Don Jones, or Joner as most of us knew him. As I said Wednesday, he passed away last Sunday. He lived to 94 years and six months; Peggy, the sister he was closest to, died at the exact same age. How was he able to live that long? I’ll give you my observations based on his life.

  • Genetics: it pays to have the right genes and Dad certainly did. Several of his siblings lived into their 90s.
  • Quit smoking: he quit smoking before he turned 21 years old. That’s probably the single most important thing he did. His father and siblings who smoked all died much younger. He never drank alcohol after that either.
  • Love: he loved his wife of over 70 years deeply, and as I said Wednesday, he longed to be with Ruth again. That’s a love that transcends life itself.
  • Humor: he had a great sense of humor. He gave it and was able to take it as well. My big ears were a frequent target. Once after we came in from a run together on a cold day, he said, “I know why you wear that headband: reduce wind resistance.”
  • Demeanor: he was almost always calm and pleasant and rarely showed any anger. Paula said when she was a kid and acted up, he’d just hang his head and sigh, and that hurt worse than any spanking. Once when he was mad at me, he showed it by leaving the newspaper at the top of the steps instead of putting it on the counter. He never stayed mad long.
  • Faith: he believed in God and lived his faith.
  • Exercise: he worked physical jobs most of his life. Then he began running when he was 70 and continued until he was in his mid-80s, hitting 700 miles for 2002. No doubt that helped him live longer than he might have with a genetic tendency toward stroke. He was never very fast but once you’re over 70, there’s not a lot of competition and he enjoyed picking up trophies at many of his 5Ks. I’m sure that competitive spirit added zest to his life.
  • Body weight: he was never fat for his height. That reduced any additional stress on his joints.

Those are my observations on how Joner lived into his 90s. While you can’t change your genes, you can certainly make the most of what you’ve got; his lifestyle and approach to life certainly helped my father-in-law.

What are you prepared to do today?

Dr. Chet

 

I’m Alive V2.48

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When I opened my eyes this morning, I said the same thing I’ve said for the past 24 years: I’m alive! I’ve come to believe that if I wake up this morning, it means I have at least one more year. It makes no sense, but I can’t change the way I think about this one thing.

The question is why. My dad died 48 years ago today at the age of 41. Ever since I opened my eyes on May 10th when I was 41, I believed I would live another year. Again, it makes no sense but it’s what I believe. For the many new subscribers, now you have a little insight into how I think.

This year also has a similar message to the one from three years ago. My father-in-law, Don Jones (Joner to most of us), passed away on May 7 at the age of 94. It was three years to the day and almost the same time of day as my mother-in-law, Ruth Jones. While we most definitely will miss him and all his stories, we’re not sad. His body had let him down the past couple of years; I think he decided it was time to go be with his Ruthie again and he just quietly slipped away. How can you be sad about that? They were together on this earth for over 70 years and now they have eternity. That deserves a celebration.

Whether it’s a day, a month, a year, or until I’m 94, I’ve got a lot to do to help you get healthy and fit to be able to live life the way you want to live it. Stay tuned because we’re just getting warmed up.

What are you prepared to do today?

Dr. Chet

 

Skin Care: A Written Invitation

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Story time: My father-in-law was in the Army Air Corp in WWII. On the way to Italy to begin his deployment in the B-24 Liberator “Miss Maggie,” the crew stopped for a week in Belem, Brazil. It was summer and he and the other soldiers went swimming in the scorching sun. They spent all day at the beach, learning to body surf and having a great time. He and others were burned so badly, a few required hospitalization.

Move forward 40 years. That single exposure resulted in multiple episodes of skin cancer for Dad. Even at 92 . . .

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