A geriatric starlet turns 100

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Iris Apfel, self-proclaimed geriatric starlet, and best known for her trademark black glasses and colourful outfits, recently celebrated her 100th birthday. Even if you don’t subscribe to her theory of ‘more is more and less is a bore’, she’s said some pretty wise things. Here’s a taste.

I never think about my age. Maybe that’s the ticket. I never think about it — it’s a passing thought. It’s just a number. … I’ve found that work is very healthy for me. I love what I do and I put my heart and soul into it.

 

I don’t think much about age. It just happens. I’m lucky to be there to capture it.

 

A sense of humour is absolutely necessary. I don’t mean a ha-ha sense of humour. But I mean being able to look at all the silly little things and how foolish they are, and how many important things we really don’t pay enough attention to

 

If you don’t learn constantly, you don’t grow, and you will wither. Too many people wither on the vine. Sure, it gets a little harder as you get older, but new experiences and new challenges keep it fresh.

 

If you have to be all things to all people, you end up being nothin’ to nobody.

 

There’s nothing wrong with wrinkles. When you’re older, trying to look years younger is foolish, and you’re not fooling anyone. When you’re seventy-five and you get a face-lift, nobody is going to think you are thirty.

 

When you get older, as I often paraphrase an old family friend, if you have two of anything, chances are one of them is going to hurt when you get up in the morning. But you have to get up and move beyond the pain. If you want to stay young, you have to think young. Having a sense of wonder, a sense of humour, and a sense of curiosity — these are my tonic. They keep you young, childlike, open to new people and things, ready for another adventure. I never want to be an old fuddy-duddy; I hold the self-proclaimed record for being the World’s Oldest Living Teenager and I intend to keep it that way.

 

It’s true, gettin’ old ain’t for sissies. But so what? You start falling apart, but you just have to buck up and paste yourself together. You may not like getting older, but what’s the alternative? You’re here. Embrace it. I say put your experience to work, to give something back to other people. 

 

Photo Source: Harpers Bazaar

 

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