The Wit and Knowledge of a 109-12 months-Outdated Man

Shortly after transferring into his new Kansas Metropolis, Missouri, neighborhood in 2007 along with his spouse and 4 kids, journalist David Von Drehle went out to fetch the newspaper and noticed throughout the road a spritely older gentleman, bare-chested in the summertime warmth, washing a automobile. The automobile, it turned out, belonged to the person’s girlfriend. 

This may all be unremarkable aside from the truth that the older gentleman, retired doctor Charles White, was 102 on the time. As Von Drehle writes, “Charlie, I quickly discovered, was a rare specimen: hale and durable, eyes clear, listening to good, thoughts sharp. His dialog danced simply from matter to matter, from previous to current to future and again. Even so, one doesn’t count on, on assembly a person of 102, to be beginning—as we did that day—an extended and wealthy friendship.” 

However they did. Under is an excerpt from David’s new best-selling book, The E-book of Charlie: Knowledge from the Outstanding Lifetime of a 109-12 months-Outdated Man, about his pal—and a now-vanished America. On Labor Day, it’s an awesome reminder of the significance of labor and the capability all of us need to surmount any challenges that stand in our manner.

Charlie White was born August 16, 1905, in Galesburg, Illinois, and died August 17, 2014, in Kansas Metropolis. He was among the many final dwelling Individuals from the presidency of William Howard Taft (Barack Obama was president when Charlie died). He was among the many final surviving officers of World Battle II, among the many final physicians who knew what it was to apply medication earlier than penicillin, among the many final Individuals who might say what it was wish to drive an vehicle earlier than highways existed, among the many final individuals who felt amazement when photos moved on a display screen and sound emerged from a field. By the point Charlie was executed, he had lived almost half the historical past of the US.

Nonetheless, as I’ve mirrored on this outstanding pal, I’ve come to see that he was greater than a dwelling historical past lesson, and extra than simply the winner of a genetic Powerball. He was a case research in methods to thrive by any span of years, quick or lengthy.

Individuals typically requested him the key of longevity, and Charlie was all the time scrupulously sincere: there’s no secret, simply luck. But when he knew no secrets and techniques to an extended life, he knew a lot a few blissful life. By tragedy and loss, poverty and setbacks, missteps and blown probabilities, he maintained a steadiness, an evenness, and a self-reliance that in the present day is likely to be referred to as resilience. He had a present for seizing pleasure, grabbing alternatives, and holding on to issues that matter. And he had an uncommon knack for an much more troublesome process: letting go of all the remaining.

Sooner or later in 1914, when Charlie was eight years previous, his life was ceaselessly modified. His father, a 42-year-old minister and insurance coverage salesman additionally named Charles, acquired into an elevator—one of many early electrical passenger vehicles—in his workplace constructing. An inexperienced operator was on the controls, and as Charlie’s father entered the automobile, the operator put it in movement. Charles was crushed, and his physique dropped down the shaft.