A life conversation on the exercise trail

Daily, my wife and I, who have been married for 53 years, walk three miles at the "Y".

As we walk, I read novels out loud. It sure makes exercising less boring. We meet a lot of interesting people there.

Yesterday, I started talking to an 89-year-old gentlemen as he was getting ready to do his exercise.

"My mother stopped smoking when she was 87 yrs. old." he began.

"Really!" I said.

"She didn't have much choice," he said, and now, he really had my attention.

"She was in the hospital for a broken hip, and naturally they wouldn't let her have any cigarettes. After a while, she decided she didn't want them any more."

"How old was she when she passed on?"

"Ninety two," he replied with a smile.

Don Miller

Palatine