Anna Stroehr has seen a lot of changes in her life. Born in 1900, today marks her 114th birthday. An infant when President McKinley was assassinated, she cites the addition of electricity as the most significant change she has seen take place during more than a century of years on this planet. But don't let that rather predictable observation fool you into thinking that Anna isn't a modern lady.
Anna was trending at number one this morning on Twitter once news of her birthday and her fondness for social media began to hit the news outlets. Like so many teenagers one hundred years her younger, Anna had to lie in order to set up her Facebook account. Apparently, Mr.Zuckerberg didn't account for Supercentenarians wanting to participate. His setup protocol only allows you to go as far back as 100 yrs., a fact which forced Anna to lie about her age when she set her account up several years ago with the help of her 85 yr old son.
A few years back, Anna did an interview and was asked the typical range of obligatory questions. She described the secret to her long life in a two fold manner. "I bake bread," was her first explanation. Second she says "I know it was the good Lord's doing. I sure didn't do anything to deserve it."
My favorite part of the interview was when she was asked about exercise. "I never understood people walking for exercise," she said. "If a person does what they're supposed to be doing, there doesn't seem to be any need for that." Geriatric specialists at the Mayo Clinic attached big, fancy words to her recipe for long life. They say that strength training, cardio activity and being part of an active social community are the things that have helped Anna become the seventh oldest living American. Those words are as foreign to Anna as the concept of Facebook undoubtedly is to many of her 100 year old peers.
Long before the sedentary, screen-engrossed, overweight, disconnected-yet-always-connected plague swept through this nation Anna held the secret to a long and happy life. Her recipe didn't call for fancy words or expensive studies. Her holistic approach didn't even require the aid of modern medicine. Anna's secret in those days was just called "living."
After having to fake her age to get on Facebook, Anna sent a one sentence message composed on a typewriter to Mark Zuckerberg. It read simply: "I'm still here."
Happy Birthday Anna.
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