An Oldie and a Goodie

I have always connected well with older people. I figure if they’ve been on this planet decades longer than me, I could probably learn a thing or two from their hard-earned wisdom. Plus, as we told you recently, older Americans tend to be happier people because they have learned over the years not to freak out over every little thing.

So, when we read about Catherine Walker, a spunky Chicagoan who turns 99 on Monday, I had one thought: I want to be like her if I am ever lucky enough to reach that age.

The feisty nonagenarian has dedicated her later years to assisting a population desperately in need of a lift, a laugh and a focus: Alzheimer’s patients. Walker’s mind is sharp as a tack, and she uses it to connect with folks who sometimes can’t remember their own names. She resides in a senior center in Crestwood, Ill., and rather than spending her time doing the fun activities geared for her, she spends her days volunteering, sometimes more than 40 hours a week, in the New Day Memory Support Area of the facility.

"I love these people here," Walker told the Chicago Tribune, while she hung out with her memory-challenged pals who were making beaded jewelry. "I just love them. There's Christine — she's my singing partner. And Pat down there. We just have a good old time."

Walker loves to lead the group in song. She need only belt out the word “Ohhhh,” just so before the group launches into “ ... I want a beer, just like the beer that pickled dear old Dad ... "

We love Walker because she’s doing what she loves — and what she loves happens to help other people, too. She admits that she outlasted all her family — her husband died 25 years ago and she never had children — but she refuses to sit around and bemoan her lot in life. Instead, she wakes up every morning excited for the day and ready to help others.

"You have people who live, who go through their lives and do amazing things and never get noticed. That's Catherine,” said Joyce Rinkevicius, the memory area’s activities coordinator. “She's someone who has made a difference in all these people's lives. Without her around so much they might otherwise be sitting and staring into space. She keeps them going."

Humbly helping others with a smile — and being almost 100 years old to boot. I think every time I start imagining my life decades from now, I will try and channel Catherine Walker. Perhaps you should too.

Courtesy of neovain via Flickr