How Long Do You REALLY Want To Live?

Meet Larry Haubner, or as his friends refer to him, "Curly". Curly just turned 107, as seen below in his 107th birthday photo. From my understanding, Curly is of fairly sound mind but only has two teeth. Hey, at 107, I say he’s lucky to have them! Besides, I hear the vampire look is seen as kind of sexy in the geriatrics community. I'm teasing. Honestly, I think senior citizens are adorable! (Just as long as they aren't behind the wheel.) They're like babies - all bald, toothless and drooly. What's cuter than that? And while one would think that your body should be decaying when you're in your 100s, old Curly keeps on keeping on. So what’s his secret? I haven’t a clue. But I do know this...Curly has outlived his life savings, TWICE! And now Curly/Larry needs your help.

You see, most people don't expect you to live well into your 100s! So social security and retirement checks, the sources of income we rely on when we are old and gray, have run out. Curly has outlived all of his family members as well. In the past, for support he's relied on donations, which have allowed Curly to continue living in his home at Greenfield Assisted Living in Fredericksburg. And once again, it seems the only way he can keep chugging along is to ask for a little more help. His Powers of Attorney have set up a website called SaveLarry.org where you can read more about Curly's life and make a donation to his cause.

But this isn't a post to plug Curly's cause. And this isn't a post to make you feel guilty and trick you into donating money to him. No, this is a post to make you think. To ask yourself..."How long do I REALLY want to live?"

In just a few short months, my Grandma will be celebrating her 90th birthday! This makes me very happy, but I'm even happier to know that it's possible she could live to 107 like Curly! To have 17 more years with my Grandmother would be a dream come true! And I'm hoping it's something she too wishes for when she blows out the candles on her 90th birthday cake. Really, she has seen just about everything in her lifetime. The last 100 years is such a profound era in which to live. Think about it. Not only has she seen the invention of the car to the Internet, but she has also experienced life before Civil Rights all the way up to the election of the first black president. She has lived thru two depressions, several wars, man landing on the moon and so much more. It blows my mind when I stop to think about how fascinating her life has been. Although she has the joy of holding great grandchildren on her lap, she also has the sadness of releasing the hand of every single one of her friends and siblings as they passed away. I'm not sure I would want to outlive all my friends and family. Call me selfish, but I want to go before them. I don't wish to endure that type of pain.

People often wonder HOW they will die, but few wonder WHEN they will die. Sorry if this seems a bit morbid, but this sort of fascinates me. I mean, do you really want to live to see the day of saggy balls and elongated titties? A time in which your boobs tuck into your waistband and your balls tuck into the elastic of your socks. I realize these are disturbing images to imagine, let alone endure in a real life scenario, but try to visualize it for a moment. Could you be ok with it? Perhaps these are mere superficial details I shouldn't be concerned with and I should focus more on the big picture - all the things you would see in your lifetime should you be "blessed" (I use the term loosely depending on how you see this, a blessing or a curse) to live past your 100th birthday.

Right now, I'm far too young to imagine a life filled with Viagra. Today, I worry about how to keep it down rather than how to get it up. While my plumbing may be in order and in tip-top shape, I suppose one day I won't be so lucky. So if I should live to see the day when my pipes become rusty, I think I would be ok with that as long as I had someone I loved rocking on the porch right beside me. Because I don't fear dying alone, but I do fear living alone. Really, really alone for years and years. To be the sole survivor. Now that would be depressing and not a life worth living to 100.

I’m not certain I want Willard Scott showcasing my 100-year-old face on the front of the Smucker’s jelly jar, but I wouldn’t mind turning on The Today Show and seeing my Grandmother’s mug pop up there! So how long do I REALLY want to live? I still don't have an answer to that, but it's a deep thought. And one in which I'm pondering late on a Monday night.

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