When I discovered that two OLD PEOPLE were going to speak at Forum this morning I was a tiny bit sceptical.
By old, I mean they're in their 90s. Each has had what we might call an unusual life. But, on the other hand, if we live to be 90 plus, we will all have some unusual stories to tell.
The first speaker was Pat Patton. I wrote a blog posting about him on 4/6/15 titled "The Man Who Invented Radar."
I liked that he began this morning by saying that his generation was defined by the great depression and World War II.
The other speaker was Dottie Norton. I was impressed when she told us her parents were highly educated. That certainly wasn't the norm in the late 1800s. Pat explained that his parents went to the 8th grade. That was the highest level of education offered in rural Alabama at that time.
Pat and Dottie were insightful, honest and incredibly funny.
Dottie spent 28 years teaching in Europe. She told about an experience in France when she was traveling in the countryside with friends in a black Mercedes. Along the way the car was shot at. Naturally they stopped to tell the gendarmes. It was explained to them that somebody was trying to assassinate Charles de Gaulle. And he was riding in a black Mercedes. So Dottie suggested that she saved Charles de Gaulle's life!
But prior to going to Europe, Dottie went to Mexico. There she experienced an earthquake. They were all gathered in the lobby of a hotel which was swaying back and forth in the middle of the quake. One man in the hotel spent the night praying to the Virgin of Guadalupe. The next morning he announced they were saved by the Virgin.
But Dottie said to us this morning "the virgin who saved them was me!"
Pat and Dottie also gave us some tips for living a long life. Pat said to marry well. Dottie said to live a clean life. Both good advice!
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