94

My wife's stepfather is 94. His brother just turned 100. Both of them were born in the U.S. and grew up and lived here all their lives. When my wife's stepfather was in his mid 80s he flew his Beechcraft plane

Images for beechcraft v tail bonanza

I put the above link so you can see the plane I'm talking about. So, he flew from southern California north one day to the San Francisco Bay area to fly with me. So, we took off and flew south towards Big Sur and the Ventana Wilderness area. I had wanted to see what the fire had done to the area that particular year. He was in his middle 80s then and still owned his plane and pilot's licence. As we returned to the Bay area I said to him, "Aren't we a little high to be able to land at that field?" He smiled a wry smile at me and just dropped the plane by slowing down about 5000 feet. Because I have mostly only piloted high wing planes like Cessna 152's and Cessna 172s I went pale because dropping that fast might rip the wings off a high wing plane, but at the last moment he lifted the nose just in time for the landing at the airport. I guess he was sharing with me both what he and the plane were actually capable of. However, at that point I had thought we both were going to die.

But, when you survive it is always nice.

I went to dinner with friends and he and his girlfriend were there  and he seemed just as sharp as ever. It is amazing when you meet someone that is likely going to be 100 or more and still be as clear headed as they ever were.