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Behind the
Scene ... "Live to be 150... Can You Do It?" an ABC
Barbara Walters Special
Our story
continues ...
Tavern on the Green
The centenarians were escorted
into the restaurant – another
long walk! At last, they all
settled around the table for a
leisurely dinner, albeit with
cameras rolling occasionally. |
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But the film crew, at an
adjoining table, was young and
friendly and there was a lot of
exchange of conversation between
the two tables, which added to
the fun. Lynn commandeered a
bunch of balloons, which added
to the festive spirit, and
everyone had a glass of
champagne to celebrate, toast
each other and themselves, and a
rousing “Cheers” to our host,
Barbara Walters, although in
absentia. There was a palpable
feeling of camaraderie and
accomplishment.
“I give the crew top marks,” Dr. Hartzell,
the former university professor
and dean, proposed, and they
were toasted too. It was really
a lot of fun and laughter. Lynn
couldn’t help wondering, sitting
in a position to observe the two
tables and their occupants, what
the young people might be
thinking – they were in their
20s. Were they even thinking
about living long – probably
not. At that age, they were
probably still in their
“invincible” stage, the stage
of magical thinking, as well they
should. |
Despite the long day, we
lingered over dinner, the
conversation flowing. We even
outlasted the young people, who
were probably glad to at last
have their day end. But we were
not. We were savoring the
moment. “We all had a good
time,” one of the young crew
members said as they were
leaving. That was very
considerate.
In the limo back to the hotel, Elsa,
Lynn and Joan rode together. Jim
went with Drs. Hartzell and
continued their Yale/Harvard
banter! |
Celebration
dinner at Tavern on the Green. |
The girls continued discussing
plans underway for Elsa’s gala
100th celebration to be held in
October, a short while after her
actual centenary. Unexpectedly,
Lynn’s cell phone rang – it was
quite late for a call. But it
was the ABC producer calling to
say how pleased the
ABC staff and crew were with the day’s events, and to say that they
had decided to come to Florida
to cover Elsa’s birthday
celebration! |
Elsa and Lynn
reminisced about the eventful
day. |
The group said goodnight in the
lobby; Elsa and Lynn lingered,
reminiscing about the day.
“Elsa, you still look great,”
Lynn remarked to her pal. “You have a lot more stamina than I have!”
Back on their floor, Rosie was just
warming up for the evening, so
he and Lynn “hung out” in the
suite, also reminiscing about
the day, and the long two-year
journey they had traveled
together to get to this point.
Rosie, was very impressed by Ms.
Walters and very glad he was
there. |
Lynn turned philosophical:
“Well, Rosie, you said when we
first met that you wanted to be
on TV!, and we’ve done
it! Congratulations – you were
great".
They discussed the dates for the
filming of Rosie playing at the
Pine Cone Inn at the end of
October – still one more piece
to complete. That gave Rosie the
idea that he wanted to go out to
a jazz club to “play his new
trumpet,” but RoseMary and
Alyson were about to “sneak out”
to enjoy a bit of NYC nightlife
themselves, and Lynn was
exhausted. “You have a very
early flight (unfortunately),
Lynn reminded him; so after a
“nightcap,” he reluctantly went
to his room. Later, Lynn met up
with RoseMary and Alyson and
they
sat in the beautiful lounge of
the Club, enjoying a “nightcap”
of their own and marveling over
the events of the day. It had
exceeded everyone’s expectations
– a total success! They stayed
on even after the lights were
turned out, reluctant to have it
end. |
The next morning...
Dr. Hartzell and his son were already in
the dining room when Lynn
arrived with Elsa and Joan. Elsa
went right over to him, like old
friends, to say both good
morning and farewell. Lynn
watched with interest, always
fascinated by the interaction
between peers, who had
experienced a century of
life. What must it be like to
meet another person in your
cohort group, at 100! How
extraordinary!
During breakfast conversation, Elsa’s only
regret was that she didn’t get
to wear all the outfits she’d
brought. “You always look
stunning,” Lynn remarked, and
it’s true, not flattery. |
The Stylish
Elsa! |
Then Elsa expressed her
reservations about having the
film crew at her birthday gala.
She wanted everything to be
perfect, she said, and was
concerned that her guests would
be disconcerted by the
excitement and action of the
cameras. It was the large “boom
camera” used during the dinner
the night before that gave her
pause. And she also didn’t want
anyone at her very formal party
wearing jeans! After a few phone
calls, Lynn, ever the
centenarian advocate, was able
to assure Elsa that her wishes
would be honored by the ABC
crew, whom Lynn knew they could
trust to keep their
word. However, she told Elsa
that she did not have to agree
to this if it was not to her
liking. Joan, Elsa’s daughter,
intervened to tell her mother
she thought it would be just
fine, and that all of Elsa’s
nearly 200 guests would “get a
kick” out of it. And Lynn
reassured Elsa that since she
would be there any way, as a
previously invited guest, she
would make sure everything went
to Elsa’s liking. Elsa agreed to
think it over. It is one of the
traits of centenarians that Lynn
most admires: they know their
own minds and what suits them
and what doesn’t and they
aren’t shy to make their
feelings known. |
A few days later, Lynn received
a call from Elsa saying she
agreed; it would be acceptable
to have the ABC crew video tape
her celebration. As it turned
out, the crew (from Miami) was
wonderful, courteous and
unobtrusive, and all the guests
enjoyed the added excitement and
attention. But Lynn smiled to
herself when Elsa was serenaded
during the party with a song she
had requested — Lynn suspected
it was a theme song of Elsa’s
life — “My Way.”
|
Elsa bids
farewell. It was a wonderful few
days! |
Knowing they would be together
again the next month made
parting easier for the friends,
and Lynn waved them a fond
goodbye.
Epilogue:
Dr. Hartzell said he would keep in touch by
phone and email. Lillian and
Lynn were already phone
friends. Dorothy was moving from
her home of 50 years in the next
few weeks, and was adjusting to
that; Lynn would visit her in
her condo, in the same building
as Stan, the next time in the
East. And so they parted – but
the memories and friendships
linger on.
For the centenarians who were not able to
make the trip to NYC as planned,
Kit Abrahamson, John Donnelly
and Dr. Frank Shearer, the
filming had taken place at their
homes earlier in the year.
Check back for updates on each of these
remarkable centenarians – the
saga continues—they are all
doing well and remain active and
involved and loving life!! |
Go to our Blog
for updates on the centenarians and their
activities,
as well as comments about the Barbara
Walters Special and more!”
Click Here
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© 1998-2018 National Centenarian Awareness Project & Lynn Peters
Adler, J.D.
No material, in whole or in part, may be reprinted
or reproduced in any form without the prior written permission
of Lynn Peters Adler and the National Centenarian Awareness Project.
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