Mary Josephine Ray, Oldest U.S. Woman, Dies at Age of 114
Whoever is born in this world has to die, and people die everyday. So why does it become a head line news when someone dies after living more than what most do?
When Mary Josephine Ray died at the age of 114, she was the oldest in the US and the 2nd oldest in the world. People are fascinated with the title oldest, greatest, grandest and the rest of the "est’s." Long life, however, has a special charm, because no one wants to die.
How did Josephine live so long?
Speaking of her grandmother, Katherine Ray said, “She just enjoyed life. She never thought of dying at all.”
But who does? Yet, most barely make half of Josephine’s age.
Hoping to find a clue, I checked an article called, How to grow old gracefully. The article summed up life prolonging elixirs in the words such as exercise, optimism and preventive care. Great help I thought, some one revealing some well kept secrets!
The truth is no one knows how to really live long. Not all disciplined people live long, not all undisciplined die young, and the best health regimen sometimes do not prevent the inevitable.
One thing nonetheless, I have found common among all those people that had long lives, they had a way with “stress.” They all had kind of personalities that stress could never get the better of them. They were for ever optimistic, such as Josephine, who was planning for her next birthday celebration, before she died.
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