“Every evening, after supper, I have two fingers of whiskey” he said, explaining his dietary and lifestyle habits that he said ensured good health in advancing age.

I admit it. I am getting soft and old. I used to embrace the cold, dark and wet days of winter with a combination of endurance and exuberance. I would include a variety of winter activities, including cross-country skiing, hockey, ice-skating and downhill skiing.

Now, as I advance in years, I enjoy several months of almost daily swimming. During the last couple of years, I have made it a habit to swim early morning laps at the Parkinson’s Recreation Centre in Kelowna.

As my biological clock ticks upward, I am much less robust to jump in a cold pool and begin vigorously exercising. I must warm up first in either the hot tub or sauna for a few minutes before. It is during the warmup phase that you meet other like-minded individuals. Being somewhat gregarious by nature, although somewhat reticent in the early morning, and after one cup of coffee, I still like to engage in casual conversation with others. It was during one particular cold morning in February that I talked to a refined Swiss gentleman.

“I feel great” he said. He divulged it was his birthday and he was turning 84 years........

© Castanet