If one is lucky enough to make it to 104-years-old, they will most certainly have a layered story to tell. For Ella, a centenarian sitting in a diner, it was no different. So when storytelling documentarian, Kara Lewis, noticed a woman wearing a US Navy veteran’s hat, she approached her in the hopes that she’d share her life story.

In a video clip posted to Kara’s Instagram page (and re-making the rounds elsewhere), we see her approaching the elderly woman. “Excuse me,” Kara begins. “I don’t mean to interrupt you guys, but I document stories online. And I saw her hat. I was super curious and interested if there’s maybe something you would be willing to share about your life.”

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‘Am I gonna be on TV?’

Ella’s daughter explains to her, “She noticed that you were a veteran.” The woman, with a frothy chocolate milkshake in front of her, is game to share. “Well, that would be nice!” She begins her story, her bright blue eyes twinkling. “I’m 104 and I’ll be 105 in April.”

It is this moment that the three women introduce themselves, as Ella and her daughter, Robin. Ella asks with a sly smile, “Am I gonna be on TV?” Kara is invited to pull up a chair, which she cheerfully does.

Ella continues, “The war was on. World War Two. I joined the Navy all by myself when I was 23. My mother said to me, ‘If I were your age, I would do the same thing.’........

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