One of my greatest pleasures is spending time with my father-in-law, Carl Hagelin. He is 101 years old and is in great shape. His memory has not suffered in the slightest. We can have conversations about details in his life in the 1920s and details about what he did last week and yesterday. His short term and long term memory are uncanny. He lives in the independent living section of .
He was recently invited to a special meeting on the 20th of September by the county supervisors to honor the centenarians of Napa County.
A centenarian is a person who is or lives beyond the age of 100 years. Because current average life expectancies across the world are less than 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. Eighty-five percent of centenarians are women.
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A study of men in their 70s found that those who avoided smoking, obesity, inactivity, diabetes and high blood pressure greatly improved their chances of living into their 90s. In fact, they had a 54 percent chance of living that long. However, some studies show that about 77 percent of the cause for longevity after 90 is genetics.
Last week or so he, his daughter (my wife) and I went to the Napa River Wine and Craft Faire. We did some great early Christmas shopping and visited with the craftsmen and women in their booths as well as friends we met in the closed 3rd Street area. As he still does woodworking for a hobby he got some great ideas from the craftsman there..
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He is a very active person. Last month he spent part of a day at a political rally here in Napa and in a few weeks he will be flying to Arkansas for a reunion of all the nieces. nephews and children of his deceased wife, Ramona. They were married for 59 years at her passing.
Whether it is politics, or family, history or modern and historic sports happenings; whether it is engineering marvels like dams and bridges or the California Feather River and Aqueduct project and the Big Thomson project, Carl can fill an evening with entertaining stories full of fun, facts and figures that would make your head spin. His contribution to civil engineering was immense from a dam in Turkey to a reservoir supplying water to thousands of residents in Morro Bay and all the aforementioned projects.
My thanks to you, Carl, for your service in the Army of WWII, for your service in the Corps of Engineers, for you beautiful daughter, whom I fall more in love with daily, and for being part of my life and sharing your knowledge and wisdom with me regularly.
