{"id":200,"date":"2013-02-21T11:32:07","date_gmt":"2013-02-21T18:32:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theagingofaquarius.com\/dw_blog\/?p=200"},"modified":"2024-09-15T07:50:08","modified_gmt":"2024-09-15T12:50:08","slug":"claras-a-quitter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theagingofaquarius.com\/dw_blog\/claras-a-quitter\/","title":{"rendered":"Clara’s a quitter"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Clara Cowell stopped smoking last week and chose her birthday to mark the occasion.<\/p>\n

Her 102nd birthday.<\/p>\n

The British mother of four, grandmother of nine, great grandmother of 12, and great-great grandmother of four decided, after 89 years and tens of thousands of cigarettes, she might be pushing her luck.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Clara\u2019s 72 year-old daughter is more concerned that her mom might be tempting fate. She says the secret to Clara’s longevity has been a lifetime of cigarettes and whiskey. Why stop now? She said it cheeky but may have a point.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Everybody knows that smoking is bad for your health, it\u2019s not arguable, but when I read a story like this I wonder if our culture-driven fears aren\u2019t at least as hazardous as the actual risk factors.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Why are we all so scared? Because we’re told we must be. We live our lives surrounded by warning labels and bombarded with anecdotal horror stories mixed with rumors and urban legends. We\u2019re scared of cancer and heart disease and every sort of illness whether attributable to poor nutrition and lousy lifestyle decisions or just dumb luck and DNA.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We live in constant fear of things that will probably never happen.<\/p>\n

And here\u2019s the kicker, the ultimate damned-if-you-do-or-don’t irony: the same health experts who shake their fingers at us when we eat a Big Mac or don’t get enough sleep insist that stress will kill us deader than anything.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Yes, of course we should be careful when we\u2019re driving and mindful of how much bad stuff we ingest but is a lifetime of worry helpful in any way? Of course it isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hand-wringing worrywarts are everywhere. They warn us with no uncertain gravity that sugar and butter are bad for us but artificial sweeteners and butter substitutes may be even worse. They extol the virtues of exercise and then some famous long distance runner drops dead from a heart attack.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Clara and her daughter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sure, don\u2019t smoke. But, diet drinks? Less red meat? I don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n

I think we can be too careful. And when you see a 102 year-old woman giving up cigarettes after 90 years I think there are times when a pound of prevention is a silly concession to cultural bullying.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Take care of yourself. Be smart.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Moderation in all things, even moderation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Clara Cowell stopped smoking last week and chose her birthday to mark the occasion. Her 102nd birthday. The British mother of four, grandmother of nine, great grandmother of 12, and great-great grandmother of four decided, after 89 years and tens of thousands of cigarettes, she might be pushing her luck.   Clara\u2019s 72 year-old daughter … Continue reading “Clara’s a quitter”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aging","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nClara's a quitter : The Aging of Aquarius<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We live our lives surrounded by warning labels and we count our steps. 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