Newark’s Frank Walker turns 105 and imparts wisdom

At the New Vista nursing home in Newark, one of its most senior and uplifting residents turned 105 this past Saturday.

Frank Walker, who was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and came here 60 years ago, was asked if he were afraid of dying.

His answer was very simple – borrowing the line from President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Inauguration Speech, saying that he has 'nothing to fear but fear itself.’

Now perhaps there’s nothing original about that – but it’s what’s given him some measure of hope with each passing day.

In fact, if you need an example in your life, go to any elderly relative – or for that matter – any elderly person; and you will find a treasure trove of wisdom, that while not necessarily groundbreaking – will still make you say to yourself, “…yeah, that makes sense!”

One need not look any further than the Dodge Charger commercial that ran during the Super Bowl featuring the senior citizens who either turned 100 or were about to – and many of the wise sayings they shared.

It brought back lots of memories of my grandmother and her priceless Neapolitan expressions.

When I was still single, living in Brooklyn, and working in the family bakery – she would pull me aside and tell me stories that the “gente antiche!” (trans: elders of the village) would share with her.

Especially sayings her father would share.

And while my uncle (o’zi – her brother) used to say that he never did a day’s work in his life – all he was good for was being eminently quotable.

Things like (translated from Neapolitan) – “nobody tells you to wash your face so that you’ll look better than them!”

Or “he who spits in the air gets it back in his face!”

Even though those spoken in this video are Sicilian, the sprit's still the same.

I used to love those – and while my siblings and cousins used to write her off as a pain in the neck – it was something I cherished then, and still look back with a certain fondness.

Much like Walker’s quote from FDR.

A saying that’s sustained him all these years later.

That’s one thing the Eastern cultures have over us – the reverence of the elderly.

If you really want to learn something – nothing beats the experience of having lived a good life.

All you need do is listen.