Today is a very special day in my family, as my great aunt turns 99 today.

Yes, 99. And while arthritis has slowed her to the point that tortoises move faster and farther than she does, and while her "forgetter" tends to work more than her "rememberer," this woman is amazing. Yes, there is someone who comes in 4-5 days a week for a few hours a day, and she probably needs to be put in a place where there is 24-hour care, but at the same time when she has a good day you hear about long-lost memories of times gone by, both of personal history and the history of this country.

I called her a little while ago to wish her a happy birthday, after I had just come in from a long bike ride. When I told her this, she relayed a story of how when she was a little girl, she was riding her dad's bicycle in rural Watsonville, going back and forth, feeling the wind run through her blond locks. She hit a sandbar...and, well, how to put this delicately, she landed on the support bar that ran between the yoke of the bike and the column where the seat is situated. "I *still* feel it today!" she cried.

She asked about work, and I told her that it's somewhat tense now, because we know we'll have to make cuts but the when and how much is still being negotiated, well, it's a bit unsettling. At which point we talked about her memories of the Great Depression; she and her new husband married in 1932, and had the first 4 years of their marriage where they luckily had jobs, but had cutbacks to deal with, which cut into their savings. But in 1936 they were able to move down the street from where they first lived, into a 5-room unfurnished flat *and* had the money for furniture. Then, in 1939, they moved to their final place, in the Cow Hollow (and very nice) area of San Francisco, where they have lived ever since. Uncle Bruno died in 1985, but she still soldiers on. The stairs make it so that she really can't go down anymore, but this woman used to walk to the bus stop to go to the store up until a few years ago, well into her 80s. Once she got into her 90s, she has slowed quite a bit, but her mind is quite sharp still. Sure, it's not quite like it used to be, but it's amazing that she's not just sitting in a bed, a vegetable. She has pretty good memories of her childhood and of the major events in her life; it's just her short-term memory that isn't quite working anymore.

But still...she's still here A la vecchiaia! (I promise, that's what she's called herself for years...and I guess she is 'the ancient one'.)

Happy birthday, Mary Petrucci...buon compleanno!