My friend Benny turns 95 tomorrow. He is my hero and source of inspiration. We met about 8 years ago - our lockers were next to each other at the Jewish Cnter health club.

Benny says he is so old that when he was a child the Dead Sea wasn’t even sick. He grew up in such a poor neighborhood, he claims, that the rainbows were in black and white.

Benny is a retired pharmacist with the best sense of humor of anyone I ever met. He lives alone in an apartment, drives during the day, and plays golf, among other activities. He says he doesn’t drive at night or when the roads are bad because of his religion --- “I’m a devout coward.”

About 30 years ago, Benny and his wife’s circle of friends included some of the most prominent psychoanalysts in town. I am sure Benny supplied jokes to much of the analytic community.

Benny says it is a good day when you can get up in the morning, stretch out your arms and don’t hit wood. I tend to agree.

As you can imagine Benny has weathered his share of tragedies and losses. Benny claims that the only exercise he gets these days is being a pallbearer.
He mentioned he went to a party last weekend and he was the only one there with his original hips. I could go on and on...

Benny is one resilient human being who treasures each day...never complains...and helps me stay optimistic about the species.

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