THE story of a 103-year-old Italian woman, who was busted by police while driving dangerously with an expired driving licence in an uninsured car, caught my attention recently.
The incident happened in the centre of Bondeno, a town of 13,000 inhabitants in Italy, at 1 am and the woman was said to be ‘popping over’ to see friends at night.
Police, who received a call about a vehicle driving dangerously in the centre of the town, were greatly surprised when they discovered the year of the driver’s birth.
The woman, identified as Giuseppina Molinari, also known as Giose, was born in 1920.
“Wow!” was my initial reaction. “103 but still capable of getting into a car and driving out to meet friends?”
The next question I asked myself was “Who were her friends and how old were they?”
I reckoned that since the woman was 103 years, she could not have too many friends left. Many must have died already.
In Malaysia, if a woman or man is that old, she/he would probably be staying in a nursing home or kept warm and secure behind closed and locked doors in the family home at night.
I wonder whether Molinari was living with her family members. Why were they not keeping close watch on the centenarian?
Next, I wonder what is Molinari’s secret to longevity. Could it be the much touted so-called Mediterranean diet since she lives in Italy, one of the Mediterranean nations?
My friends, the Mediterranean diet is a healthy-eating plan that focuses on plants. The meals are built around vegetables, fruits, herbs, nuts, beans and whole grains with moderate amounts of dairy, poultry and eggs and red meat is eaten only once in a while.
And the Mediterranean Chopped Salad consists of simple vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers and onions mixed with chickpeas, feta cheese and olives.
You chop all the ingredients, make the dressing and then mix everything together in a herby, lemony vinaigrette before serving it.
I salute Molinari for her ability to still get into a car and drive it around. At her age, many men
and women in the world would have forgotten how to do so.
Many would be weak and bedridden, too.
Apparently, Molinari is not an exception in greying Italy; she is just one of the many centenarians there.
According to a Reuters report dated July 7 last year, the number of centenarians in Italy hit a record high in 2022.
The news agency cited the nation’s National Institute of Statistics as saying that the share of the population aged over 100 had tripled since the beginning of the century and totalled almost 22,000 people as of January 2023 with most of them women.
Last year, when nations with the highest number of centenarians (people aged 100+) were revealed, the United States of America (USA) was leading other countries in the study conducted by the World of Statistics while the likes of Japan, China, Malaysia and India were among the top five countries.
I’m surprised that USA was leading the list and that Malaysia, China and India were among the top five countries with the highest number of centenarians in the world.
I don’t know about the secrets of American, Malaysian and Indian longevity because I have not read about them.
But the secret of Chinese longevity is to increase the number of vegetables you eat with all your daily meals — breakfast, lunch and dinner. The staple food of Chinese centenarians also includes fruit, corn, bamboo shoots, nuts, rice, barley, and fish.
However, the Japanese food secret for long life is well known and much has been written about it.
The traditional Okinawa diet, for instance, is low in calories and fat while high in carbohydrates. It emphasises the consumption of vegetables and soy products besides occasional, tiny amounts of noodles, rice, pork and fish.
Now, back to the case of Molinari. Italian police in the patrol car, dispatched to the scene where she was driving dangerously, fined her and took her home.
In Italy, drivers over 80 have to undergo a medical exam every two years to renew their licences. Molinari’s licence had expired two years previously.
Now that the centenarian has been barred from driving, she plans to buy herself a Vespa, an Italian brand of scooter.
In the meantime, she plans to continue visiting her friends by bicycle instead.
That’s the spirit, Molinari. Don’t let old age stop you from doing the things you like when you can.
Now, my friends, how many of you would like to live as old as the Italian lady? To be very much alive and kicking at 103?
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
