Reflections of a Centenarian

Stories, Observations, Memories & Bits of Wisdom

In her breezy, optimistic voice, Rosalind Starrels Greenwald selects vivid memories from her century of life, such as when her Philadelphia home was wired for electricity, how the new Frigidaire replaced the icebox, and how she and her family and friends gathered around the RCA radio and the Victrola. Greenwald celebrates the memory of her husband of fifty-three years, Louis Greenwald, a dental surgeon and Army officer who served overseas in World War II, In search of new surroundings during those lonely, unfamiliar years, Greenwald brought her infant daughter to idyllic Miami Beach, where she discovered her love of South Florida, and what became her lifelong joy of living near the sea. Today, at her home in an upscale retirement community in sunny Pompano Beach, Florida, Greenwald enjoys the company of dear friends, a new family that shares similar memories of long lives well-lived. Greenwald's Victrola and RCA radio are now distant memories, but today she embraces twenty-first century communications, including face-to-face computer chats with her beloved grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Greenwald recounts her love of travel, from camping with her husband and their son and daughter in coastal Maine and Massachusetts, to jet travel where she toured Europe, Africa, Australia and Asia. You will be delighted by Greenwald's joy and pride and enthusiasm for meeting new people, discovering new foods, and seeing the beauty the world offers near and far. This treasure of a book will inspire and charm readers of all ages-children, teens, middle-aged folks, and young-minded "senior citizens" in their sixties, seventies, eighties, nineties, and yes, even those into their one-hundreds. Rosalind Starrels Greenwald acknowledges that longevity involves difficult losses, but life is for the living, and each day can be filled with wonder, adventure, learning, creativity, discovery, family, friendship and love.