The Jewish Home | MAY 19, 2022
40 economy class for hours on end. One thing I know for sure: that won’t be me.
Alive and Kicking
person in the world. That distinction goes to a woman, Sister Andre of Toulon, France, who was verified at being 119 years and 95 days.
On the Fly
was pretty calm and collected the whole time, because I knew it was a life-ordeath situation. “Either you do what you have to do to control the situation or you’re gonna die. And that’s what I did.” Sounds like he passed this test with flying colors.
You know what they say, Trail: a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Once in a Russian Year
Trail’s Trek
The world’s oldest man is living in Venezuela. Juan Vincente Mora has officially been crowned by Guinness World Records as the oldest person living (male) – just a few days shy of his 113th birthday. He is celebrating that major birthday on May 27. Mora was born in 1909 as one of 10 children, and now has 11 children, 41 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren, and 12 great-great-grandchildren. He married his wife in 1937; they were married for 60 years before she passed away. Mora worked as a farmer for decades before selling his last parcel of land at the age of 104. He begins each day with a cup of coffee and breakfast with his family. He remains a devoted Catholic and prays daily. The supercentenarian told Guinness World Records that the most important things he has learned in life are “the love of G-d, the love of family and that we must get up early to work.” Mora’s predecessor to the most-mature throne was a Spanish man who died on January 18 of this year at the age of 112 years and 341 days. Still, Mora is not the oldest living
Last week, a Florida man took over the controls of a small airplane in which he was flying after the pilot suffered a medical emergency mid-flight. Darren Harrison radioed the control tower after he saw that the pilot passed out and then he took over the controls. “My pilot has gone incoherent,” he told air traffic controllers during the crisis. “I have no idea how to fly the airplane.” With guidance, Harrison managed to land the plane safely at Palm Beach International Airport. “Somebody asked me the other day what my heart rate was ... when all of that was going on – and I said probably in the 90s,” he said. “And they said, what about when it was all over? And I said it was probably 160.” He said he only realized the enormity of what he did after he was finally on the ground. “By the time I stopped the plane, that’s when it hit me,” Harrison said. “I
Trail Marshall has now completed his journey. The North Carolinian has trekked for five months along the 1,175-mile North Carolina Mountains-to-Sea Trail and finished his voyage on May 6. Believe it or not, “Trail” is not his real name. He began using the moniker two years ago, in June 2020, when he started with a brisk 406-day trek along the Appalachian Trail. Trail has kept a video journal of his journey and amassed a collection of followers, who see him as an inspiration. “I get messages from people who are sick or dying,” he told the Outer Banks Voice. “They just need an encouraging word from me to tell them to keep fighting. A guy sent me a message last night. He’s having major surgery tomorrow. They’re taking out his pancreas and a few other things. I’ve been telling him to keep fighting. I got a message last night, ‘Congratulations on finishing your hike. I’m going to beat this just like you. I’m going to keep fighting.’” On his last full day of the trip, Trail wrote: “I made the most of it with a beautiful 25-miles hike up the beach and around the Pea Island Wildlife Refuge and then over the terrifying, electrifying, stupefying, high-flying excitement of walking over the Marc Basnight Bridge. “A three-mile-long masterpiece of art and function that traverses over the Oregon Inlet. Sheer terror for the first mile and then the terror subsided, and awe set in. What a lovely view! For miles... But can I expect anything less from the Outer Banks? The last 70 miles has been nothing short of spectacular!”
Perhaps you’re not familiar with the above expression – and we don’t expect you to be. That’s because it’s a Polish phrase that generally means the equivalent of the English “once in a blue moon.” Well, this story is one that happens “once in a Russian year.” You see, last Wednesday, a state trooper in Connecticut was called in to I-84 to help a stranded motorist with a flat tire. But this was no ordinary driver. The person behind the wheel was none other than former Polish President Lech Walesa. Even more unbelievable was that the state trooper, Lukasz Lipert, is also originally from Poland. “Trooper Lipert, a native of Poland, was beyond grateful for the opportunity to help such an influential individual, and briefly speak to him about the history of Poland,” the police department Facebook posting about the incident reads. Walesa was Poland’s first freely elected president in 63 years after he was elected in 1990. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate was in the Constitution State promoting the cause of Ukrainian refugees who have been forced out of their country and now call Poland home. Lipert said he first thought his fellow officers were playing a joke on him when he was called in to assist on his radio. “What are the odds there’s going to be a former Polish president on the side of 84 in Tolland,” Lipert told the Hartford Courant. But after arriving at the scene, he quickly realized it was no prank. “It was definitely a great opportunity to meet the man who had a voice during those times,” Lipert said. “It was definitely a great experience.” Only once in a Russian year…
