With a beer, of course! That’s what
Alverta Berrington did last week. On July 10th Berrington, a native
of Guelph, Canada, celebrated the passing of her 105th year by cracking
an ice cold brew. How else could she celebrate? With a lifespan
that includes not only World War I, World War II, the Great Depression,
the Conflict in Korea, the assassination of JFK, Vietnam, the Cold War
and the War on Terror but also the Roaring Twenties, the Baby Boom, the
Free Love Era of the 60’s, the Lunar Landing, the advent of the
Internet and (although a Yankees fan) both Red Sox World Series
Championships - Berrington has mourned and celebrated with beer.
Alverta Berrington was born in Hespeler, Canada on July 10th,
1901. She was educated at Jacob Hespeler Public School and eventually
began a successful career working for Dominion Woolens and Worsted.
In 1929 she married Albert Berrington. Although the couple never had
children of their own, they were always surrounded by nieces and
nephews of Alverta’s five siblings. Over the years she has
developed a birthday tradition of being with family and enjoying a
tasty brew each July 10th. Although not my birthday, I decided to go
down to my local happy hour and drink a couple ice cold Budweisers.
Inspired by the woman who, regardless of age, never forgets to relax
and enjoy “a couple”, I pondered my own life as I enjoyed my favorite
beverage. What would I be like in 105 years? How many Red Sox World
Series Championships would I see? Would I have a successful career
spanning decades? Could I stay married to the same person for
fifty-four years? What wars were in store for my lifespan? As I
sipped the remnants of my final beer of the evening I realized: cryogenically
frozen, probably just the one, not likely, I sure hope so and
Earthlings vs. Mee-Bop and the Varnekians from the planet Astorath 6.