“115 years are a lot.”, is all she has to say, as she hops through three centuries with two eggs on her plate. In just a month, Ms. Emma Morano is all set to celebrate her 117th birthday. With an obvious Guinness records of the oldest person in Europe and the fifth oldest in the world, her soul is still young and adamant as ever while she lives in her home in Verbania, Italy.
Just so you know how long 117 years mean; recall Italy evolving from a monarchy to a republic that overthrew nearly 70 governments in seven decades, with a 20-year of cruel period Fascism in the middle. She survived two world wars, and the hardship of their aftermath; years of domestic terrorism, and years of economic prosperity that transformed Italy from an agrarian economy to one of the world’s most industrialized nations.
Morano’s journey dates back all the way back to Nov 29, 1899. Diagnosed with Anemia at the age of 20, the doctor advised her to eat 3 eggs (two raw and one cooked) a day. With time she brought it down to 2, ground meat, soupy pasta, a banana and her much favorite cookies. With a love for chocolates, Emma continues to make the most of her time singing over a brandy, sleeping and snacking. Her memory often skips entire decades, her recollections are not about Mussolini, or the world wars but about her sisters, how they would dance together or how men would stop in their tracks just to hear her sing.
Even when she’s ill, she refuses to go to the doctor. But ever since she’s turned 90 her long trusted doctor, Carlo Bava has attended to her health which has only suffered from a bit of bronchitis, blood transfusions and stitches. She has always graciously accepted the aging process and the aches and pains that come with it.
But it’s just not her celebrated health that’s awe-inspiring, her struggles mark a strength that was uncommon in her times. After an unhappy marriage and death of her only infant son, she lived through three centuries alone on her strength. Till date, she remarkably lives alone in her tiny two-room apartment, filled with bitter-sweet memories and tributes and certificates celebrating her strength, her favorite being one written with the numbers “115” in bright blue letters, made by children at a local nursery school.
Without any invitations, her well-wishers flock from America, Switzerland, Austria, Turin, Milan and all over the world to bless her on this special occasion. Everyone from the Italian president to Pope Francis has congratulated her. With just another voice from the world, we wish this amazing woman our best wishes and an amazing 117th birthday. Cheers to her long life!!
