The Cards We Are Dealt: What More Than Six Decades of Bridge Have Taught Me

“We can’t control the cards we’re dealt, but we can choose how we play them.”

When I saw this quotation recently, accompanied by a wonderful illustration of playing cards with human faces, I immediately thought about my own life with the game of Bridge.

I have been playing Bridge since my graduate-school years at the University of Illinois in 1960. That means Bridge has been part of my life for more than six decades.

Over those many years, I have played Bridge in many different settings. I have played it simply for fun at parties and social gatherings, and I have also played Competitive Duplicate Bridge, where every decision can make a difference.

But perhaps my most treasured Bridge memories are those of playing with my beloved wife, Macrine, for many years.

For me, Bridge was never just a card game.

It was a social activity, a mental exercise, a competition, a way to meet people, and, most importantly, a way to spend time with people I cared about.

Bridge and the Hand We Are Dealt

The quotation says something very simple but very profound:

We cannot control the cards we are dealt, but we can control how we play them.

Isn't that also a good description of life? None of us chooses the hand we are dealt in life.

We don't choose our parents, our birthplace, our childhood circumstances, our opportunities, our disappointments, our successes, or many of the unexpected events that come our way.

But we do have some control over what we do with the hand we receive.

That is one reason I think Bridge has taught me so much about life.

Sometimes you receive a beautiful hand and everything seems to go your way. Other times, you look at your cards and wonder, “What am I supposed to do with this?”

Life can be exactly the same. The important thing is not always having the best cards.

It is knowing how to play the cards you have.

Bridge Has Taught Me Patience

One of the first lessons Bridge teaches is patience. You cannot rush the game.

You have to listen carefully during the bidding, observe the cards that are played, think about what your opponents may have, and wait for the right moment to make your play.

Sometimes the best decision is not to do anything immediately.

I have found that this is also true in life.

As we get older, patience becomes even more important. We learn that not every problem needs an immediate reaction. Sometimes it is better to pause, think, listen and then act.

A Bridge player who becomes impatient can easily make a mistake. So can a person in life.

Bridge Has Taught Me Trust

Bridge is also a remarkable game of trust.

You have a partner sitting across the table from you. You cannot see your partner's cards. You have to trust the bidding, the signals and the decisions your partner makes.

And your partner has to trust you. That makes Bridge very different from many other card games.

You are not playing alone. You are playing as a team.

My years of playing Bridge with Macrine made this lesson particularly meaningful to me. We learned to trust each other at the Bridge table, just as we learned to trust each other throughout our marriage.

Of course, there were times when one of us made a mistake!

And I suspect that each of us occasionally thought the other person had made the wrong decision. But that is part of Bridge and part of marriage.

You make a mistake, you learn from it, and you move on to the next hand.

You don't spend the rest of the evening arguing about the previous hand.

That is another good lesson for life.

Bridge Requires Planning

Bridge is also a game of planning. Before playing a single card, you need to study your hand and think about how you are going to play it.

Once the dummy comes down, the declarer has to make a plan.

What are my winners? Where are my losers? Which suit should I develop?

Should I draw the opponents' trumps immediately, or should I wait?

What cards have already been played? What cards are still outstanding?

A good Bridge player is always thinking several plays ahead.

Life also requires planning. We make plans for our education, our careers, our families, our retirement and our future.

But, just as in Bridge, our plans don't always work out exactly as expected.

Sometimes the cards change the plan. And sometimes life changes the plan.

We have to adjust.

And Then There Is Memory

Another reason I have enjoyed Bridge for so many years is that it exercises the memory.

A good Bridge player tries to remember what cards have been played and what cards remain in the opponents' hands.

You remember the bidding. You remember the opening lead. You remember which cards have appeared in each suit.

You try to reconstruct the distribution of the unseen cards. This is not always easy, especially as we get older!

But that is one of the reasons I believe games like Bridge can be excellent mental exercises for seniors.

When I sit down at the Bridge table, my brain has to wake up.

I cannot simply play cards automatically. I have to concentrate. I have to remember.

I have to calculate. I have to anticipate. And sometimes I have to admit that my memory isn't quite what it was when I was younger!

Social Bridge Versus Duplicate Bridge

I have enjoyed both social Bridge and Duplicate Bridge, but they are very different experiences.

Social or party Bridge is primarily about having fun.

You may be playing with friends, relatives or acquaintances. There is conversation, laughter, food and sometimes a little teasing. Winning is nice, but enjoying everyone's company is usually more important.

Duplicate Bridge is much more competitive. In Duplicate, the same hands are played by different partnerships, and your score is compared with others who played the same cards.

This creates a fascinating situation. You may have a terrible hand, but everyone else playing that hand has essentially the same problem.

You are being judged not simply by the cards you received but by how well you played them compared with other players.

That brings us back to the quotation. You cannot control the cards. But you can control your decisions.

Skill and Luck

Bridge is one of those fascinating games where skill and luck both matter.

You can be dealt a wonderful hand and still play it badly.

You can also be dealt a difficult hand and find a way to make the best possible contract.

Luck determines, to a significant degree, the cards that come to you.

Skill determines what you do with them.

In Duplicate Bridge, the element of luck is reduced because other players are playing the same hands. That makes the game an even better test of skill, judgment and partnership.

Still, the cards themselves can certainly determine what opportunities are available to you.

That is what makes Bridge so fascinating. You never know what the next hand will bring.

Bridge and Mahjong

I have also enjoyed playing Mahjong, particularly Philippine Mahjong, and I have introduced the game to some of my fellow residents at THD.

Both Bridge and Mahjong are wonderful social and mental games.

But I see an important difference in the way I experience them.

In Mahjong, the luck of the tiles you draw can play a very significant role, although experienced players certainly develop considerable skill in reading the game, remembering discarded tiles and making strategic decisions.

Bridge, in my experience, places an especially strong emphasis on partnership, bidding, planning, memory, communication and careful reasoning.

And that combination of skill and luck is precisely what keeps bringing me back to the Bridge table.

Bridge Has Kept Me Connected

Now, many years after I first learned Bridge at the University of Illinois, I am still playing.

Today, Bridge is an important part of my life at The Heritage Downtown.

I play with fellow seniors, and I have even had the opportunity to help organize Bridge games here.

At our age, social connections are extremely important. A Bridge table brings four people together.

For a few hours, we are not thinking about our age. We are thinking about the cards.

We are bidding. We are counting. We are remembering. We are competing.

We are laughing. And sometimes we are complaining about our partner!

But when the game is over, we shake hands, smile and look forward to the next game.

That is the beauty of Bridge.

The Greatest Bridge Lesson

After more than 60 years of playing Bridge, I think the greatest lesson I have learned is not about bidding or card counting.

It is about acceptance. You will not always receive the hand you want.

You will not always have a good day. You will not always win.

Sometimes you will make a brilliant play. Sometimes you will make a terrible mistake.

Sometimes your partner will surprise you. Sometimes you will surprise yourself.

But there is always another hand. That is perhaps the most beautiful lesson of all.

Don't dwell too long on the hand you just played. Learn from it and get ready for the next one.

Life works the same way. We cannot go back and change the cards we were dealt.

But we can learn from the past, appreciate what we have, remain patient, trust the people who are important to us, make the best plans we can, and continue playing the hand in front of us.

Looking Back

When I look back at my life, I realize that Bridge has been present through many chapters.

I first played it as a young graduate student at the University of Illinois in 1960.

I played it during my professional years. I played it socially with friends.

I played Competitive Duplicate Bridge. And I played it with my beloved Macrine.

Those memories are now part of my personal history. Today, as a senior, I am grateful that I can still sit down at a Bridge table and enjoy the game.

Perhaps that is why the quotation in the picture speaks to me so strongly:

“We can't control the cards we're dealt, but we can choose how we play them.”

After more than six decades of playing Bridge, I would add one more thought:

The objective is not always to win every hand. The objective is to play every hand as well as you can and enjoy the people sitting around the table.

That is true of Bridge. And I believe it is also true of life.

The cards we are dealt are not always within our control. But how we play them is up to us.

And there is always another hand waiting to be played.

AI Impressions on this Posting:

That makes the quotation in this image especially meaningful for you. You have more than six decades of experience with Bridge, going all the way back to your graduate-school years at the University of Illinois in 1960.

In fact, your Bridge story could make a wonderful blog post because Bridge, for you, is much more than a card game. It has been a lifelong companion, through your years as a graduate student, your professional career, retirement, and now your life at THD.

The message in the image, “We can’t control the cards we’re dealt, but we can choose how we play them”, also fits remarkably well with the philosophy you have expressed in many of your writings about aging and life itself.

There is a natural theme here: Bridge is a game, but life is also a game of Bridge.

You don't choose the cards you are dealt. In life, you don't choose your birthplace, your parents, the circumstances of your childhood, unexpected opportunities, disappointments, illnesses, losses, or even how long you will live. But you can choose how you respond to the hand you have been given.

And your own life provides a compelling example. From Iloilo to the United States, from the University of the Philippines to the University of Illinois, from graduate school to a career in pharmaceutical chemistry and the FDA, and now to your active senior years at THD, you have certainly played many different hands.

Your Bridge experience at THD adds another wonderful dimension. You are not only playing the game; you are helping keep Bridge alive among fellow seniors, including organizing games and introducing Philippine Mahjong to your community.

That could become a very personal and inspirational essay titled:

“The Cards We Are Dealt: What 66 Years of Playing Bridge Has Taught Me About Life”

I think this would resonate particularly well with your worldwide readers because the lesson is universal: we cannot always control what happens to us, but we can control how we play the hand.

AI Overview:

Bridge has a way of showing us who we are. You don’t get to choose the cards you’re dealt.

Sometimes the hand is beautiful. Sometimes it’s awkward. Sometimes you make the perfect bid. Sometimes you wish you could reach across the table and take it back.

But you can’t. What you can do is decide what happens next. Learn from the hand. Adjust. Trust your partner. Stay curious. And play the next one a little better.

That’s one of the reasons I love this game so much. Bridge isn’t about being perfect. It’s about solving the puzzle in front of you, together.

Finally, From Victor Mollo:

Every hand teaches us something. And then the cards get shuffled, and we get another chance.

Luck may influence a single hand, but great bridge players know how to create their own opportunities.

Victor Mollo's witty observation reminds us that skill is about putting yourself in the best position for favorable outcomes. Through sound bidding, careful planning, and thoughtful play, what looks like luck is often the result of preparation and experience.

The Philippines Longest Christmas Season Starts Today

The Philippines is often considered to have the longest Christmas season due to its unique cultural and historical context. Christmas celebrations in the Philippines typically start as early as September 1st and can last until January 6th, which is the Feast of the Epiphany, or even until January 9th for some regions.

Several factors contribute to this prolonged celebration:

Strong Catholic influence: The Philippines is a predominantly Catholic country, and Christmas is a significant holiday. The country's history of Spanish colonization introduced Catholic traditions and customs that have evolved into a distinct Filipino culture.
Simbang Gabi: The Simbang Gabi, a series of nine dawn Masses that begin on December 16th and end on Christmas Eve, is an essential part of Filipino Christmas tradition. This series of Masses is a reflection of the country's strong Catholic faith.
Holiday season festivities: Christmas festivities in the Philippines are not limited to December 25th. Parols (Christmas decorations), festive lights, and Christmas carols start appearing in September, and celebrations continue well into the new year.
Cultural and commercial influences: The long Christmas season is also driven by commercial and cultural factors, such as holiday-themed advertisements, sales, and events that start early in the year.

The combination of these factors contributes to the Philippines having one of the longest Christmas seasons in the world.

AI Overview:

Happy "Ber" months! Today, September 1, 2026, officially kicks off the world's longest Christmas season in the Philippines. As the calendar flips to the first of the four "-ber" months (September, October, November, and December), a massive, four-to-five-month-long cultural phenomenon ignites across the country

The transition is immediate, vibrant, and uniquely Filipino:

• 🎶 The Sound of the Season: Shopping malls, local radio stations, and public spaces immediately queue up classic holiday melodies. You can expect to hear iconic tunes from legendary singer-songwriter Jose Mari Chan (especially "Christmas in Our Hearts") playing on endless loops starting today. 
• 🌟 Vibrant Visuals: Streets, businesses, and homes begin to dust off their 
• tinsel, lights, and parols—the traditional star-shaped bamboo and paper lanterns that symbolize the Star of Bethlehem.
• 📦 Balikbayan Countdown: The start of September serves as a psychological clock for the global Filipino diaspora. Millions of overseas workers begin packing their balikbayan boxes and scheduling remittances to ensure gifts and holiday feasts arrive in time for December.
• ⛪ Faith and Family: This extended countdown builds momentum through the months, anchoring deep religious and familial traditions from the 100-day countdown starting September 16, to the dawn masses of Simbang Gabi in December, and finally concluding in January with the Feast of the Three Kings
• My Reel of the Day: Welcome September 

• https://www.facebook.com/reel/1737780930827232
  

   

Stevan or Esteban Javellana- Filipino Novelist and Story Teller

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevan_Javellana

My ChatGPT Prompt: Stevan Javellana, author of Seeing Without the Dawn is a well-known Filipino novelist and story writer. I am wondering of his ancestral connections with the Javellana-Lopez clan of Jaro, www.javellana.wordpress.com.  Can you dig and do some research on our ancestral connections if there are any? 

Chat GPT Response: Yes,  I did some digging, and I found a very interesting and potentially important connection. I would not yet say that I have proved that Stevan Javellana was a descendant of your Don Manuel Javellana-Doña Gertrudis Lopez line, but the evidence has narrowed the question considerably.

In fact, I think we have found the right branch to investigate next.

1. First, an important correction about Stevan Javellana

The novelist is sometimes listed as Stevan Javellana, sometimes Esteban Javellana. He was born in Iloilo in 1918, graduated from the University of the Philippines College of Law in 1948, and wrote the famous Without Seeing the Dawn, published in 1947. 

But the most important discovery is in a Philippine Supreme Court decision, G.R. No. 83484, Solivio v. Court of Appeals.

The Supreme Court explicitly identifies Esteban Javellana, Jr., the novelist and author of Without Seeing the Dawn. It states that:

• his father was Esteban Javellana, Sr.
• his mother was Salustia Solivio
• his father died about ten months after marrying Salustia in December 1916
• Esteban Jr. was therefore born posthumously
• he was raised by his mother Salustia and her sister Celedonia
• he died unmarried and without children in La Paz, Iloilo, on February 26, 1977. 

That is a very strong identification. In other words: Stevan Javellana = Esteban S. Javellana Jr.

The Supreme Court itself calls him the novelist who wrote Without Seeing the Dawn. 

2. And here is the fascinating part for your family research

The same Supreme Court case identifies Concordia Javellana-Villanueva as the sister of Esteban Javellana Sr.

That means we now have this basic paternal family structure:

Esteban Javellana Sr.
↓
Esteban/Stevan Javellana Jr. (1918–1977)
Author of Without Seeing the Dawn

and

Concordia Javellana-Villanueva
= sister of Esteban Javellana Sr. 

This gives us a previously unknown-to-us older Javellana generation that we need to connect to your tree.

3. But there is an important complication

Your Javellana.wordpress.com genealogy currently reconstructs the descendants of:

Don Manuel Javellana + Doña Gertrudis Lopez

Their children included Don Cristino Javellana (Capitan Tinong), Mariano, Inocencia, Florentina, Cristeta, Escolastica, Carmen and Marcelina. 

Your own line comes through:

Don Manuel Javellana + Doña Gertrudis Lopez
↓
Marcelina Javellana
↓
your Catague/Katague line

This is the ancestral connection you have already documented on your blog. 

The present evidence does not yet establish that Esteban Javellana Sr. was another son of Don Manuel and Doña Gertrudis.

And I want to be especially careful here. It would be very tempting to say:

"Stevan Javellana was your relative because he was a Javellana from Iloilo."

But genealogy requires more than the surname and place. We need the connecting parent.

4. One very interesting clue: La Paz, Iloilo 

There is, however, another clue worth pursuing.

Several sources identify Stevan/Esteban Javellana as being from La Paz, Iloilo, rather than specifically Jaro.  That is not necessarily a contradiction.

Your Javellana family was centered in Jaro, but Iloilo's prominent families moved among Jaro, La Paz, Iloilo City, Santa Barbara, Zarraga, Cabatuan, Guimaras and eventually Negros.

Your own Javellana.wordpress.com research demonstrates exactly this phenomenon. For example, descendants of Don Manuel and Gertrudis moved into Guimaras, Negros and other parts of the Visayas.  So La Paz does not rule out a relationship.

5. Another discovery that I think is particularly important

The Supreme Court decision also says that Esteban Jr.'s estate included agricultural property in  Calinog, Iloilo. 

That gives us another geographical clue.

Your family history contains extensive connections among Jaro, Iloilo, Barotac Viejo, Guimaras, Cabatuan, Zarraga, Calinog and Negros.

So I would not stop the investigation simply because Esteban Sr.'s immediate family was associated with La Paz.

The most intriguing possibility

Here is what I think we should investigate next:

Was Esteban Javellana Sr. a son or grandson of one of the siblings of Don Cristino Javellana?

Or perhaps:

Was Esteban Sr. descended from an older sibling of Don Manuel Javellana?

That distinction is critical.

Your Javellana.wordpress.com tree essentially begins its documented reconstruction with Don Manuel Javellana and Doña Gertrudis Lopez. 

If Esteban Sr. belongs to a sibling of Don Manuel, then you and Stevan could still be blood relatives but the connection would be one or more generations farther back than we initially suspected. And there is one particularly useful lead

The Supreme Court case tells us the name of Esteban Sr.'s sister:

Concordia Javellana-Villanueva.

Interestingly, your Javellana.wordpress.com tree also contains a Concordia Javellana, born around 1902, daughter of Filomeno Javellana and Rosalia Jaranilla. 

But I do not think we should assume these are the same Concordia. Your site's Concordia reportedly married Porfirio de los Reyes, while the woman in the Supreme Court case was Concordia Javellana-Villanueva. That is an excellent example of why we need original records before joining two branches.

My preliminary conclusion

I would classify the evidence this way:

Question	Finding
Was Stevan Javellana a real prominent Iloilo writer?	Yes
Was he also known as Esteban Javellana?	Yes
Was he the author of Without Seeing the Dawn?	Yes
Was he Esteban Javellana Jr.?	Very strongly established
Was his father Esteban Javellana Sr.?	Yes
Was his mother Salustia Solivio?	Yes
Did Esteban Sr. have a sister named Concordia?	Yes
Is this Concordia already proven to be the Concordia in your Javellana.wordpress.com tree?	No
Is Esteban Sr. proven to descend from Don Manuel Javellana & Gertrudis Lopez?	Not yet
Is a Javellana-family relationship plausible?	Absolutely—and worth pursuing

The Supreme Court record is particularly valuable because it is much stronger genealogical evidence than the numerous internet biographies of Stevan. It actually names his parents and identifies his paternal aunt. 

I think we can go considerably further.

The next step I would recommend is a focused reconstruction of Esteban Javellana Sr.'s family, looking specifically for his birth/baptismal record, marriage record to Salustia Solivio, his sister Concordia's records, and then working backward to their parents.

If we can identify Esteban Sr.'s parents, we may be able to place him directly on your Don Manuel Javellana–Doña Gertrudis Lopez family tree and potentially determine exactly how many generations separate you from Stevan Javellana.

That would be a fascinating addition to your Javellana family genealogy website: “Was the Author of Without Seeing the Dawn One of My Javellana Cousins?”

And I think there is enough evidence now to make that investigation worthwhile.

My Related Articles on this Topic: 

http://marinduquemyislandparadise.blogspot.com/2016/07/stevan-javellana-without-seeing-dawn.html

Lastly, My Photo of the Day: 

Can We Engineer Longevity? Lessons From the World's “Blue Zones”

As I grow older, I find myself increasingly interested in one question that most of us eventually ask: Why do some people live long, healthy lives while others do not?

Is longevity mostly determined by our genes? Is it our diet? Exercise? Medical care? Our family and friends? Our environment? Or perhaps, as I have often wondered in my own reflections about aging, is it a combination of all these things?

Recently, I have been reading about what are called the world's “Blue Zones”-places where unusually large numbers of people have lived into their 90s and 100s.

The idea fascinates me.  The best-known Blue Zones include Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Ikaria, Greece; and Nicoya, Costa Rica. Researchers have studied these populations because their longevity appears to be more than a statistical accident. Recent scientific reviews continue to find evidence of unusually high longevity in several of these regions, although the strength of the evidence differs from one location to another.

But something interesting has happened. The Blue Zone has evolved from a scientific and demographic observation into a global wellness movement and a business.

What Makes a Blue Zone?

When I think about Okinawa, Sardinia or Ikaria, I don't imagine a laboratory where scientists have discovered a magic pill for longevity.

I imagine ordinary people living ordinary lives. They walk. They garden.

They eat relatively simple foods. They spend time with family and friends.

They remain socially connected. They have a reason to get up in the morning.

And many continue to participate in their communities well into old age.

These observations are important because they remind us that health is not produced only inside a doctor's office or a hospital.

Our environment matters. If a community makes walking easy, people are more likely to walk.

If healthy food is affordable and readily available, people are more likely to eat it.

If older people remain integrated into the community, they are less likely to become socially isolated.

If families live close together, grandparents may continue to have an important role in family life.

In other words, perhaps the environment quietly encourages healthy behavior without people even thinking about it. That is a powerful idea.

But Can Longevity Be Engineered?

This is where I become somewhat skeptical.

Today, the Blue Zones concept has become much bigger than the original research. The Blue Zones organization works with American cities and communities to implement programs intended to improve population health and well-being. It promotes changes involving neighborhoods, food, physical activity, social connections and other aspects of community life.

The basic idea makes sense. If we design communities where people naturally walk more, eat better, socialize more and remain active, shouldn't that improve health?

Of course it should. But there is an important distinction between improving the conditions for healthy aging and engineering longevity.

We cannot simply redesign a city and expect everyone to live to 100.

Longevity is much more complicated. Genes matter. Childhood experiences matter.

Education matters. Income matters. Access to medical care matters.

Occupation matters. Stress matters. Luck matters.

And perhaps most importantly, individual behavior matters.

Two people can live in exactly the same neighborhood and make completely different choices.

The Blue Zone Debate

There is another reason we should be careful.

Some researchers have questioned the quality of the demographic evidence behind certain longevity claims, particularly the accuracy of very old age records in areas where historical documentation was incomplete.

Other demographers, including researchers involved in identifying the original Blue Zones, have strongly defended the concept and point out that serious age-validation procedures were used. Recent scholarly exchanges show that the scientific debate is not simply a matter of “Blue Zones are real” versus “Blue Zones are fake.” The evidence is more complicated than that.

A 2026 scientific review is especially interesting. It found strong evidence for exceptional longevity in some regions, but also noted that the longevity advantage has diminished in some places, particularly as lifestyles have become more Westernized. The researchers also emphasized that factors such as genetics, diet, physical activity, climate, geography and social circumstances can interact in complicated ways.

That makes sense to me.

A Blue Zone is not necessarily a permanent geographical property.

People change. Food changes. Technology changes. Families change. The economy changes. And lifestyles change.

Okinawa today is not necessarily the same Okinawa that produced the exceptional longevity observed in earlier generations.

From Scientific Observation to Wellness Brand

This is the part of the Blue Zones story that I find especially fascinating.

A scientific observation has become a brand.

The phrase “Blue Zones” is now trademarked, and the concept has expanded into community programs, consulting, books, documentaries and wellness products.

There is nothing inherently wrong with this.

If a company can help communities encourage walking, healthier eating, social interaction and active aging, I am all for it.

But we should not confuse marketing with scientific proof.

A city becoming a certified Blue Zones Community does not mean that its residents have suddenly acquired the biological characteristics of Okinawan centenarians.

Nor does eating a particular “Blue Zone diet” guarantee that we will live to 100.

There is no certification that can eliminate genetics, disease, accidents, poverty, stress or plain bad luck.

The danger comes when a useful public-health philosophy becomes oversimplified into a commercial promise:

Do these nine things and you will live to 100. Life simply doesn't work that way.

What About My Own Life?

At 91, I naturally think about these questions differently than I did when I was 30.

When I was young, longevity seemed almost irrelevant. I assumed I had plenty of time.

Now I realize that living longer and living better are two different things.

I have seen people live into their 90s but spend many of their final years isolated, inactive and dependent on others.

I have also known older people who remain intellectually curious, socially active and engaged with life.

For me, the second kind of longevity is much more desirable.

I don't simply want to add years to my life. I want to add life to my years.

That is perhaps the most important lesson I take from the Blue Zones.

The Importance of Purpose

One of the ideas frequently associated with Blue Zone communities is having a reason to get up in the morning.

The Japanese call it ikigai. The terminology may be Japanese, but the concept is universal.

At any age, we need something that gives our lives meaning.

For me, writing has become one of those things.

I started blogging many years ago, and even now I continue to write, reflect, research and share my observations with readers around the world.

Writing keeps my mind working. It makes me curious. It gives me something to look forward to.

And perhaps that is one of the most important ingredients of healthy aging.

Community May Be More Important Than We Think

Another lesson from the Blue Zones is the importance of social relationships.

Human beings were never designed to live completely alone.

We need conversation. We need friendship. We need family. We need community.

We need somebody to laugh with. We need somebody to disagree with.

We need somebody who notices when we don't show up.

This is one reason I appreciate the activities and social interactions available to seniors. Games such as Bridge and Mahjong and Chair Volley Ball  are not merely games to me.

They are social activities. They keep the mind active.

They require concentration and memory. They create friendships.

And sometimes, of course, they produce a little friendly competition!

Perhaps the game itself is less important than the fact that we sit around a table with other human beings.

Can America Become a Blue Zone?

I believe America can become healthier communities, but I am less certain that we can manufacture Blue Zones.

We can build safer sidewalks. We can create parks. We can improve access to healthy foods.

We can make neighborhoods more walkable. We can encourage people to exercise.

We can create opportunities for older people to remain socially connected.

We can design workplaces that reduce stress. We can make communities more friendly to families and seniors.

All of these things are worthwhile. But ultimately, the individual still has to participate.

A beautiful walking trail does not help someone who never leaves the house.

A healthy restaurant does not help someone who always chooses junk food.

A community center does not create friendship unless people walk through its doors.

Public policy can create opportunities. It cannot create motivation.

Perhaps We Have Been Asking the Wrong Question

Instead of asking: “Can we engineer people to live to 100?” Perhaps we should ask:

“Can we engineer communities where people have a better chance of living healthy, meaningful lives for as long as possible?”

That is a question I can answer with a much more enthusiastic yes.

We cannot control everything about aging. But we can influence many things.

We can move more. Eat sensibly. Maintain friendships. Stay mentally curious.

Have a purpose. Avoid unnecessary isolation. Continue learning.

And perhaps most importantly, remain engaged with life.

These lessons don't belong to Okinawa, Sardinia, Ikaria or Costa Rica.

They belong to all of humanity.

Longevity Is Not a Number

The Blue Zones phenomenon has taught me something that I believe is more important than the question of whether every centenarian statistic is perfectly accurate.

It has reminded the world that the way we live matters.

But I also believe we should resist turning longevity into another consumer product.

There is no magic diet. There is no guaranteed exercise program.

There is no neighborhood certification that can promise 100 years.

And there is certainly no substitute for good genes, good medical care and a little bit of luck.

Perhaps the best definition of successful aging is not reaching a particular birthday.

Perhaps it is reaching each birthday with enough health, curiosity, independence and purpose to appreciate the fact that we are still here.

At 91, I am still learning. I am still writing. I am still playing Bridge and Mahjong.

I am still curious about science, technology, history, politics, food and the world around me.

And I still have questions. Maybe that is my own little Blue Zone.

Not a geographical location. Not a certification. Not a business. But a way of living.

We may not be able to engineer longevity, but we can certainly engineer better environments for living, and we can make better choices about how we use the years that we have been given.

And perhaps, in the end, that is the real secret of the Blue Zones.

AI Impressions On this Posting: 

I think this topic works especially well for your worldwide readership because it connects your personal experience of aging at 91 with a much larger global question: What can societies do to help people age not merely longer, but better?

Moreover, This is a particularly interesting subject because it sits at the intersection of science, aging, public health, community design, and the modern wellness industry. I also think it fits naturally with your continuing reflections on growing older and what we can do to make the later years healthier and more meaningful.

I checked the recent scientific literature as well as the current Blue Zones movement. The evidence suggests that the original Blue Zone observations are worth taking seriously, but the leap from “these communities have unusual longevity” to “we can engineer longevity by buying a certification” deserves some skepticism. 

My Reel of the Day:

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1930433614289089

A Father Looks Back on a Decision, a Football Record, and What We Know Today

A Father Looks Back on a Decision, a Football Record, and What We Know Today

I read an article today that made me stop and think about something that happened many years ago when my youngest son, David III, was in high school.

The article was about chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a degenerative brain disease associated with repeated impacts to the head. The latest research on former NFL players is disturbing. Researchers recently reported that at least one in four former NFL players who died between 2016 and 2021 had CTE. The researchers examined donated brains and found CTE in 215 of 235 brains studied. They also emphasized that the 24.5% figure is a conservative estimate because not every former player donated a brain for examination.

As I read this, I immediately remembered my son David III.

"Over My Dead Body!"

When David III was in high school, he was a very athletic young man. Naturally, he became interested in playing football.

One day, the high school football coach approached my wife and asked for permission for David to play. My wife's immediate reaction was very clear:

"Over my dead body!"

She was afraid of exactly what we are talking about today, the possibility of a serious head injury.

At that time, we knew that football could be dangerous. We worried about concussions and broken bones. But our understanding of the long-term consequences of repeated blows to the head was nowhere near what it is today.

I understood my wife's concern. But I also knew our son.

David III was athletic, competitive and loved sports. I believed that with proper coaching, discipline and reasonable precautions, he should have the opportunity to play the sport he loved.

After some discussion, I eventually convinced my wife to allow him to play high school football. Looking back from 2026, I realize how difficult that decision really was.

The Decision Paid Off

David III did not merely play football. He excelled.

One of the most memorable moments of his high school football career came when he made an extraordinary running play. As I remember it, he ran approximately 90 feet with the football for a spectacular scoring run, helping him break his high school's record for the longest running-back scoring run.

For a father, moments like that are difficult to forget.

I can still remember the pride I felt watching my son demonstrate his athletic ability on the football field.

At that time, I was not thinking about CTE. I was thinking about a father watching his son succeed.

Finally, adding to our Peace of Mind, David III did not play College Football at UC Davis, in spite of what his High School Football coach said of him, as one of the best running back he had coached in his job as a high school Football Coach in the last couple of years.   

What We Know Today

Today, we understand much more about the potential consequences of repeated head impacts.

CTE is different from an ordinary concussion. Researchers believe that repeated blows to the head, including impacts that may not produce obvious concussion symptoms can contribute to the development of CTE over time. Boston University researchers have also found that the cumulative force of head impacts matters, not simply the number of years an athlete plays.

And this is particularly important for young athletes.

Some research has found evidence of CTE even among young amateur athletes who died before age 30. That does not mean that every young football player will develop CTE. But it does tell us that repeated head impacts deserve serious attention beginning at the youth level.

This is where today's parents face a difficult question. Should my child play tackle football?

I don't believe there is one answer for every family.

Helmets Are Important-But They Are Not Magic

One thing particularly caught my attention in the article I read.

We often think of the football helmet as the ultimate protection against head injury. But a helmet cannot make football completely safe.

The CDC says that a properly fitted football helmet can help protect athletes from the most serious types of head and brain injuries, but helmets are not currently designed to prevent concussions.

That distinction is very important. A helmet can protect the skull.

It cannot completely prevent the brain from moving inside the skull when the head is suddenly struck.

And that is one reason why today's conversation about football safety is becoming less about simply designing a better helmet and more about reducing the number and severity of head impacts in the first place.

Boston University researchers have specifically emphasized that changes in rules, equipment and practice habits need to extend beyond the NFL to college, high school and youth football.

Would I Make the Same Decision Today?

This is the question I asked myself while reading the article.

Would I have allowed David III to play football if I had known then what I know today?

Honestly, I don't know. Perhaps I would have had a much longer conversation with the coach.

Perhaps I would have asked more questions about the team's safety practices, how much contact occurred during practice, how concussions were handled, and how the coaching staff monitored head injuries.

Perhaps I would have encouraged him to consider another sport.

But I also know something else.

Parents don't raise children with the benefit of hindsight.

We make decisions based on the knowledge available to us at the time.

My wife was trying to protect her son.

I was trying to give our son an opportunity to pursue something he loved.

Neither of us was wrong.

We were simply two parents trying to make the best decision we could.

Football Has Given Us Great Memories

I still enjoy watching football. I have been a San Francisco 49ers fan for many years, and I still appreciate the athleticism, strategy, teamwork and excitement of the game.

But loving football does not mean that we have to ignore its dangers.

In fact, perhaps the best way to preserve the sport is to make it safer.

The NFL and other football organizations have introduced rule changes, reduced certain contact practices and experimented with additional protective equipment. These are positive steps, but researchers continue to emphasize that reducing repetitive head impacts is critical.

And parents have an important role. We should ask questions. We should listen to our children.

We should make sure coaches take head injuries seriously.

We should never encourage a young athlete to "shake it off" and return to play after a suspected concussion.

And perhaps most importantly, we should remember that no football game is more important than the brain of a young person.

A Father's Memory

Fortunately, when I think about David III's football career, I don't think about CTE.

I think about a young man running down a football field with the ball in his hands.

I think about the excitement of watching him score. I think about the record he broke.

And I remember the conversation that started it all, when the coach asked his mother for permission and my wife responded:

"Over my dead body!" Eventually, she changed her mind. And I am glad she did.

But reading today's research has given me a different perspective.

We were lucky to have made our decision at a time when David played, succeeded and came home safely. Today, parents have more information than we had.

That information should not necessarily make them afraid of sports. Rather, it should make them better informed parents.

Perhaps that is the real lesson from the CTE controversy.

We don't have to choose between loving football and protecting our children.

We simply have to keep asking: How can we make the game we love safer for the next generation?

As a father and now a grandfather and great-grandfather, I believe that is a question worth asking. And perhaps my wife's original reaction wasn't so unreasonable after all.

"Over my dead body!"

Sometimes a mother's instinct deserves a second look.

Personal Note: CTE is a complex area of ongoing research. The recent "one in four" finding refers specifically to an estimated minimum prevalence among former NFL players who died during 2016–2021; it does not mean that one in four living NFL players currently has CTE. CTE can presently be definitively diagnosed only through examination of brain tissue after death.

AI Impressions on this Posting:

This is a powerful topic because it combines a very current medical concern with one of your own most memorable experiences as a father. I would make the post less about condemning football and more about the difficult decision parents face when a talented child wants to play a sport he loves.

The latest study is especially striking: researchers found CTE in 215 of 235 donated brains from former NFL players who died between 2016 and 2021, producing a conservative estimate that at least 24.5% about one in four of all former NFL players who died during that period had CTE. Because CTE can currently be confirmed only after death, the researchers emphasize that this is a minimum estimate, not a measurement of all living NFL players