::::::::::::: E Street :::::::::::::
Nancy Perry Graham
Editor, AARP THE MAGAZINE
aarpmagazine@aarp.org
A French Connection
If, bored by bad news, you’re in the market for a
silver lining, here’s a tale that proves life can turn
on a dime—or a French baguette, as the case may be.
True story: Just last year my
devoutly single friend (and AARP
THE MAGAZINE contributor) Judith
Reitman met the love of her life
standing in line at the boulangerie in
Gréoux-les-Bains, a medieval “village
of flowers” in Provence, France.
Judith, a born New Yorker, had moved
to the south of France in 2008 after
writing a travel story for this maga-
zine, prophetically titled “Follow Your
Dreams (for Next to Nothing).”
Love wasn’t in the air that day, says
Judith. “I just wanted a baguette.” But
suddenly two “astonishingly beauti-
ful children” flung themselves on her
dogs, Sammy and Romeo. “The kids
said, in French, of course, ‘Papa, can
we take a walk with them?’ ” recalls
Judith. “I was delighted, turned
around, and there was Freddy.”
“Freddy” is Frederic Texier, a
39-year-old Frenchman of noble
roots. And on December 17, Freddy
and Judith—who will only say that
she is “approximativement nine years
en plus” than Freddy (translation:
there’s an age difference)—braved
a blizzard to tie the knot in Darien,
Connecticut. Their reception was
complete with champagne, white
roses, and a traditional, three-tiered
French wedding cake. “I knew that
life as an expatriate can have signifi-
cant challenges. And I worried about
our age difference, which was irrel-
evant to Freddy,” admits Judith, who
became an insta-mom to two spirited
kids. “But life is short, love is rare,
and the only certainty is change.”
Indeed, this issue of the magazine
is a tribute to the unexpected sur-
A VIR TUAL TRIP TO GREECE
In four regions of the world—
dubbed Blue Zones—people
live vital lives into their 90s
and beyond. Now scientists
have found a fifth Blue Zone
on a Greek Island, which you
can explore online. On April
20 you can join a two- week
interactive expedition to
discover the secrets of these
people who forget to die—
at least during the first 100
years of life. Go to aarpmaga
zine.org/longevityquest.
FAIRY-TALE
ENDING… When
Judith house-sat
a French farm for
a story, the owner
warned: “Don’t
fall in love with a
Frenchman!”
prises of life and the resilience of the
human spirit. There’s Dolly Parton,
who grew up in a home with no
electricity or running water, to
become a wildly successful country
star (page 38). There’s Stump (okay,
not human, but bear with me), who at
age ten became the oldest dog to win
“Best in Show” at the Westminster
dog show (page 13).
And finally, there is US Airways’
hero pilot, Captain Chesley “Sully”
Sullenberger III, 58, who inspired
our tribute to six other older Americans (see “Wisdom of the Elders,”
page 52) who have transformed people’s lives. Sully’s incredible water
landing woke the world to the value
of age and experience. As one survivor of the Miracle on the Hudson
says, “Fly with gray-haired pilots!”
