I spent the afternoon yesterday with an 88-year-old friend of mine who is writing her second book. I'm helping with the editing process. What a fascinating woman! I was at her house for three and a half hours, and the time flew by.

We got to talking about how she stays so active. Although she has some difficulty walking, she doesn't let that stop her from getting out everyday. She does crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, plays scrabble on her computer, and is generally known as the authority on anything to do with Saratoga Springs.

Her upstairs is like a museum with three rooms and a long hallway devoted to anything relating to our town. There are paintings, drawings, books, maps, old scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, magazines, postcards, souvenirs, photos–pretty much anything she can find that deals with Saratoga.


The amazing thing about her is the way she has organized everything. I asked her if she knew where everything is, and she was very confident that she did. I often feel I should be tape recording our conversations or at least take notes, as I'm afraid all that information will be lost when she is gone. But for now, she is hale and hearty, and I'm happy to be able to visit and learn from her.