One hundred two!

My aunt Marcella turned 102 years old last Friday. She did it with her usual style—enthusiastic and saucy. I wasn’t there but the reports via the family email list has it that when she went to the doctor’s a few weeks ago, she told him she didn’t want to take any more pills. She wanted to die. Life had been no fun for her for many months. She had pneumonia after I visited her in December, was in the hospital for a couple of weeks, and miraculously recovered. But never felt well after that, slept a lot and was very uncomfortable. So the doctor took her off all but one pill. And she recovered her spunk and sass, stopped sleeping so much and began talking to people and eating more.

So her 102nd birthday party was a big celebration. As described in the family email from a cousin (with a little editing from me):

Well, our beloved Marcella has reached the awe-inspiring age of 102! Some of us (those living in the area) gathered in her apartment for a little party, which she prepared for all week -- Sylvia got a hairdresser to come and cut her hair, do her nails, etc. We each brought some "nosh", Rob brought the most delicious chocolate almond cake I think all of us ever had, and Herb and I brought three bottles of champagne -- but the piece de resistance was Jonathan, who managed to get the Knickerbocker restaurant downstairs (who doesn't do take out) to sell him 1 dozen clams on the half shell complete with fresh lemon and cocktail sauce. Marcella didn't even wait until everyone had gotten there, but sat down and immediately consumed EIGHT of them in about 1/2 hour!!! It was truly an inspiring sight for those of us who saw her so weak and frail as much as three weeks ago... She also sampled each of the other hors d'oeuvres, drank at least two glasses of champagne, and when the time came, consumed 2 small pieces of her birthday cake! Of course, with all this commotion, Marcella passed out cold about 1-1/2 hours into her party...dead asleep... She was so happy to see everyone, and when she kept asking "what did I ever do to deserve all this?" we all kept telling her she gave us all love. And that's the truth!