[Jackie07]

When I read about how 'calorie restriction' prolongs life in mice experiements, I went 'Ah-ha!' because both Mother and Fahter have/had followed the practice.

Mother became a vegetarian after she had turned 60. It's a common practice for Buddhists to avoid 'killing' living creatures. She dropped 20 lbs and was slim and fit because she also practiced certain traditional exercise/western folk dance... She resumed normal diet after being diagnosed with NHL 14 years ago and will turn 89 late summer.

Father had always been lean and fit. He followed the Chinese 'mandarin' tradition which promotes self-discipline. When he gained weight while trying to quit smoking (eating chocolate as substitute), he abandoned the idea of quitting the habit he had picked up during the War. Instead, he gradually reduced the number of cigarettes and stayed with 4 a day (1 cigarette after each meal and before turning in). I was just told that he had completely quit the smoking habit about 12-15 years ago.

Father does have longivity genes - evidenced by his 7th Uncle who had lived to 99. [7 Uncle was a railroad engineer and was mistreated by the Chinese Communist because he had refused to join the Communist Party (they had hoped he would set a 'good example' for his kinfolks/neighbors/colleague)] He also practiced calorie restriction - following traditional Chinese teachings.

He never indulged himself and always reminded us the harm of 'over-sleeping', 'over-eating', 'over-joyful'...

Father had an 'innocent' flair of him - very straight-ward. He did not think 'flattering', 'painting a rosy picture', or 'putting on air' would do anybody any good. He does not believe in 'good-luck' - the 'General' put Father's regiment around the headquarter because Father had been known to be the lucky commander. While the other platoon had lost every soldier but 3 wounded ones in the very first battle (being ambushed when they were stepping off the airplane), the platoon led by Father only had three slightly wounded. No, it's not 'good-luck'. Father knew it, as did his superiors. Father had trained/drilled his soldiers well because he's the type that followed the book, followed his training, and followed good instinct.

And that's what he believed in raising kids. He had always stressed how we needed to be well prepared for life. He believed in hard work! He didn't believe in 'luck' because everything he had had, he had earned it himself!

[My Father-in-law, also a WWII veteran but 9 years younger than Father, has similar notion. It's amazing how much they are alike coming from the opposite sides of the Globe and of totally different cultures... But they both came from a poor region/background; both fought in WWII, both had worked as teacher/principal...]