The Oldest Old: Will You Live to Age 95?

My grandfather turned 95 today. His sister lived to age 95. What was in the Polish drinking water from their youth? Relatively few blogs written by economists talk about their families. Maybe the families are boring? Or maybe the opposite? Could the family be so strange that we want to hide the family secrets from our academic friends and rivals?

My grandfather was a shoe salesman. He was a high energy, charming guy who could talk anybody into buying another pair of shoes. When I was a kid, the first thing he would do when he saw me was to pinch my toe to see if I needed bigger shoes.

He held a funny asset portfolio. He never bought a house but made some money in the stock market. He has spent his life in Queens, New York as the planes fly over head and a thousand immigrant languages are spoken on the streets.

My grandfather officiated at our wedding in May 1998 at the Harvard Faculty Club. Dora and I aren't religious. Dora suggested that my grandfather could lead the wedding event. In Massachusetts a person can receive a one day license to marry other people. My father had to write a recommendation letter for his father to attest that Grandpa Harry had a good character. My grandfather believed that his power to marry people lasted for more than 1 day and pertained to any state he lived in.

My son Alex is partially named after my Granpda Harry. Alex is Alexander Harry Costa Kahn. We wanted to give him the option as a teenager to recreate himself and become Harry Costa rather than living his life as Alex Kahn.

I am very proud of my grandfather today. My father told me that his father was simply relieved to not have turned 100 today because "100 is very old".