HEART OF STEELE
Papa Jake greets fairgoers during the opening ceremony of the Steele County Free Fair on Aug. 15. Staff photo by Rick Bussler
According to a Boston University study, the number of U.S. centenarians has doubled over the past 20 years.
These hardy folks “are models of aging well” who “markedly delay disability towards the end of their very long lives, at an average age of ~93 years.” In other words, they maintain a high quality of life until the very end.
“Papa Jake” Larson, the social media sensation honored during the Steele County Free Fair, is living proof. As he told those of us gathered to listen to him speak on Friday, “I don’t have a pain anywhere in my body!”
He did admit to having 11 stents placed and still experiencing mild effects of a severe stroke in his 70s. But that didn’t stop him from flying across the country and enjoying every day of the fair.
Larson’s physical condition is just part of the story, though. He plucked stories out of his memory like they’d happened yesterday: growing up on a Steele County farm, lying about his age to join the National Guard, finessing some paperwork to get a longer-than-authorized leave from the service.
His stories about the realities of combat, though, held all of us captive. Not even a paper rustled as he shared the horrifying experience of asking a buddy for a match, only to turn and find the soldier’s head blown away. Or his narrow escape from shrapnel dropping out of the sky.
It was yet another reminder, as Papa Jake said, that war is hell and that those who serve deserve our gratitude and our care and concern.
In a world where so many stories are packaged into social media posts or 2-minute videos, Papa Jake held our attention for the better part of an hour. And one part of this precious conversation really stuck with me.
While being 100 was wonderful, he said, “I don’t have anybody who grew up with me. I have their relatives. It gets lonesome up here for your friends.”
All our elders–but especially those who have outlived spouses, friends, siblings, and others around their age–need us to listen to their stories. And as was evidenced by the standing ovation Papa Jake received, we benefit greatly from listening to them.