When Evelyn Taylor stooped down to pick up the newspaper in front of her Manhattan apartment one morning last year, she suddenly fell to the ground and couldn’t get up. Luckily, a friend who was visiting called for an ambulance. The next day, Evelyn had extensive surgery on a broken bone near her femur, followed by an arduous stint at a rehabilitation facility.
This normally wouldn’t be an especially intriguing lead for a story, but when you consider that Evelyn celebrated her 95th birthday this past weekend, her fall and surgery–at 94–take on new meaning.
“Most people your age wouldn’t survive a situation like this, let alone walk again,” Evelyn remembers her doctor saying. Evelyn didn’t only survive; she fully returned to her engaged life, looking as beautiful as ever, and acting every bit as charming.
I was thrilled to be invited to Evelyn’s 95th birthday party because Douglas, my good friend (and ex husband), leads weekly current event discussion sessions that Evelyn rarely fails to attend.
“Ev brings new life to that old adage, ‘age is only a number,’” Douglas said. “At 95, she’s a paragon of energy and enthusiasm. It’s also worth noting that she is a doyenne of style, grace, and yes–beauty. Her wardrobe and accessories would suit someone half her years, and yet she carries them off most appropriately.
“Evelyn seems disinterested in what most of us would classify as old age, and—as her many friends would attest—she wants to remain a very active and interested member of society. Simply put, her attitude and appearance belie her years, and set an example for that substantial number of us who so admire her,” Douglas added.
