Here’s the secret to living to the outlandish old age of 109: Eat bacon and read The Gazette every day.
That’s how Jettie Grimes of Calhan starts each day. (She didn’t want me to take her picture because she didn’t have her lipstick on.)
The U.S. Census should have some fun with Jettie. Not that they will, but they should. I couldn’t find anything about centenarians on the Census website. Their charts only go to: Percent of the population 85 and older.
Heck, Jettie is old enough to have kids who are 85 and older. (But she and her husband, Bryan, didn’t have any children.)
Here are the some Census percentage stats of the 85-plus set.
The U.S. average is 1.9 percent of the population in that bracket.
Florida and North Dakota are tied at the top, at 2.8 percent. Florida, sure… but North Dakota – who’d a thunk that!
Even stranger: South Dakota is ahead of Hawaii, 2.6 to 2.5.
Jettie’s homestate of Missouri ranks 13th, with 2.1 percent.
Colorado ranks 46th (tied with Texas) with only 1.4 percent who are 85 and beyond.
Alaska is last, at 0.7 percent. No surprise there. If I make it to 85, I’m moving to North or South Dakota. Or maybe I should move there now to increase my chances of making it to 85.
Most people don’t make it to be a centenarian, 100 years. Of those who do, most don’t make it to be a supercentenarian, the term for a person 110 or more.
“I don’t know if I’ll make it to be a superlady,” Jettie told me.
Sure you can, Jettie. Keep eating bacon and reading The Gazette.
Click here for the census chart or go to: http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-_box_head_nbr=GCT-T5-R&-ds_name=PEP_2008_EST&-format=U-40Sd.
Click here to see state map or go to: http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ThematicMapFramesetServlet?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-tm_name=ACS_2008_3YR_G00_M00624&-ds_name=ACS_2008_3YR_G00_&-_MapEvent=displayBy&-_dBy=040#?237,265
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Matt can often be seen walking around Acacia Park with two little terriers wearing cute matching jackets (the dogs, that is – Matt always wears the same
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