According to the Chicago Tribune, on February 21, 1995, Jeanne Calment of Arles, France, celebrated her 120th birthday. She was verifiably the oldest person in the world and had become somewhat of a celebrity in France. France’s minister of health came to her birthday party. Three books had been written about her.

Medical scientists have researched her life to try to discover the secret of her longevity. They found that for years she ate two pounds of chocolate a week. She smoked moderately until age 117. She cooked with olive oil. She took vigorous walks and even rode her bike through the streets of Arles until she was 100.

At age 110 she said with good humor, “I had to wait 110 years to become famous. I intend to enjoy it as long as possible.”

But by age 120 she was confined to a wheelchair. “I see badly,” she said, “I hear badly, I can’t feel anything, but everything’s fine.”

Someone asked Calment what kind of future she expected. Still displaying her good humor, she replied, “A very short one.”

She speaks for us all. Even if we are young and have a hundred years to live, the body has limits, and even a long life is short.