This is Masuda-san who lives immediately next door. She’s 97 years old and surprisingly active. I see her walking to the supermarket all the time. She grows a lot of plants and recently gave me some decorative peppers in a pot. She said she was getting too old to take care of them all. I put the pot on my 3rd floor veranda and they’s been doing well, following her directions.

A bit over a year ago she got her first smartphone, an Android, and I helped her set it up and she caught on right away.

The sad news is that her husband, who was 100 years old, passed away last week. Just the day before that I met her while she was on her way to the corner grocers to see if she could find anything he would eat. She said he had lost his appetite. The next day I saw family cars in front of her place, and guessed what had happened. Fortunately she has four children and an extended family who live nearby. They have been coming over to help.

Today, on my way back from Pao’s walk, I found her in front of her house and we chatted for a while. She said that of course it feels lonely. She still goes to where he sat to let him know when meals are ready. Next year she’ll decide more about what to do. Maybe one of her daughters will move in. It’s undecided now.

I asked her how long they had been married. She said it was 67 years. She got married when she was 29 years old. I said I’d love to see photos from that time, and she said she will be putting them together.

Then I asked her how she and her husband met. She paused. Then laughed. And replied, “It’s a secret! Let’s just say we were a good match!” And she blushed!

I think people who reach her age and are still healthy are, by their inner nature, good people. You never hear her complaining. She is friendly towards everybody. Whenever there was a problem – for example one my air-conditioners was leaking water between our houses – she told me about it in the nicest way possible and was happy when I got it fixed quickly. People like her are a pleasure to live close to.

I hope we remain neighbors for a long time.