In 2022, when Eileen Lavine was 97, she wrote her life story. “A Medley of Extemporanea,” she called it, after a line in the sardonic Dorothy Parker poem about life’s unpredictability.
A journalist to this day, Lavine has reported for papers in Massachusetts, worked at The New York Times and in public relations, written radio scripts, and served as an editor for Better Times. Now 101 and a half years old, Lavine still leads a robust if slightly slower life. She recently shared some of her longevity tips with TODAY.com.
Every morning, in an apartment where she lives alone, Lavine prepares her breakfast — Raisin Bran, orange juice, bread with cream cheese and jelly, and a cup of coffee. Then, Lavine reads the day’s edition of The New York Times and The Washington Post, which she gets delivered every day. Next, she makes her way through that week’s New Yorker. She’ll complete the crossword before shifting to her inbox for the collection of Substack newsletters she subscribes to. On a different browser tab is the latest from ProPublica, Columbia Journalism Review and The Hill.
At night, Lavine makes time for television — gameshows to be exact. She watches “25 Words or Less” and “Jeopardy!,” which has long been a family affair.
She attributes keeping her mind sharp and a sense of community to being healthy and happy at her advanced age.
“I keep reading stories about widows and loneliness,” Lavine writes in her memoir. “But I guess because I still enjoy a lot, I have enough to keep me busy. I’ve never really felt lonely!”
Lavine and her husband would play bridge with friends. After his death in 2014, she continued the tradition. “My neighbors come to me in my apartment, and we play in my second bedroom,” she writes.
On Thursday nights, she plays poker. And when her children come over in the afternoon, they’ll watch the latest British spy thriller available on streaming platforms — after “Jeopardy!” of course.
Lavine’s daughter describes her mother’s friends as multigenerational. Family members, she says, visit regularly and that “also keeps her really, really sharp.” And anyone who can’t come by in person, Lavine will keep up with via email.
At the end of her book’s epilogue, Lavine writes: “It’s been amazing to look back on it all.”
