Massachusetts drivers and a love story

The two topics mentioned in the title of this post are unrelated, but I don't feel like making separate posts for them, so you'll all have to deal with it. I'll cover the love story first because I have no clue what attention spans I'm dealing with here, and that story is cuter and better than my rant about driving in Mass.

A while ago on the news, I saw a story about this little old couple who had been married 74 years. Both the husband and wife seemed to be quite mobile and lucid for people who, at minimum, were in their very late 80s. Then, I recently saw a Reuters Oddly Enough article about a Japanese couple claiming that they, not Herbert and Magda Brown, are the world's oldest couple. Somehow, the Browns caught my attention, and I assumed they were the couple featured in the previous news piece. Googling the Browns confirmed my suspicions. Herbert and Magda are 105 and 100 years old, respectively. They were born in Austria and married in 1930. In 1938, the couple became victims of the Nazis. Their valuables were stolen, and Herbert was sent to Dachau. With the help of some local Christians and a Jewish charity, Magda raised enough money to release Herbert from the camp. From that point on, Herbert was forced to report to a government office each day. On one day, he came face to face with Eichmann. Soon after that, the couple fled to England. They emigrated to the US in 1940. Today, the two share a one-bedroom apartment in an assisted-living complex in Philadelphia. Magda still puts on all her makeup and even wears pearls each day. Herbert's hearing is failing, and he has suffered through melanoma, but he is content. Asked the secret of longevity, Magda responded, "You have to be happy all the time. Think of life as you want it to be." Those are good words to live by. You can read a longer version of this story here.

Now for the rant. I believe the drivers of Massachusetts have narrowly edged out those of South Carolina for the distinction of worst drivers in the states I've visited. They are not slow, but they are likely to move erratically at any moment. They seem to have a natural aversion to turn signals. They make parking lots scary and dangerous places. They occasionally stop and say via body language "Why aren't you going?" when you are the one with the stop sign. There are more qualities that are simply indescribable. You'd have to witness them for yourself. So if you have to go to Mass. sometime soon, keep an eye out for these weirdos, and look out for the cops on the Turnpike.