On December 2, I was one of the panelists for a seminar at Chicago’s Union League Club entitled” Charting Your Courses:  A Roadmap of Healthy and Happy Aging.” This was the eight of 10 sessions. The topic was Legacy. This is approximately what I said:

“At your memorial service, no one will be interested in how much money you earned, how big your house was or if you drove a Mercedes. Your Eulogy and Legacy will depend on what kind of life you led and the values you pass on to others by example, as a role model. Last week I attended my great granddaughter’s baptism. She represents the 6th generation of my family in which I have been influenced by or will influence; starting with my grandmother Mary born in 1875 who I shared by bedroom with until I was 10 (that’s the way it was done in the 1940’s), my mother Charlotte, me, my daughter Susan, her daughter Ellen and her daughter Charlotte who should live past the year 2100.  That is 225 years of ‘association of influence’ in my one lifetime.

There are values that have been passed down to me, which that I am hopefully passing on to my family’s future generations: Love, Compassion, Kindness, Empathy, Tolerance, Forgiveness, Honesty, Loyalty, Generosity, Gratefulness, Patience, Persistence, Resilience and a Sense of Humor.  I have also written a 5 page message to my grandchildren outlining my values called the ‘Eight Fold Way’ and I have written a one page message to be read at my Memorial Service titled ‘I’m dead, get on with your life.’

I am also trying to pass on my Legacy to the outer world. My father was an entrepreneur and taught me how to be an entrepreneur and write my own pay check by creating a business that would outlive me. My daughter Susan followed in my entrepreneurial footsteps and is now handing her business over to her daughter Ellen.  I have also use my entrepreneurial skills to create some new  non-profit advocacy organization. I am proudest of being one of the founders of IMBA (International Bicycling Assertion) and Friends of the Cook County Forest Preserve.

I am presently engaged in doing research and interviews worldwide about living longer and better with my friend of 50 years Bill Langelier. We are also having some fun by riding pedal assist trikes in the US and foreign countries. So far we have over 325 interviews from 19 countries and have posted them on our website called Tour de Longevity.com. Bill is actively applying what we have learned to the senior living facilities he owns in California. We are also applying what we have learned by writing a book about increasing lifespans and health spans and suggesting changes that lead to a healthier lifestyle.”

Carl M. Birkelbach