I PUT A PITCHFORK THROUGH MY FOOT (YES, REALLY)
HOW TO LIVE TO 99
BETTY WHITE’S SECRETS OF LONGEVITY
Beloved “Golden Girls” actress Betty White is still enjoying her golden years. The famed actress celebrated her 99th birthday this January. While she told People magazine that she’s “blessed with good health, so turning 99 is no different than turning 98,” she also had a few tips for folks looking to make it to their centennial birthday. KEEP LAUGHING “Don’t take yourself too seriously,” White says. “You can lie to others — not that I would — but you cannot lie to yourself.” White has undoubtedly provided many laughs to viewers over the years, but she’s not just playing it up for the camera. Laughter is part of what keeps her young. BE OPTIMISTIC White says a good sense of humor also helps her keep a good attitude and look for the positive rather than “dwelling on the downside.” Avoiding negativity also gives her energy. “It takes up too much energy being negative,” she told People magazine. STAY BUSY With nearly eight decades of acting under her belt, six Emmys on her shelf, and over 120 screen credits to her name, White is no stranger to hard work. As she told Parade in 2018, “I just love to work, so I’ll keep working until they stop asking.” EXERCISE YOUR MIND In addition to her busy work schedule, what keeps Betty White sharp? Crossword puzzles! She told Katie Couric in an interview, “I’m addicted. An admitted addict. I just can’t put ’em down.” FIND A CAUSE White is a lifelong animal lover. She calls her golden retriever, Pontiac, “the star of the house.” While pet ownership itself comes with proven health benefits, White has channeled her love for animals in bigger causes. She’s been a trustee and board member of the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association for over 40 years and has done work to help protect endangered species in the wild. Funds raised from White’s official fan club, Bet’s Pets, all go to support animal charities. EMBRACE YOUR VICES White told Parade she loves vodka and hot dogs “probably in that order,” which just goes to show that you don’t have to forgo your treats to live to 99.
As I said on Page 1, I wouldn’t trade my summer jobs for anything, but the manual labor did have one downside: It was dangerous. One summer, while working for a landscaping company, I found that out the hard way. I was exhausted after a day of raking and digging. I had a pitchfork in my hand and needed to put it down. In my weary state, I tried to stab it upright into the ground but I accidentally skewered my middle toe! The tines went all the way through my boot. Luckily, they just caught the side of my toe, so there was blood but it wasn’t disastrous. It also wasn’t the worst accident I witnessed at a summer job. When I worked the overnight shift at a local chemical plant making sheets of plastic film, one of my coworkers tossed the sharp end of a film roll into the recycling bin with too much force. It caused another roll to bounce out and hit him in the face! It sliced his cheek open and he had to have stitches. Workplace accidents are common in manual labor jobs like factory work, landscaping, and construction. When you’re injured in this kind of accident, you can be eligible for workers’ compensation, which will pay for your medical bills and missed wages while you recover. Here at The Mottley Law Firm, we regularly get calls from our clients about these claims. Our team doesn’t handle workers’ compensation cases personally, but we still appreciate those calls. We have great relationships with other lawyers who do specialize in workers’ compensation, and we’re always happy to connect our clients with them. Sometimes, we even end up working hand-in-hand with those lawyers on workers’ compensation cases that also include a secondary personal injury case. If a third-party person or company (not your employer) is the one who hurt you at work, you can pursue a case against them separately. Our firm will team up with your workers’ compensation attorney to help you with both cases. If you’ve been injured on the job and think you might have a workers’ compensation case, please call our office. We’ll take a look at the situation and point you in the right direction.
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