Yolo Hospice: Well-worn wisdom from a 95-year-old
Verne Mendel is within spitting distance of a 100th birthday. At 95-plus, he likes to recall some decades-old advice that he heard from one of his former university students in the 1970s. With a smirk on his face and a glint in his eye he says, “Life is hard by the yard, but it’s a cinch by the inch.”
Nobody understands that counsel better than Mendel. After growing up in a tiny and isolated town during the depression, serving in the infantry during World War II, suffering a long string of losses, and maneuvering through the hazards and hopes that come with a life that spans nearly 10 decades, he still continues to live life day-by-day.