Zenobia Carey, 101, shares memories

Life is a series of storms and rainbows, sunshine and rain.   And for 101-year-old Zenobia Carey, born on August 25, 1906, life has  been a journey of ups and downsbut through it all, the  great-grandmother continues to keep on smiling.
In her 100-plus years  of living, Carey has witnessed monumental changes and she has loved  every minute of it.
Carey and her husband lived in Omaha, Nebraska in  the 20s, where her husband, a postman, also ran a small store called  the Neighborhood Grocery.  Carey recalls that one of the customers who  used to wander in was a little boy dressed in shabby clothes.
His  name was Malcolm Little, recalls Carey, who said that Malcolm Little  would emerge as a household name as Malcolm X. He lived a half block  from our store.  His mother didnt have much money to feed the family. I  remember Malcolm wandering into the store and trading in discarded pop  and milk bottles.  He used to cash them in for food.  At the time, I  believe he was only five or six years old.
Carey said she was  stunned when years later, she realized that the poor little boy who  traded in bottles for pennies had grown up to be Malcolm X.  I had no  idea that he would become such a historical figure that he did,  marveled Carey.
The promise of new beginnings spurred the Carey  family to move from Omaha, Nebraska to Los Angeles in 1940 with their  three small children.  My husband was a brilliant man who always  provided for the family, but he would have sick  spellshe suffered from  asthmaand I realized that I would be responsible for the children if  he passed.  We had a big fight about it, said the feisty mother, who  graduated from Lincoln University in Missouri with a degree in chemistry  in 1924. He just wouldnt accept the idea of his wife working because  married women usually didnt work in the 40s, so we got a divorce.
The  dissolution of the marriage didnt dampen Careys spirits.  While she  was raising her three children, Aleasta, Marilyn and Levi John Carey,  she acquired three teaching credentialsand taught in Los Angeles  schools for over 18 years, later becoming a school counselor.
Perhaps  the seeds of Careys determination were planted as a child.  When I  was growing up–back in 1914, 1915there were few opportunities for  blacks.  The top jobs for black men were working for the railroad as  dining car waiters.
Carey said that she saw the birth of many  technological miracles as a child.  I can remember the first car I  ever saw, she said.  A doctor came to the house and parked this big,  beautiful car.  I dont remember what make it was, but I recall it had  leather straps attached from the hood to the body.  I also remember the  first airplane I ever sawI looked up and it was flying over the  neighborhood where I lived.  It seemed to disappear into space.
The  great-grandmother, who attends Holman United Methodist Church, recalls  that she would never forget hearing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at  another church at 4th and Vernon Avenues in 1961. That church is now  Bryant Temple.  Martin had been leading the marches all over the country  and the whites were putting out a lot of propaganda against him, but I  wanted to see him because Martin was fighting for freedom for blacks.  I  recall that he was very low key that Sundayhis voice was very soft.  I  dont remember what he talked about that day–his speech or sermon was  mostly religious.  But after he was assassinated, I thought about how  soft-spoken he had been that day.  Now that I think back, I imagined  that he was probably concerned because hed heard that people wanted to  kill him.
Still spry and vibrant, Carey said that one of her  favorite pastimes is reading.  Right now, Im reading a book on  Condeleeza Rice, said Carey.  Shes quite a woman.  I also participate  in a bridge club, and I like to go out in the yard and tinker around  with the plants.  I have a yard full of flowersorchids, roses, and  daises.  But I dont get around by myself too much anymore, said Carey,  who added that her daughter and her caretaker help her with chores.  I  have a touch of arthritis.
When asked if she had a philosophy of  life, Carey, who has four grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren,  said it was important to Serve something or someone.  I picked up that  philosophy  just from living.  I realized as I grew older that we have  to serve, that our life is not fully our own.  Its important to give  serviceand I taught my children that, too.
As for living to the  ripe old age of 101, Carey said she considers herself lucky. Age never  did bother me, I just dont think about it.  I just never had illnesses,  Ive never been sick, Carey reflected.  Ive had colds and  tonsillitis, and I have a little arthritis, but thats been the extent  of my illnesses.
With the presidential race looming, Carey said she  is thrilled that a black man, Illinois Senator Barak Obama, is a  front-runner for the Democratic bid.  Im so happy to see a black  person reach that stageand Obama has so much intelligence I think hed  make a great president.  If  Obama wins, Ill be the happiest person in  the world.