A 100-year-old driving a white Ford Mustang in Atlanta traffic does not sound like the best idea.
But Barbara Haig is no average centenarian, and the way she lives her life can teach people of all ages plenty — both on and off the roads.
Haig turned 100 on Aug. 28, enjoying a week of celebrations capped by a big party at Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church, where she has attended since 1960. Her road to the century mark has, by choice, taken far more turns than the average Southern church lady’s.
Years ago, as two single women in their 40s, Haig and her Sunday school classmate decided they would start traveling frequently.
“To all seven continents, and to all 50 states, and to more than 75 countries,” Haig said in a recent interview.
She spoke to me recently in the dining room of her Cross Creek condo, which overlooks the same-named golf course. Three poster boards with pictures from her life, mostly of travel, flank us on the table. It is a vibrant, visual bucket list in 2-D.
Credit: Doug Turnbull
Credit: Doug Turnbull
Haig and her friend stayed in the U.S. on their initial trips but eventually branched out internationally. The fjords of Norway, she recalled, were the most beautiful sights she saw. But she said Russia and China, lands so mysterious, were the most unique. She went to China soon after travel from the U.S. was allowed.
While they did much of their travel on their own, Haig and company did book a senior citizen group trip for their Antarctica sojourn.
They also drove in many of the places they visited, including, as Haig put it, on the “wrong” side of the road in Australia.
Her open but laid-back approach to travel is a guidebook for how she handles life. She recalled a Grand Canyon trip where conditions did not appear to allow her and her friend to drive to a popular overlook. But she remembered how she shrugged her shoulders and basically said, “If it’s not meant to be, it’s not.” They later drove to the site and received another beautiful payoff from God’s creation.
Haig’s travel schedule slowed upon her friend’s passing 20 years ago, but the globe-trotter still later rode an elephant in Cambodia and took a trip to Israel.
She also waited until her mid-60s to pick up another exhilarating hobby: water skiing. She stayed on skis until age 94, saying her cardiologist urged her to hang them up after a heart valve replacement surgery.
Credit: Doug Turnbull
Credit: Doug Turnbull
She has driven convertibles for decades, adding to the rich story that reads nothing like its petite cover. When Haig switched to a less sporty auto a few years ago, her fixed-top days did not last long.
“In the spring, I’d see other people driving around in convertibles with the top down. And I said, ‘I gotta have another girl,’” she said.
Haig drove me on some slow laps around her parking lot, the radio still fixed on The Fan, where she has enjoyed listening to her (our) Atlanta Braves. She is careful and confident and knows her limitations. She does not drive at night, has family and friends constantly checking on her and limits interstate driving.
“I just try to take care of myself.” Haig added: “I haven’t been afraid of driving, but I try to be careful.”
Obedient, respectful, but not scared. That seems to be her life mantra, as the bumper sticker on her Mustang reads, “If it’s not fun why do it?”
Credit: Doug Turnbull
Credit: Doug Turnbull
That is not some reckless creed. It is simply a way to filter out the detritus that weighs us down and to find reasons to say yes to life-giving things.
Haig does not think she did anything special by turning 100. She has no special diet. She stays active by volunteering in respite care three days a week at her church and has taught Sunday school for 50 years.
But Haig offers one more piece of wisdom for people of all ages, including those behind the wheel: “I don’t worry about things. So when things come up, I can’t change them, you know?”
That is one thing we should repeat as we hit a traffic jam we did not cause or get stuck behind a slowpoke in the fast lane. That clenched-up angst makes people drive worse and can take valuable time off our precious lives.
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Doug Turnbull covers the traffic/transportation beat for WXIA-TV (11Alive) with Rachel Cox-Rosen. Their reports appear on the 11Alive Morning News from 6-9 a.m. and on 11alive.com. Email Doug at dturnbull@11alive.com. Subscribe to the weekly “Gridlock Guy” newsletter for the column here.
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