You're A What?

Live moderately long enough and you're in your 60s. Keep going, and you're in your 70s. The concept is simple. Live long enough and the numbers get higher. They don't go back. Or do they?

Somewhere along the line in language there came to be designations, or names attached to people who got to be in their 70s: septuagenarians. Easy enough to understand. The beginning of the word denotes 7, sept in French. My guess is the -arian has something to do with being the person, or persons of.

There are octogenarians, people in their 80s, and nonagenarians, people in their 90s. There are centenarians, the few who enter the world of triple digits and are people over a 100.

People in their sixties? There is a word, now obsolete, and it should be: sexagenarians. No kidding. Considering that Viagra alone is a $1.8 billion drug for Pfizer, and is now being removed from Pharmacy Benefit Managers' formularies, there is no need to state the obvious. Sounds too much like bragging, anyway.

But nonagenarians? For people in their 90s? Sounds too much like non, not aging. rather than people who were alive during the Harding administration.

Latin of course comes into it, with a meaning, nonaginta, 90. Find someone who can teach Latin these days and you probably will find a nonagenarian.

Despite not being Irish, I do follow the NYT obituary pagers as if they were the sports pages. I have my favorite reporters, and notice trends, one of which is that as the deceased subject is up there in years, perhaps in their 90s or over 100, the byline tends to be written by Robert McFadden.

Anyone who knows anything about NYT reporters, knows McFadden is a legend, with water flowing ledes that nearly tell you the whole story in one paragraph. He's won a Pulitzer, and I suspect is retired, but perhaps not. You wouldn't know it if he is, anyway, because his byline keeps popping up. And what kind of story these days sees a McFadden byline? Obits.

I just had occasion to read more about the October 1972 New York City police sweep that served over 300 subpoenas on mob members and suspected corrupt police officers that was the result of a bug planted in a trailer in a junkyard. The detective who was instrumental in being undercover in that operation-- Gold Bug--just passed away.

There were two bylines about the raid, top story, upper right hand corner in the then eight column paper. Sylvan Fox, and Robert D. McFadden, who was the police, crime reporter then. 2015 back to at least 1972, and McFadden's name pops up. That's a lot of territory under someone's SEND button.

At this point in his career, Robert McFadden certainly seems to get the 90 and up crowd who passes away. This was noted in a prior posting, and has remained true. As the advance obit pool bobs up with newly deceased, those that have achieved 90 or over seem to have the distinction of having their sendoff with Mr. McFadden's byline.

He doesn't get all the 90 plus obits. Sam Roberts, new to the obituary page, has been spotted with what seems like a disproportionate share of nonagenarians. But I wonder if those are deadline obits, or advance ones. It would seem Mr. Roberts hasn't been associated with the obit section long enough to have nonagenarians pop up from the crypt.

Consider the recent lineup of deceased and their ages that have lately gotten the McFadden sendoff. There are some centenarians in here; the youngest is an octogenarian who didn't quite cross the next threshold.

In newest first chronological order:

• Frances Kelsey, 101 Dies; Exposed Dangerous Drug

This is the woman in the FDA who but the brakes on distribution of the Thalidomide drug being approved in this country. It was proven to be a cause of severe birth defects. My own youngster memory of Thalidomide was that there was a woman in Arizona, I think who was pregnant, had taken the drug (samples were distributed) and now wanted an abortion because of the expected birth defects. We were not a country that allowed legal abortions at the time, and I think she went to Sweden to have one done. Very big news at the time.

Dr. Kelsey went back to the Woodrow Wilson administration.

• Richard S. Schweiker, 89; Former Senator and Reagan Confidant
• Dr. Forest Bird, Inventor of Medical Respirators and Ventilators, 94

Dr. Bird was also an aviator, who learned to fly from his WW I flying father. As a youngster, Dr. had met Orville Wright. Imagine, someone alive only a few weeks ago who could tell you about meeting one of the Wright brothers!

• Nicholas Winton, 106, Rescuer of 669 Children from the Holocaust

Mr. Winton, A Briton, was born in 1909 when King Edward VII was king, the son of Queen Victoria.
That goes back more than just a bit.

• Mario Biaggi, 97, Popular Bronx Congressman Who Went to Prison

John F. Hylan was New York City's mayor when Mr. Biaggi was born.

I recently had occasion to send someone a birthday card to congratulate them on becoming a nonagenarian. Will they get a McFadden byline in the Times? No idea. Even if they don't, they won't be less than 90, born when Calvin Coolidge was president.

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