Two little dogs yip and yap at the front door. In the dining room small train tracks laid out on the room table indicate a project underway. An unused walker stands nearby.
It’s an active household for a man who turns 100 on Sunday, Oct. 23.
“I’m the dog sitter,” explains John Bell, shooing Heidi and Mocha toward the living room.
At 100 he keeps active.
“I get up and look outside. Then I read the obituaries to see if it’s got John Bell in it. And if they haven’t, I’ve got it made,” he said with a laugh.
“I live on humour, you have to have a positive outlook on everything … there’s a time and a place for serious. I don’t care if they laugh at me or with me, as long as they laugh.”
Bell has lived in Sidney for nine years, after spending his working life as a plan checker in Edmonton.
“That was a real good job,” he said. “I’d like to still work, but nobody will listen to me at 100 years of age, even if I did it for free.”
So his days are spent dog sitting, hanging out with friends at the Mount Newton Centre and of course there’s the electric train project set for this winter. The eldest of seven boys and one girl, Bell also spends time typing out his storied history on the top-of-the-line computer he got for his 99th birthday. They include memories of Victoria during the Depression and as a teen working as a news agent on the Canadian National Railway.
Bell’s hit a healthy 100; he doesn’t wear glasses or hearing aids, and keeps the walker handy only because others prefer it.
“I choose to not drive, but I keep my license,” he said.
Bell opts to tool around town in a little red hardtop scooter.
“I wanted to get a rumble seat on it in case I get a girlfriend,” he said, with a quick turn to sombre.
Eva, his wife of 73 years, died in March.
“She was a wonderful woman … best person I ever met,” he said. “Best looking woman I’ve ever seen.”
With three children, five grandchildren (“and my grandson’s a grandfather”), the 100th birthday party should be a bash. A dual citizen, Bell is also saving a pair of cards to open that day, that appear to be from the Queen and US president.
He’s invited a fellow centenarian from nearby Abbeyfield for his big birthday party.
He plans to enjoy his 100th year as much as the first 99.
“My father always taught me life is to be enjoyed and you can do what you want as long as you don’t harm anybody else,” he said.