Not many men live to be 103 years old. After conducting a Google search, I’d guess that only about 1,000 men in the United States have hit the big one-o-three. Even fewer of them can carry on a lively intelligent conversation. I’m fortunate enough to know two such souls. 103 and still going strong.

I got to know Stuart Gillespie, a resident of Sunny Brook Village in Brunswick, as a fellow board member of the Carpenter’s Boat Shop. Stuart served on the board for 25 years, stepping down just a few years ago. Always cheerful and upbeat, he was delighted that I had written a biography about Kate Ireland (“Full Speed Ahead With a Twinkle in Her Eye: The Life and Legacy of Kate Ireland”), as he knew her well.

When I sat down to chat with Stuart, I began with the usual question for centenarians: “What’s the secret to living a long life?” “Exercise!” he stated, noting with pride that he helped found the New Jersey Ski Patrol in 1935. He kept skiing until, drum roll please, age 96. He now does stretching exercises three times a week.

He keeps busy listening to books on tape, favoring historical literature such as “Eleanor of Aquitane”, say, or a biography of Anne Morrow Lindbergh. He talks to his son Stuart, Jr. every day.

Stuart, Jr., attributes his dad’s long life to an optimistic outlook. “Whenever I talk to him on the phone, he says, ‘Everything is fine.’” He recalls the time when he and his siblings were in the car with their dad at the Sequoia National Park. “The car hit a stone pillar. My dad got out, walked around the car and came back saying, ‘There’s no problem.’”

Don Goode, my other 103- year-old friend, lives in Manlius, New York, not far from his daughter Nancy Treadwell, the widow of my brother Tony. My wife Tina has known him since 1959, as Nancy was her freshman college roommate. Don laughs and says that he has “no idea” why he’s lived so long, but his advice to young people is, “Keep your body and mind active.”

Don played golf until he was, another drum roll, age 90. Today he loves playing bridge and reading. He follows the national political scene closely and dismisses Donald Trump with one word: “Dangerous.”

Don’s oldest daughter Nancy says her dad was, “the most caring and nurturing person I could hope for. If my siblings or I ever needed something, he would always sacrifice to get if for us.” She says that her father always looks for the best in people.

I attended Don Good’s 100th birthday party, and I must say that he was the most engaging and interesting person at the event.

Stuart Gillespie and Don Good, fine examples of the “Greatest Generation, both served stateside in World War II. Stuart was based in Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, where he helped inventory and transport fighter planes and bombers. He entered as an enlisted man and ultimately earned the rank of lieutenant commander. Don was a Field Director with the American Red Cross, serving in several locations around the U.S.

“Sometimes my dad cracks me up,” says Nancy. “We were walking down the hall at his retirement home and he was bent over a little holding my arm. Then a ‘younger’ woman (probably in her 80’s) walked by. Dad instantly straightened up and whispered in my ear, ‘That’s one of the pretty ones.’”

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David Treadwell, a Brunswick writer, welcomes commentary or suggestions for future “Just a Little Old’” columns at [email protected].