BALTIMORE — A Baltimore man is celebrating 100 years of living.
Now, James W. Smith is sharing his message to everyone about his longevity and how they can apply it to their lives.
“November 6, 1923,” Smith said. It’s the day he was born in Oxford, North Carolina six years before the Great Depression.
WMAR asked Smith what a 99-year-old eats for breakfast?
“Eggs, bacon, sausage, cheese or rice or fried apples. I’m an old country boy who went to the army. That was in 1942,” Smith said.
He was drafted into the army during World War II and worked for a few years as a dietitian before leaving only to be drafted again a few years later.
“Came out in 1946 and my mother passed and left me in charge of seven children,” Smith said.
In 1953 he migrated to Baltimore, Maryland with his family working in corporate America.
“I did some construction work but the last work was from American Airlines,” Smith said.
Then he started Second Antioch Baptist Church where he was a pastor for more than 50 years.
“Pastoring, burying, marrying. It’s gratification, its encouragement," Smith said.
He even wrote a small book about the knowledge he possesses from so many years of life.
“My book, it was dating back to the 1400's when they told us that Columbus discovered America. It goes on to deal with the Underground Railroad and leading up to the Proclamation of Emancipation,” Smith said.
He said the keys to living so long involves many things. Having good relationships with the people in your life and continuing to be active are some of them.
“ Your first relationship is between you and God. You need a good relationship with your children, everything you do is involved in a relationship. I’m not tired yet. I’m not going to give up, until the Lord say so. I feel like a 19-year-old. You can’t retire and sit down. You got to retire and keep going,” Smith said.
