Long Life

I remember when I was still studying the Uyghur language at the University, One of the texts in our book was about the unusually long life expectancy of Uyghur people in some communities down south. The textbook went on to boast that their healthy diet of living off the land and eating their home grown walnuts was the secret to their longevity. Some in the community were recorded as being almost 140 years old. This man was only 97 but as healthy as can be and up for a good long walk down the tree lined roads of his home town desert oasis. The whole time he and the taxi driver stood chatting he kept reaching into his pocket and stuffing handfuls of walnuts into his mouth. Just like my school lesson said he attributed his health and well being to the snack that he munched on incessantly.