December 11, 2001

Strom Thurmond's advice on long life

Through A Glass Darkly, by John Myers, Internet Photojournalist

I read with amusement the news last week about Sen. Strom Thurmond's 99th birthday celebration in Washington, D.C. The senior senator from South Carolina reportedly flirted with the women on the Senate floor while acknowledging his birthday tributes.

And I read that someone on Thurmond's staff raised a few eyebrows with a lunch order that day from a local restaurant to be delivered to Strom's office: A dozen raw, steamed oysters on the half-shell.

Staffers refused to respond to reporters' questions about who ate the oysters. My money is on Strom.

There's been quite a few stories in recent months, particularly since the Senate split 51-49 along party lines, about how frail Strom's health is, and how his death could tip the political agenda further toward the Democrats. Since South Carolina's governor is a Democrat, he would replace Strom with a Democrat.

But if I were going to give any advice to Democrats with an eye on Strom's seat, I'd say: Don't hold your breath. You will very likely get very blue in the face.

I met the senator back in the summer of 1982 when he was just a spring chicken, a mere 79. I was in the midst of my sole experience in the inner working of politics, working as a congressional candidate's press secretary.

Experiencing how politics really works is somewhat akin to making sausage. The end result may be pleasing, but it's better not to know what goes into it.

Anyway, the day I met Strom Thurmond was most definitely one of my fond memories of that campaign and one of my more educational experiences in life.

Along with the candidate, Harris Blake of Pinehurst, we took Strom to Cabarrus County for some local politicking. Harris suggested we go to Kannapolis, where he had in mind a visit or two to a public place, a handshake or two and perhaps a meeting with the local media to get his name in the paper along with Strom.

Strom threw that agenda out the window immediately. At our first stop in downtown Kannapolis, Strom started shaking hands at the first store we entered and just never stopped. He took off on foot while Harris and I followed along, trying to keep up.

He acted like he knew everyone, and everyone certainly knew who he was. "Hey Strom!" they cried.

And he kept up that same pace for several hours, barging into every store in downtown Kannapolis, stopping everybody he met on the street, shaking every hand and talking to everyone in his folksy way.

We had a brief pause for a sandwich for lunch, and while Harris and I tried to eat, Strom kept politicking. And he went on all afternoon the same way. By the time he had to head back to the airport for his flight, Harris and I were both worn out. This 79-year-old had walked us both into the ground. I was 35 and Harris was in his middle 50s and we were dragging, while Strom was just getting warmed up and ready for more.

We finished up in Albemarle, and I was headed back to the airport with Strom when he told me to pull over at a local service station so he could call "his babies."

Strom's wife at the time was a former Miss South Carolina whom he had married in her 20s and fathered at least a couple of children with her. He used a pay phone inside while I waited, and when Strom came out he was carrying a huge, brown paper bag of popcorn.

"Them ol' boys inside was popping popcorn and asked me if I wanted some," Strom said. He happily ate that grocery bag of popcorn as we drove to Charlotte.

And before he left, Strom gave me his secret to a long, healthy life. "Keep your alimentary system open, boy. I drink a glass of prune juice every single day."

It works. Happy birthday, Strom, have many more.