COLUMN: It’s not how old you are … it’s how you are old

Rilla Bellury tested positive for COVID a few weeks ago and had to be quarantined. She was fatigued. Her breathing was labored. But she recovered in time for Christmas.

I’m pretty sure she has been testing “positive’ in a different way almost every day of her life. Her positivity never idles.

She recently has been sharing her list of New Year’s resolutions with just about everyone she knows. She has resolved to stop delegating so much. Her family is convinced it won’t be long before she breaks that one. She is experienced at telling folks what to do and when to do it.

She also pledged to talk on the phone for only 15 minutes at a time. Her four sons all received kitchen timers for Christmas, and she got one herself. That resolution probably won’t be kept, either. Mrs. Rilla does have a gift for gab.

She already is planning her 100th birthday party. That should earn her an honorary membership in any optimist club, since she still has another six months before she turns 99.

She has planned her funeral, too. With her joyful spirit, she may outlive us all. She is one of those folks who believe it’s not how old you are … it’s how you are old.

I first met Rilla 20 years ago this month. She was in a group of ladies and their husbands who were charter members of the “Chow and Chatter” club. It was a supper group that started in 1960 at Cherokee Heights Baptist Church on Napier Avenue and was still going strong more than 40 years later.

Her husband, Norman “Blackie” Bellury had been pastor at Cherokee Heights, along with several other area churches, including Hillsboro Baptist and Central Baptist. She and Blackie founded Central, literally turning shovels to break ground for the church on the hill on Gray Highway at the upper end of Graham Road.

I have kept up with Rilla over the years. She is an extraordinary woman and an unforgettable character. I have not been able to see her since she moved to Alabama, but her voice still rings in my head.

When she was 62, she enrolled at what was then Macon Junior College to pursue a degree in art. She claims she still can’t draw worth a lick, but the lady sure can paint a picture with words.

There was a time when she might have been the most prolific writer in Middle Georgia. Her daughter-in-law, Sue Bellury, estimated Rilla has written and published as many as 75 stories in either book or pamphlet form.

Most are tales about her family, her strong faith, her love of life and conversations around the supper table. One of my favorites was when she wrote about what times were like when she was 12 years old and asked her 12-year-old great-granddaughter to do the same.

She has penned a tribute to Blackie, who died in 2009. He was affectionately known as “Papa B.’’ The Bellurys were married 68 years. When Blackie was in the Air Force, they were stationed in tiny outposts such as Mountain Home, Idaho and Nome, Alaska (before the streets were paved). They retired in Macon and moved to Gray in 1972.

Rilla often has written about growing up in Flea Hop, Alabama, where she was educated in a two-room schoolhouse. She can still remember the name of her first childhood crush. She titled one of her books, “Worth My Weight in Gold’’ because, when she was born, her father paid the country doctor who delivered her with a $10 gold coin.

Rilla moved back to her old stomping ground in 2012. Her sons ---Reg, Mike, Tim and Phillip —built her a house across the road from Mike and Sue in Eclectic, Alabama. Rilla still keeps up with her many friends in Middle Georgia.

Time has marched across her body like an army, but her mind is still as sharp as a knitting needle. She survived COVID, which is remarkable for someone in their late 90s with a number of health issues.

That’s enough of a celebration to get up and dance. And she would … if she could.

A few years ago, she fell on Christmas Day and had to have surgery seven times. Later, doctors had no choice but to amputate her leg just below the knee.

It hasn’t stopped her, only slowed her down. She would get my vote for “comeback player of the year.’’ She now lives in a nearby nursing home where, to no one’s surprise, she won the crown of Mrs. Tallassee Health and Rehabilitation in 2019.

She has led Bible study classes there, and never misses the opportunity to dispense her wisdom and life lessons. She makes it a point to learn the names of the staff and residents and keeps up with their families.

“My hope is all this (COVID) is going to pass,’’ she said. “I just trying to stay encouraging for others … and to myself.’’

Ed Grisamore teaches journalism at Stratford Academy in Macon. His column appears on Sundays in The Telegraph.