This is what 100 looks like

As the news cameras settled in on Miss Daisy Rogers Eames, she sat there looking not a day over 75 in her pretty flowered suit. Still very much a lady, she wanted to make sure that the news reporters got good pictures, and she looked good.

Even at a hundred a girl wants to make sure that everything is in place.

With her family all around her, one sister who is her the baby sister and only other living sibling out of nine, several nieces and nephew ranging from 81 to 65 years old, and there was even a great niece there.

Someone said, "This is something to behold," and indeed it was.

When asked how does it feel to be a hundred? Miss Daisy replied, "Well really it feels just like it did yesterday." Then she was asked, did you ever think that you would live to be 100 years old? Miss Daisy pointed her fingers up towards the sky and said, “It was him, it was all the Lords doing! No, I don’t think that I ever thought that I would live this long, but God had a plan, and I’m still here."

Miss Daisy was born May 12, 1918. She grew up in Chamberlin, La. on a sugar cane plantation. She attended school in a church house. She moved away for a time to Pontiac, Michigan, and what she remembers most about living there is that it was really cold.

She liked it in Michigan alright, but when her parents began aging and needing care, she did what most good southern daughters do. She came back home to take care of them.

Miss Daisy was a Domestic worker, and she often says how good she was at it. If you’ve ever had the opportunity to go inside of her house you would have to agree that she was really good at it. Miss Daisy’s home was immaculate. Some say you could eat off of her floors. She came from an era where people took pride in the work they did, whatever that work was. They did their very best to strive for

excellence.

When Miss Daisy was born, a loaf of bread cost about a nickel. She chuckled when asked, what do you think of how much it cost today?

"More than most folk can afford to pay, particularly the brown kind, which is what I have to eat now," she said.

Daisy Rogers Eames, a long-time resident of Donaldsonville La., now resides in North Baton Rouge with her baby sister Wilhelmina. In March she had to move out of her house in Donaldsonville where she had lived alone for years, and everyone in the city knew it to be her home. She was a town icon right in the heart of the people she has known for years, since her and her husband of 41 years George Eames first moved there.

She was also right across the street from the church she belonged to for just as long. The Mt. Zion B. C. where she is still a member, is her second family. Her Pastor Rev. Darryl Smith and so many congregants who've known her for years now look to her as a mother figure. All of them are happy that she’s made it to this milestone, but sad still that’s she’s no longer an active part of their community.

Miss Daisy misses them too, she was happy that her Pastor, a young man, which she loves like a son or grandson, came and spent the morning with her on her big birthday. Miss Daisy loves her pastor and often brags on how he delivers the word and takes care of his people.

How befitting for this woman whose entire life has been rooted and anchored in God to spend the first

portion of this grand day giving thanks and praise. She willfully acknowledges that Jesus is the center of her joy, and that He is the only reason that she is still here.

Some of you may remember last year after the big tornado in Donaldsonville, Miss Daisy was the hometown celebrity, interviewed by several news reporters.

When asked if she really felt that God was the reason that here house wasn’t swept away by the tornado, she quickly replied with that feistiness she's known for: "I don't think that it was God, I know."

Two of those same young reporters came to interview Miss Daisy on her 100th birthday, and they seemed as happy as the family to be a part of her celebration. Justin Campbell of WVLA, Chanel 33 said his grandmother is a seasoned 103 years old, and he just loves the spirit of the elders and telling these kinds of stories.

Carmen Farrish of Chanel 9, WAFB expressed the same sentiment of her own senior family members. She said that she just loves being with family from the fellowship to her mom and grand moms good home cooking.

There was no shortage of good home cooking at this gathering either. Everything from crawfish ettoufee to mustard greens, cornbread, red beans (and of course chicken), homemade jelly, 7up, and coconut cake was served. Just the way southerners like to celebrate.

However, Miss Daisy was clear that she can't eat a lot of this stuff anymore due to her health, and she wants to be here to make that 101.

When Miss Daisy was asked how does she think that she made it this far, she said that she attributes her long life to serving God and doing the right things. Miss Daisy says that she's never smoked, drank strong alcohol or did any kind of drugs, "dope" as she referred to it.

Miss daisy said that her advice to young people, and in her case this would be anyone under 90, is to live right and do good because when you do this it just keeps going around and around. Miss Daisy says when you do good for someone, eventually it will come back to you.

Her advice on love after being married twice and burying two husbands is: "Ladies, wait on God to send you a good man with a good job."

Miss Daisy says that when you love something or somebody, you want to take care of them.

We were all so happy to be able to witness this little piece of history and the milestone event of Mrs. Daisy Rogers Eames 100th Birthday.

Finally, after everything was said and done, Miss Daisy announced that she believed that she had given us all enough information, and that was a wrap. Everyone laughed at her quick wit and sang happy birthday.

At the end of it all Miss Daisy closed it out for us with a great big beautiful smile. She said, "This is what a hundred looks like."

I think everyone agreed that it looked pretty darn good on her. Miss Daisy also happens to be my great aunt and I’m thrilled to share her story. We all love her and we are so thankful that she is still here.

To God be the Glory!