Learning from an oak tree of wisdom

THIS is a historic week for Australia. So I decided to speak with someone who has lived through a century of our history: 100-year-old Lorna Rickert, from the tiny town of Nobby, Queensland.

06/02/2009 BUSINESS: Scott Pape. The Barefoot Investor. HWT staff.

THIS is a historic week for Australia. So I decided to speak with someone who has lived through a century of our history: 100-year-old Lorna Rickert, from the tiny town of Nobby, Queensland.

I found her phone number and gave her a call.

Barefoot: “Hello Mrs Rickert, I’d like to interview you for my newspaper column.”

Mrs Rickert: “Well, I have an opening at 11am. Otherwise I’m booked up for the rest of the week, I’m afraid.”

Barefoot: “But that’s in an hour! I need some time to research and prepare ...”

Mrs Rickert: “What do you need to prepare? We’re on the phone now, let’s get on with it.”

And so it began.

She was already making me sweat.

It’s rare to be able to talk to someone who has lived through an entire century. It’s even more rare for that person to come in and answer your call after mowing her lawn.

Make no mistake, Mrs Rickert is one of a kind: smart as a whip, hilarious, and one of the wisest people I’ve had the privilege of interviewing. Case in point — she told me about how she marvelled at modern technology:

“In my day, things were so labour intensive … and that’s why I think technology is a wonderful thing.”

Was she talking about Snapchat? Facebook? Television? Radio?

Well, no.

“The fact that you can get into a motor car and put a key in and drive off is wonderful thing!”

Huh?

“I’m being serious. In my day, if you wanted to go somewhere you’d have to go by horse. And if it didn’t want to be caught, you’d have to chase it around the paddock until it was!”

Here’s the thing for all us young’uns (which even includes my 91-year-old grandmother): Mrs Rickert is a living case study in financial wellbeing and happiness. Yet her life has not been all sunshine and cupcakes. She has lived through genuinely tough times.

The year she was born, the planet was engulfed by the First World War.

By the time she was a toddler, a flu pandemic had swept the world, infecting 500 million people and killing a staggering 100 million.

As a teenager, she saw the effects of the Great Depression first hand: “They were very hard times. We used to have swaggies, as we called them, who would roam the countryside looking for work. It was very depressing because these poor people were starving, but they couldn’t support themselves. I remember Mum giving out scones and meat. That’s the way it was … if you had a bit, you shared it with other people. That’s how we got through it. Together.”

In her twenties, when she was raising a family, the Second World War erupted, sending many people she knew to the frontline.

Talk about a rough trot. (Then again, I can relate: I’ve been known to go absolutely postal when my YouTube video buffers. WTF Telstra!?)

Since the time Mrs Rickert was a young mum, each generation has tried to shave the rough edges off life. We don’t have to worry about saving because we have credit cards. We don’t have to worry about retirement because our bosses will pay our super (and the Government will pay our pensions if we don’t save enough). And if we get sick, Medicare will cover it.

But Mrs Rickert’s life proves that none of us can be wrapped in cotton wool, cocooned from all of life’s risks.

In fact, you could argue that a bit of risk is a good thing: it stops you from behaving like a teenager and forces you to pull your big boy’s pants up.

Here’s what Mrs Rickert had to say about how she manages her money:

“Don’t spend more than you earn, that’s always been my motto. I have always stayed away from debt. I’ve never believed in running bills up.

“If I couldn’t afford it, I wouldn’t buy it. I don’t think anybody follows that anymore, but that’s how I lived my life.

“Then again, we never really had luxuries to buy, so it wasn’t much of an issue. You bought what you needed, and you found your fun in going to local dances, playing sport, and enjoying each other’s company.”

Social scientists will tell you that happiness comes down to three things: the quality of your relationships, your sense of purpose, and your contribution to the people around you.

And it’s here that Mrs Rickert has scored all aces.

She married the boy next door, Clarence, and stayed happily married to him for 70 years. Along the way she had five children, nine grandchildren and fourteen great-grandchildren.

She’s been in the Country Women’s Association for 85 years, and has raised thousands of dollars for her beloved little community.

And she wasn’t joking about a full schedule: “I compose songs and poetry, I paint, I carve wood and put together furniture, and I love getting out in the garden. Oh, and I play golf at least once a week.”

In today’s world we have infinite choice, aided and abetted by marketers who make us feel that happiness is always just out of our reach. You can live anywhere, be with anyone, and have anything you want (and show it off to all for your Facebook “friends”).

And herein lies the secret to this centenarian: for 100 years she’s lived in a community no bigger than 400 people.

She married her childhood sweetheart, and devoted herself to her family and her community. She has put down deep roots, like a beautiful old oak tree.

As I wound up the interview and said my goodbyes, she gave me one last pearler:

“You know, I think that in life all that really matters is kindness.”

Tread Your Own Path!

Originally published as Learning from an oak tree of wisdom