by Mona Iskander
AMBI: Track 12/10:20 Fran talking about the hats she wears... These are the hats I wear in the winter and in the summer i have to take out the summer hats... these are all hats..
NARR: On a Sunday afternoon, Fran Rehfeld sits back in a small wooden chair in her living room. In on corner is a collection of hats from her days as a milliner. She rummages through the pile for just the right one to wear. Today it is a zebra skin hat with a wide brim and a black flower.
AMBI: FADE UP its a good looking hat. description of hat... its a very old hat... came from a black lady.
NARR: Fran turns 100 this December but she feels and looks much younger. Her salt and pepper hair falls to her chin and she is serious about style.
ACT: Track 11/1:35 I dress up and i've always worn.. i have wonderful things and I wear my hat and scarves and jackets and i look special.
NARR: With the exception of a housecleaner who visits her once a week, Fran Rehfeld cooks, shops, and travels by herself. Her normal routine is to go for long walks and visit neighborhood friends. She has two daughters who she sees occasionally, but she's pretty much on her own.
ACT: im completely independent. that's the cause of not getting things i would have liked to have because i always refuse it. you can't keep refusing and expect them to keep on giving.
NARR: Fran has lived in this high-rise on 43rd Street and 9th Avenue for 16 years and she's been in Hell's Kitchen for the last 40. In those years, she has found a family of shop owners and neighbors. One store owner threw her a 99th birthday party.
ACT: Track 9**:28 I mean, that doesn't happen a lot. And at other places, people see me coming in and they see that im there and they try to make a place for me. That makes me feel good. But personal friends to go with, there're none left.
ACT: Fran's family immigrated to the US from Russia in 1913 when she was only 8 years old. They settled in a small apartment in the East Village and she lived there until she got married at 22. She worked as a fashion buyer and later had children but she says that was another life. A new one began when she left her husband in 1960. She was 56 years old.
ACT: And after I got the divorce i just began to live, it was wonderful.
NARR: She says it was like discovering a new world. And one of those worlds was on Broadway-when she worked as an usher.
ACT: I was 69 at the time and I said, what'm I gonna do now... I knew abt the theatre bc years before i tried it and did a little of it and this tme was a little harder to get a job bc my
experience was a little short. they finally did send me out and i got a job with gershwin theater and that's where i stayed i stayed for twenty years on that same job....
NARR: Today Fran Rehfeld is heading out to see an art show in Harlem. Her friend Arno Pareja invited her. He's originally from Colombia and now lives just around the corner.
NARR: In the elevator on the way down, Fran runs into some neighbors who shower her with praises.
AMBI: FADE UP ON THE WAY TO THE ELEVATOR... sound of elevator.... hello my dear, oh smart as ever.. she's just the fashion plate of our building... you're just another fan... i just adore her.. the whole building does. man comes in, they both praise her...
AMBI: GOING OUTSIDE.... sound of walker....
NARR: It's hard to miss fran as she struts down the street with her walker. She's only 4 feet six inches tall, but she looks a bit taller with her hat. Fran has always refused her family's suggestions to move to a group home.
ACT: they tell me where they are, how comfortable or wonderful.. i could never bear it. only time i'll be there is if i have to.
AMBI: street ambi fade down....
AMBI: Bring up music at restaurant.... of arriving at restaurant, arno says hello, people say hellos... music in background.
NARR:. As Fran enters the exhibit, she shines among the crowd of young, fashionable artists. All heads turn toward her. And she delights in the attention and flattery.
AMBI: Sounds of people greeting her... complimenting her hat...
NARR: Her friend Arno introduces her to the crowd. The two met at the Good and Plenty Cafe near her house two years ago and they've been friends ever since. He was first drawn to what he calls her "old world style."
ACT: i always saw her alone and at that time bc i come from culture where someone at her age is completely incapacitated or at home. you don't see anyone as independent at all in my country and here they're in a group home. but she's a really special case.
NARR: Fran sits back on a couch and carefully removes her zebra skin hat and places it on the table. She sips an oversized glass of red wine and smiles at a circle of admirers who ask her about her many lives. Arno says she is an inspiration.
ACT: ARNO: Arno: I invited her to the party bc of her age. that's the reason i invite her. bc she can relate to other people and teach them just by being there... she motivates ppl, like move, go do something with your life. i like her but i want her in my life and im selfish and she serves a purpose.
NARR: Fran has her reasons for being here, too.
ACT: **15:30 these wonderful young people.. .its been a while since ive been in an atmosphere with these young people… its wonderful to see it, this is life that's living… I love it.
AMBI: FADE MUSIC DOWN
AMBI: FADE UP OF FRAN SHOWING PICS
NARR: Back at home, Fran tidies up her already spotless apartment. She looks through family photographs neatly displayed on a mahogany chest near her a window.
AMBI: And this is her daughter, and her daughter, and her daughter....
NARR: She is the oldest of five generations in her family. While she is still active at 99, this year has been the hardest. Her hearing is going. She injured her hip and her shoulder is giving her problems. But she is unstoppable, making sure life doesn't pass her by. And when people ask her what her secret is to living so long, she's just as curious.
AMBI: fade down
ACT: Im surprised I got there myself. I don't know how.
NARR: But she doesn't understand why she's one of the last of her generation still around.
ACT: its strange... they would die at 50,60,70... i don't know why. ive always felt that's so strange, what would you do in your life that you can't live till at least 80.
NARR: And when asked about death, Fran shakes her head.
ACT: It doesn't ever phase me at all. I just hope it happens in my sleep. That's why I'm taking care of my health so i don't have to suffer through an illness.
NARR: Even though Fran enjoys meeting new people, she sometimes take trips back to visit her few friends from her past. One of them is Ralph. They've known each other for over 30 years from the days when she sold sandwiches at a flea market and he sold knickknacks. On another Sunday afternoon, she approaches the indoor Chelsea market where he still sells his wares. He quickly greets her...
ACT: I sold every sandwich and he was my biggest buyer.
AMBI: Sound of Ralph welcoming her....
NARR: Ralph is an older black man his 70s and he has three large tables selling sunglasses, old records, scarves, spoons, posters and tools.
AMBI: Ralph telling Fran she looks good.... fran: i look good... ok....
NARR: Ralph pulls up a chair for Fran and she watches him as he negotiates sales with customers.
CONVO: Ralph asking Fran when her bday is and how old she will be.... scene of birthday.......
ACT: Ralph: Fran does better than most ppl, and she could still work if she chose to... but she chooses not to. she used to walk down here which i wouldn't want to do.
ACT: Fran: do you remember when we saw eachother after not seeing eachother for a long time and you said, you still got these sandwiches?
ACT: Ralph: No one ever thought of doing that before.
AMBI: FADE OUT..
NARR: After she and Ralph reminisce about their days fleamarketing together, Fran returns home where she will cook dinner for herself.
ACT: **28:37 I don't feel lonely bc im always dreaming up something to do or change. don't need different furniture.. I really should throw everything away, getting too much but I keep
thinking as im sleeping, I think, maybe I should do this to cushion.. it isn't necessary but I can't stop thinking of something that has to be done. Or I'd like to be done.
NARR: Life is simple. Fran is happy with this pace of life. Seeing people, admiring beautiful hats and telling stories to curious friends.
ACT: **2:25 you're not born to have a good time for the rest of your life. Im having a great time, really am enjoying every day of my life.
NARR: Tomorrow she will wake up late and go down to the Cupcake Cafe for a cup of coffee and a long chat with the owner. Or maybe she'll go to Amy's bakery for her favorite capuccino. It's just another day.
For Columbia Radio News, I'm Mona Iskander.