Life Happens To Us All

I recently saw famed African-American chef and restaurateur B. Smith on CBS Sunday Morning recently and was dismayed to discover that, at 64, she has early onset Alzheimer’s.

As Smith’s devoted husband, business partner and caretaker Dan Gasby noted, she’s in amazing shape and has the blood pressure of an athlete, which is what made her diagnosis with the incurable disease so shocking.

 

I remember hearing a lot about B. Smith in the early '90s, when she began making the rounds on TV talk shows and was touted as "the black Martha Stewart."

Smith's battle with Alzheimer’s shows that hardship doesn’t discriminate. Here is a woman who is wealthy, successful beyond anyone’s wildest dreams and, presumably, has access to the best healthcare. And yet she was diagnosed with a degenerative disease.

By contrast, I recently saw legendary comic writer Carl Reiner on Tavis Smiley’s PBS talk show with his son, Rob. Carl, at 91, is still going strong, cracking jokes and recalling funny anecdotes that happened during Rob’s childhood decades ago.

We should all be so fortunate to live a long, healthy life and be surrounded by family we love and care for.