BLACKSBURG, Va. – “What’s your secret to staying so young?” we asked 100-year-old Marie Principe.
“I wish I knew!” Marie said.
Marie may be 100 years old, but don’t let that fool you.
”I know I sound like I’m an angel but I’m not. I say what’s on my mind — and once I do it’s like, “Oh god, I shouldn’t have said that,” she said.
Marie celebrated 100 years on Wednesday — a milestone she didn’t know she’d get to.
”Everybody kept saying ‘you’re gonna be 100 in five days, in four days, in three days, and then I started thinking, ‘Gee, I’m really going to make it.’”
Over the past few years, Marie has faced COVID and pneumonia twice, a small stroke and a fall — but her daughter Carol Trutt said she takes it in stride.
”A cat with nine lives,” Trutt said.
One way she stays young? Wii bowling.
”Wii bowling? I love Wii bowling! I play it every Friday with Donna!” Marie said.
She told us she only bowls on Fridays — but still showed us her technique.
But her real tip? Take it one day at a time.
”If it’s a good one, fine, if not, I just stay in my room and sleep,” she said.
She tells us her friends, her large family, and her faith keep her enjoying life.
”Here I am, 100 years old, and I have all these wonderful people around me,” Marie said.