102-year-old crosses ‘arrest’ off bucket list
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (CNN) – A 102-year-old woman is put in handcuffs and taken away in the back of a cop car, but not for breaking the law.
As the police cruiser pulled up to the Five Star Senior Center in south St. Louis, it wasn’t public enemy number one inside, but number 102.
Edie Simms, 102-years-young, said she enjoyed her ride, “handcuffs and all.”
“These types of events and Ms. Simms help us do that and we’re more than happy to do these type of things,” St. Louis Police Department, Sgt. John McLaughlin, said. “We love it and we get more out of it than the seniors do.”
That’s right, the little old lady from South County fulfilled a backseat bucket list wish.
In her 102 years on this earth, she had never set foot in the back of a police car until then.
Friday morning, she was dispensing pearls of wisdom and free pairs of socks and scarves.
“Keep going, don’t ever stop whatever it is you’re doing and spend some time doing community service because sometimes the person you reach out and touch, is the only person that they will talk to in a day,” Simms said.
Community service is something this senior citizen is all about. Last year, Simms sewed and stitched some 413 handmade items for the folks at Five Star Senior Center.
“I made my first dress that was wearable,” Simms said. “I’m not saying it was good, but I wore it to school when I was ten years old.”
“But here, we’ve got a senior helping seniors and I just think that’s the neatest thing,” said Michael Howard, Executive Director of Five Star Senior Center.
Recently, Simms made a trip to American Baptist University to talk about 100 years of remembering. She celebrated a birthday as well, but has no plans of slowing down.
“The 25th of September,” Simms said laughing. “You can tell what my folks were doing on Christmas before. They were making babies.”
By midday, it was back to bingo where everyone got a handmade item to take home, courtesy of 102-years-young Edie Simms, and some free advice.
“It`s a great world if you just open your eyes and look at it,” Simms added.