I was enjoying my usual late lunch break at the Starbucks on my route today, and a delightful elderly gentleman sat down beside me, with his daughter (I believe it was his daughter). He struck up a conversation with me. At one point he said, "I once met this Chinese man. He was 104 years old. He told me the secret to a long life."

Of course, as the old man leaned forward to me and spoke in hushed tones, I had to ask, "And you're going to tell me?"

"Yes," he smiled. "It's this: Hershey's Dark Chocolate. Two small pieces in the morning and one piece at 3:00 in the afternoon."

I grinned. Of course, the cocoa in dark chocolate is well-known for its antioxident content.

The man knew this, and said, "Whatever it is, this Chinese man was 104 years old, and as active as a two-year-old." The elderly man said he follows this regimen, and you know, the guy said he was in his 80's, and he was as sharp as a tack (and when he got up to leave, he moved like a man half his age)! Then he leaned forward again and said, "And this Chinese man also told me the meaning of life!"

Well, his first secret was pretty good, so once again I gave him the prompt he was dramatically waiting for: "And you're going to tell me?"

He smiled and said,"This is it: Time is Luck."

I have no idea what that means, but if some 104 year-old Chinese wise man said it, I figure it's probably worth pondering for awhile.