Life Secrets From the Doctor, 88, Planning to be the Oldest Person to DO This

The seven things he swears by

Alexandra Frost,

AARP Experience Counts

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Published October 17, 2024

art ulene and his wife pose for a photo at mount kilimanjaro

Art and Priscilla Ulene hiking Mount Kilimanjaro in 2011.

Courtesy Art Ulene

Art Ulene, 88, divides his life into three acts.

His first was “never-ending work” and ambition, from childhood to age 62. He went to medical school and became an Army doctor, focusing on gynecological cancers. He was a university professor and then a television advisor for 23 years, logging six million miles commuting from New York to Los Angeles.

His second act, which lasted 13 years, was about “never-ending pleasure,” in which he and his wife of 64 years, Priscilla, visited 83 counties. They went to Paris nearly a dozen times, to the Carnival of Brazil and to many other exotic places until he began to feel his life lacked purpose.

That’s when a friend challenged him to get to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, a dormant volcano in Tanzania and, at 19,341 feet in elevation, the highest peak in Africa. He thought, “I can’t do that. I grew up as a wimp.” But Priscilla heard about it and said, “I’m going too.”

So, his third act began at age 76. Why hiking? “Because it felt so far beyond my reach,” he told AARP Experience Counts. He went ahead and hiked up Kilimanjaro three times.

art ulene holding his birthday card on mount kilimanjaro

Art Ulene holding his birthday card on his 86th birthday on Mount Kilimanjaro in 2022.

Courtesy Art Ulene

“I’m doing it to raise money to feed kids in Africa,” he said. “I’m doing it again to walk the talk. I tell people that age should not define who we are or what we can do.” Finally, he said, he wants to inspire others. “We live in a society where we are drowning in ageist ideas. People are constantly telling us ‘You’re too old for that.’

“Stop telling me they’re too old. If they’re too old to do that, then I’m too old to be talking to you or writing a book.” His book will be titled Ageless. And next October, he will ascend Kilimanjaro again. By then, he will be 89 years and three months old, and, if successful, will best Anne Lorimor of Paradise Valley, Arizona, the current record holder.

His third act has been about trying to prove that “health span” — a word added to Merriam-Webster in 2018 — is more important than age. “Healthspan is how much of your lifespan you’re in good health,” he explained. “My goal is to spend every damn day in good health.”

That doesn’t mean he hasn’t struggled in recent years. He was in Paris celebrating the millennium having the night of his life — except he couldn’t remember any of it. Doctors thought he’d had a stroke.

It turned out to be “global amnesia” in which he can’t remember certain parts of his life. He was hospitalized several times after recurrent episodes. His condition is managed by a lifestyle program in which neurologists identified seven cornerstones, which he now lives by. They are:

Physical activity. “Inactivity kills you,” Art said. He hates the gym but loves how he feels afterward.
Nutrition. “You can’t eat crap all your life and expect to be in good health for the last decade.” Art also cut out processed foods especially — except for his one weakness, lemon Oreos. “You can’t eat just one.”
Sleep. “It’s critical,” said Art. "For decades I ignored sleep because of that job. Scientists will tell you it’s critical to saving your brain.”
Stress management. If Art has problems “stacking up,” you can find him in his swinging egg chair, watching plants grow and counting the things he’s grateful for, including his three kids and seven grandchildren.
Cognitive challenge. “If you don’t use your brain, you lose it.”
Social connection. Art started reaching out to every old friend still alive. “You can’t have a social connection without using all of your brain — you need memory, emotions, executive capabilities.”
Environment. Art sold his car due to the stress of Los Angeles traffic and now takes buses.

Ulene also knows the role of effective medicine, such as the one he takes for his neurological condition. “I’m going up Kilimanjaro and I’ll take my pills with me,” he said.

Optimism is central to his aging philosophy. He plans to be at the 2034 Winter Olympics, when he’ll be 98, and has already bought his gym pass for next year.

While he knows not everyone will want to clamber up mountains in their late 80s, he hopes others can borrow some of his ideals to improve their own healthspans and maybe go on adventures themselves.

Art Ulene was promoted to Major in 1969.

Courtesy Art Ulene

art ulene and his wife priscilla in new zealand

Art Ulene carries his wife Priscilla on the Milford Track in New Zealand in 1991.

Courtesy Art Ulene

art ulene and his wife zip lining in mexico

Art Ulene and his wife Priscilla zip lining in Mexico in 2010.

Courtesy Art Ulene

art ulene and his wife on pequeno alpamayo in bolivia

Art Ulene and his wife Priscilla on Pequeno Alpamayo in Bolivia in 2013.

Courtesy Art Ulene

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Alexandra Frost is a Cincinnati-based journalist, content marketing writer, copywriter and editor. She is the granddaughter of a veteran, and her work has been published in The Washington Post and Reader’s Digest. You can learn more about her at alexandra-frost.com.

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