Charlotte man speeds along at 80

Correspondent

A large group of 30-ish and 40-ish friends gather for their daily morning chats and laughs at Starbucks at Promenade on Providence. Some of them can even match wits with the 80-year-old man who always seems to be in the middle of everything.

Mario Vadini says his nephew calls him “the most interesting man in the world,” after the debonnaire senior in the beer commercials. Vadini says it’s not really like that, but “I might be having as much fun.”

The sparkle in his eyes confirms it. Vadini is proof that life can be full and active even into one’s 80s, as long as the spirit is willing.

The south Charlottean says he can’t do all of the things he used to do physically, but you wouldn’t know it by watching or listening to him: On this morning, he’s fresh from a trip to Cleveland, his banter interrupted by a phone call that the tile had come in for a job he’s doing for a friend – hopefully before his February golf trip to Scottsdale, Ariz.

Besides his Starbucks outings, he likes to walk; makes breakfast for his three grown children and eight grandchildren every Sunday; still drives; likes yard work; and is no stranger to nightlife and dancing.

“It’s only a number. I don’t feel like I’m 80,” he says with a shrug. “I don’t even think I’m 80 until people tell me I’m 80.”

He says he’s merely doing what he’s always done – staying busy, because he enjoys it. For much of his life he ran a cement business in Cleveland that was handed down from his father. He would routinely come home and get ready for his “other” job, as a firefighter.

Vadini, who’s divorced, came to North Carolina 13 years ago. He used to live in Matthews before moving to his apartment in the Providence neighborhood. Now he spends precious time with three of his four grown kids who live in the area (the other is still in Cleveland).

Daughter Christine Miklich, who lives nearby, says the constant physical work her dad did throughout his life is still in his blood.

“People used to think of somebody who’s 80 as a little hunched over, slow, possibly with a cane,” she says. “He and I talk a lot about not letting yourself get in that rut of feeling like you want to sit in that chair and not do anything. You can’t let yourself. You may not start back up.

“A lot of it is your attitude and your outlook. He never wakes up unhappy. He wakes up happy every day, happy to be here, and he has a good time in life ... it’s doing something, finding interests, being with people.”

Vadini attributes some of his physical and mental alertness to genetics.

“I had a sister who was 92, another one who was 89, an older brother who was 84, another one 82,” he says. “All of them were active for the most part. I’ve been blessed.

“I just hate sitting around at home ... and I love to throw big parties. If I threw the kinds of parties today that I did when I was younger, I’d be in trouble.”

His daughter laughs approvingly.

“If you don’t live life, wear your heart on your sleeve and fall down a little bit ... hey, you can play it safe and be inside all the time, but you’re not going to be living,” she says. “We definitely live life to the fullest.”

Vadini loves hearing his breakfast group talk about their jobs. He would love to have new stories to tell as well.

“I wish I had a job,” he says. “They talk about retirement being such a big deal, but to do what? I need things to do.”

He says he has applied for jobs, but often the process is done via computer. That works against him.

“They don’t talk to you face to face. So how can you know about the 80-year-old who’s applying?” he says. “I know what they do. They just say, ‘Aw, he’s too old.’ But they don’t know me. They don’t know about my energy; they don’t know about how I work with people.

“But overall, I’ve got no complaints. I’ll always find ways to keep busy.”