Eileen Greene has a silly ambition. That is, her ambition is to make you look silly. The 91-yer-old (pictured) takes no prisoners on the ping-pong table. "There isn’t anything not to love about ping pong," said Greene. "It can be played indoors, outdoors. It can be played for fun. It can be played for making your partner look silly." More often than not, the victim of such humbling treatment is her dutiful son, Richard. When Ellen was diagnosed with diabetes seven years ago, Richard got her a full-sized outdoor ping-pong table to help her stay active. He even got her a miniature indoor table for the rare instances of inclement weather in southern California. Now, she repays his kindness with a brutal barrage of backhands. "Nice shot," concedes Richard after being rendered silly yet again. "Winner!" Despite the humiliation of being spanked by his mother in public, Richard is nonetheless pleased with his investment in table tennis equipment. At least partially due to her exercise regimen, Eileen Green is healthy in both body and mind. In addition to winning championships at her local Pasadena senior center, she recently returned a personal best 1,246 consecutive shots over a span of 13 minutes, likely a world record for her age group. "At 91 and a half, I find that my mind is comparatively sharp," she states matter-of-factly. "I attribute it to my attitude and my activities." There is no doubt that table tennis is excellent exercise for the body. Eileen's story, however, adds to the growing mountain of anecdotal evidence suggesting that our sport is particularly good for the brain. Inspired by Eileen Greene, a new nonprofit called "Ping Pong for Good" (PPG) aims to spread this message and encourage people of all ages to reap the physical, mental and social benefits of table tennis. As PPG founder Maureen McComsey describes, "Ping Pong is one the few activities that has to fire multiple neurons in your brain because of the speed of the ball and having to change direction. It’s great for your physical and mental health because you can’t stop giggling when you’re playing ping pong. It’s the best thing in the world." PPG builds on the work of such pioneering groups as New York's "Ping Pong Parkinson" and France's "Ping 4 Alzheimer's." Now, science is finally catching up with the public, with recent research around the world revealing table tennis' positive effects on those afflicted with neurodegenerative diseases. "It’s exercise and so wonderful for the brain and neuroplasticity," Eileen evangelized. "So when I have played, I feel renewed. It’s just so wonderful, and at my age, to have the opportunity to do this, I feel so lucky." Truly, we are all lucky who have this fun and transformative game in our lives. Even, and perhaps especially, when we look silly.

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