"By the time you're eighty years old, you've learned everything," said no less an authority on aging than George Burns, adding, "You only have to remember it." One recently celebrating this milestone is Beth Whitman (pictured) of Southern Pines, North Carolina (not to be confused with Northern Pines, South Carolina). Whitman had set the bar high five years ago when she played 75 games of tennis on her 75th birthday. For her 80th, the racquet sport aficionado put a new spin on the tradition. "Part of the deal was I was going to play 80 games of ping pong because it was my 80th birthday party,” said Whitman. “Little did I know, I’ve been hit by a huge lower back pain. The plans changed, but they turned out pretty good. Instead of me playing 80 games, 80 games were going to get played. That way, a whole lot of people—people who aren’t necessarily ping pong players—would get to play. People who don’t know each other would get to play." Whitman had intended to gracefully bow out after the inaugural game, but a cocky 17-year-old challenger called her out. "I got up and started playing and I thought, ‘Oh my God,’ as I went down 4-0 or whatever," Whitman related. "I just had to keep playing and I told my friend Heather, 'You taught your daughter right because she’s certainly not making it easy.' Anyway, I came back and beat her." After teaching the insolent adolescent some manners, Whitman sat back and reveled in the grand soiree she had manifested. "For me, it turned out to be great because I loved seeing how it brought people together, people that didn’t even know each other," said the birthday girl, who must already be cooking up her next milestone observances: 85 rounds of racquetball? 90 sets of squash? 95 battles of badminton? 100 points of pickleball? As those who dared to challenger her on the ping-pong table can attest, newly ordained octogenarian Beth Whitman has certainly learned everything. In true Beth style, her 80th birthday bash will surely be one which none in attendance will struggle to remember.

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