Good hard work, good friends and family, good Italian blood… and the good Lord. That’s what has kept Monica Lapanna healthy and happy for nearly100 years. Oh, she’s slowed down a bit as that remarkable milestone gets closer, but she’s still perky and smiles often as she enjoys a cup of hot tea and a cookie at the kitchen table while talking to friends and family… or her pet — a cockatiel she calls “Pretty Bird.”

“He’s always talking back to me,” she said with a big smile, coaxing the yellow and white bird to speak to visitors. The bird has a prominent place in her kitchen, right beside the table and chairs, where he can easily be seen … and heard.