Emeritus student enjoys Richland Life

Maryam Abdullah says she's returning to Richland to take classes next semester. For her, that's nothing new. She's been coming here since 1998 every week – unless school is out.

"I have no plans to quit coming here unless God says it's over," Abdullah said.  

One of Abdullah's favorite classes through the years has been Bill Neal's physical exercise class – the one geared toward Emeritus students, or those over 55. She's taking it this semester and will do so again in the spring. The class meets Mondays and Wednesdays for one hour to do some stretching exercises.

"I enjoy doing it because I like exercise," Abdullah said. "Bill's an excellent coach."

Abdullah said there are about 95 to 100 students in the class.

Neal admires Abdullah for her persistence and her flexibility.

"Her flexibility levels are great, particularly for her age," Neal said. "It's been six or seven years she's been in my class. I still make polk salad and she cooks it up."

Abdullah, at 80, is noted by class members for some outstanding exercises only she can do.

"What everybody likes to see me do is, I go over my head and pick a piece of paper up with my feet," Abdullah said. "Now the next one that they like a lot – I do the splits. I pick up a piece of paper with my mouth without putting my hands on the floor. It's easy, because I've done it all my life."

Abdullah isn't going for a degree, but she says it's very important to stay active.

"As long as you put one foot in front of the other, you can always move," she said. "But you can't move sitting down."

Abdullah said she can walk on all fours a long way and also does demos, or exercises on video for women with breast cancer. She has also done demonstrations for Breast Cancer Awareness Week. She demonstrates how to get up off the floor without your hands, how to squat down, get off the floor and then get up without using your hands from a sitting position. Ten or 12 years ago, she could outrun those younger than her.

Abdullah's ideas about aging are pretty simple. She said, "You're only born one time. I never celebrate the second birthday because I was only born once. It's May 8."

She stresses to eating right and "think right," and that, she said, will keep you from aging.

"I've got one heart and I want to fill my heart with love," she said. "I don't have room for hate. That would take too much of your energy.  If you hate somebody, that's a terrible strain on you and your body. This will keep you well."

 Abdullah's four grown sons and daughters say it's OK with them that she's in school. One of her daughters has been a student at Richland, but none are now. They are all married.

Abdullah was born in Tyler, lived and worked the fields on a farm and is one of eight siblings. She never had a book with a back on it until the sixth grade. All her books were obsolete. For years she never had a typewriter, a telephone or running water.

 She has worked as a maid, taking care of children and living in the servants' quarters. She also worked at a hospital in Tyler and tried nursing school but felt it wasn't for her. She does some health home care today, though.

Abdullah has done her fair share of traveling, having visited Rome to see Pope John II, Egypt twice, the holy city of Mecca and Ghana, where she saw the Door of No Return.

"You're supposed to study from the cradle to the grave, even if you have to go as far as China to learn," Abdullah said.

When Abdullah isn't taking classes or traveling, there's one other thing she enjoys at Richland – it's fishing. She's quite observant in the behavior of fish and other creatures on campus.

"I have fished all my life," Abdullah said. "Fishing is a therapy for me. Here at Richland, fish will not bite when the weather is cold here. But where I come from, the fish bite in Tyler better."

Abdullah says she catches any type of fish, but won't eat big ones like catfish.

"I don't want most fish that weigh over three pounds," she said. "I will only eat scaled fish." If she happens to pull the wrong fish out of the Richland lake, she will throw it back in or give it to somebody else.

Abdullah's relationship with nature is one to be desired.

She likes to fish with live crickets. One day she ran out of bait. She always has some food in the cricket can to feed them, even though they're the bait.

"They need some lettuce leaves and water," she said. "I ran out of bait and I always dump what's left into the lake."

One day there was a corn cob in her cricket can. She dumped it all into the lake.

"Here comes a turtle and it looked right at me," she said. "Unconsciously, I said, ‘You're welcome.'" The turtle had snapped up the corn cob and seemed to be thanking her.

"If you love nature, watch the little ants. I'm always watching ants and bugs. I just love that," Abdullah said.