90-year-old Braves Fan Retires

...Not from watching the team, but from her secretarial position. Margaret Drummond Melson's story is fascinating, and I've clipped out the relevant part to Braves fans here:

Celebrating her 90th birthday amid many friends and family members, Melson's mind is as sharp as ever. She can rattle off dates without hesitation. She knows she started work Feb. 7, 1955. [Her boss] Watson died April 13, 1968.

She can also tell you most any pertinent information about the Atlanta Braves, her favorite baseball team.

"You know they resigned Tom Glavine for $8 million. Maddux signed with the Padres for $10 million. He was one of my favorite players," said Melson.

Her current Atlanta Brave favorite player is Andruw Jones, and all summer she fretted as he slumped.

"When he first came up he could hit home runs, but he didn't have a good year. Of course, you know he has 10 gold gloves," she said.

She has a vast collection of baseball cards from her lifelong passion for baseball.

Wow, I hope to be that sharp and still so in love with the Braves when I'm 90. It probably won't be from this, though:

What's her secret for good health and a sharp mind? She believes work and Coca-Cola have kept her going all these years. She drinks only Coke Classic, none of the new stuff for her.

"I remember once I had cancer, and Dr. Milton Kellam, who graduated with me from Central High School, told me after my operation, 'I wished it could have been better.' That was 32 years ago, and I told the nurse I was now going to drink all the Coke I wanted. Later, when I was doing so well and the cancer was gone, she said, 'I drink Pepsi, but I think I am going to switch to Coke.'"

I'm not so sure that's a ringing endorsement for Coke. On the one hand, good for her for drinking whatever she wants! On the other hand...Is she saying Coca-Cola disintegrated her cancer? That scares me, a bit.

Read the whole story here.