Happy birthday, Sophia!
Andrew Glazer
CORONA DEL MAR -- She celebrated her first birthday party ever with
friends, margaritas, polka music and taco salad.
“I was always busy working,” said Sophia Cook, who turned 95 years old on
Friday. “I never had time to celebrate.”
But on Friday, Cook -- whose arthritis in her knees has confined her to
her bed and wheelchair for the past five years -- partied hard.
A church group from Our Lady Queen of Angels in Eastbluff brought
meatball soup, a heart-shaped birthday cake and margaritas -- her
favorite drink. They plugged in a small boombox and cued up “Moonlight
Polka.”
The women have alternated visiting Cook -- who is at home alone with her
caretaker and talking green parakeet, Sam, most days -- for months.
Rosemary Warde brings her soup, so Cook calls her “Soup Lady.” Vicki
Klein brings German crepes and is called “Blini Lady.” There’s also a
“Beer Lady,” “Margarita Lady” and “Leftover Lady.”
On Friday, they all joined Cook at her cozy home. A Costa Mesa
hairdresser cut and styled her white hair into a neat bob. And he made
her up lightly, to bring out her eye color.
“I was afraid he might tart you up,” said Barbara “Beer Lady” Tate.
Cook smiled and quietly laughed at the ladies’ jokes -- not one slipped
by.
“We were going to put in 95 candles,” said Klein as she carried in the
cake. “But we didn’t want to start a bonfire!”
While she sat in her wheelchair wrapped in a white knit shawl, her
brilliant green eyes darted around the room like the bee that flew into
her living room.
Cook said she’s frustrated that she can no longer make clothes, drive her
gray Toyota Celica sports car or tear through crossword puzzles as she
used to.
“My mind is still sharp and energetic, but my flesh is weak,” she said.
But for the most part, she said, she has enjoyed her life -- especially
working. Her favorite job she ever had was working as a typist at the
state Department of Motor Vehicles.
She said her secret to living long has been working and eating a lot.
Specifically, she recommended eating “peasant food” -- a balanced diet of
sauerkraut, pig’s feet and ham hocks.
At her party, she nibbled at her portion of taco salad and sipped her
soup. For desert, she spooned a crimson rose, sculpted from icing, right
off her cake.
“Haven’t you always wanted to do that?” asked “Leftover Lady” Pamela
Hoffman. “I think when you’re 95, you can do pretty much whatever you
like.”
The ladies said sometimes it seems like they have more fun visiting Cook
than she does herself.
“She really gives me a great outlook on life,” Klein said.
“She’s a role model and we really feel her blessing,” added Hoffman.
Before leaving the party, Hoffman set the agenda for her next visit,
which is scheduled for today.
“I’ll come by and we can eat the leftover soup and dish on all the other
ladies,” she said, as a smile appeared on Cook’s face. “We can talk about
what they were wearing and how their hair looked.”
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.