“At 61 years old, I was already thinking like an old man, and had
a fear of over doing it,” recalls Carlton Morrison of St. Simons
Island. That is when he began the cardiac rehabilitation program at the
Southeast Georgia Health System Brunswick Campus in lieu of medication
to control his moderately high blood pressure. Twenty-nine years later,
now age 90, Mr. Morrison is still going strong with his rehabilitation
workouts, saying he is in much better shape than when he started.
Mr. Morrison does admit to trying to quit the program once, but in less
than a month he was back at it. He enjoys the routine of getting out and
about three mornings a week, and associating with happy, upbeat people.
He adds, “I think the key to longevity is having more to do than
you can get around to doing.”
After graduating from Emory University in 1948 with a degree in broadcast
journalism, Mr. Morrison began his career on the news staff at WSB Radio
in Atlanta. From there his career moved into radio production and public
relations, press secretary for Congressman Russell Tuten, then a member
of the faculty at Brunswick Junior College (College of Coastal Georgia),
after earning his master’s in history.
Subsequently he wrote a book “Running the River: Poleboats, Steamboats
& Timber Rafts on the Altamaha, Ocmulgee, Oconee & Ohoopee”
which was published by the Saltmarsh Press in 2003. He took ownership
of the company in 2008 and has been editing and writing ever since. He
is at work on his second book about family life, including slaves, on
the coast of Georgia before, during and after the civil war.
Reflecting back on where he is mentally and physically today compared to
when he started the cardiac rehabilitation program, Mr. Morrison remarks,
“I think about what I have to do and keep working as if it matters.”