At 102 years old, University Village Thousand Oaks resident Eddy Goldfarb has no shortage of stories to tell. But not many 102-year-olds can claim to have invented iconic toys such as Chattering Teeth, Stompers and KerPlunk. The Thousand Oaks, CA, senior living community resident compiled all of those stories into a recently published book, “It’s Going to Be a Big Day: 101 100-Word Stories by a 101-Year-Old.” But for those concerned about its length, fear not: All of the stories are approximately 100 words.
“There’s a small newspaper called the Acorn here in Thousand Oaks that ran a hundred word story contest,” Goldfarb said. “I joined it because when I was about 19, I had an idea for a story and I never wrote it. I lost but it gave me the bug and I’ve been writing ever since.”
Edited by his daughter, Lyn Goldfarb, the book is composed of short, digestible episodes from Eddy’s life from his childhood in Chicago, his time in the Navy during World War II and more. Picking the right stories to include was no easy task, but the father and daughter are proud of the final result.
“He’s written about 250, and we picked 101 best stories and put them in the book,” Lyn said. “They’re clever, they’re inspiring, they’re humorous and they’re really kind of a reflection of who Eddy is, so we were very excited. He still writes every day, so it’s a great exercise.”
Although many of his inventions have stood the test of time, Eddy’s most enduring invention might be his family. An independent filmmaker, Lyn also produced a documentary about her father that will air on PBS starting December 2. When it comes to creativity, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
“Growing up in my household, both my father and my mother really encouraged independent thinking and having ideas, and being able to pursue your passion. They were never like, ‘You have to get this kind of job,’” Lyn said. “We should be interested in what we do. Being an independent filmmaker, I also learned from my father that you have to embrace failure, you can’t get discouraged if something doesn’t work. You just try something else. Those are the principles that he lived by and that’s what he’s taught me as well.”
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