PORT ST. LUCIE PEOPLE
PHOTO PROVIDED
Known by his teammates as “The Legend,” Esaian, seen warming up in this
old photo, started playing in the senior softball league at age 72.
GREG GARDNER
Esaian celebrates after beating out a single at a recent Spanish Lakes senior
softball league game on a hot summer morning.
PHOTO PROVIDED
The Esaians did a lot of traveling after Paul retired including a visit to the
ancient Pyramids of Giza during a trip to Egypt.
Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. “I will never forget the massive
construction that went into them. We went inside the burial
tomb. No history book can describe it until you see those
massive boulders with your own eyes,” he said.
While he wears glasses, Esaian hears fine and has never
smoked or had surgery. “I don’t have a hearing aid. I hear
what I want to hear,” he said. The only pills he takes are
CoQ10 vitamins and he has never used a wheelchair. When a
doctor tried to get him to take some thyroid medicine, Esaian
said, “No, thank you.”
After a recent game, Esaian joined his fellow ballplayers
for snacks. He cracked open an orange soda, scraped the salt
off a pretzel and nibbled on it along with three small potato
chips. After only a few sips of the soda, Esaian dumped the
rest out as a demonstration of moderation.
Diet is the key to longevity, according to Esaian.
“What you eat is very, very important,” he said. “No fried
foods, not a lot of meat. Statistics show 60 percent of people
are overweight or obese. I read a lot of medical writings. People
are not eating the right food. It is garbage, the ingredients
in processed food. I have been eating yogurt all my life. My
wife used to make yogurt. Eating the proper amount of food
is important. Some people eat until they can’t eat any more.”
The local Loyal Order of Moose recently held a dinner in
honor of Esaian, who has served in almost every capacity
since he moved to Port St. Lucie 27 years ago. “I was overwhelmed
by the turnout, so I was unable to say what I really
wanted to say,” he said.
Keith Headley is the administrator at the Moose lodge,
which depends on volunteers to handle 97 percent of its
activities. “Paul does a lot of things for the lodge. He is head
of the ritual team that does funerals. He has run the monthly
bingo luncheon from the beginning. He has put on the Easter
and Christmas parties for the kids. He has been a past governor
and junior governor. We would be tickled to death to
have more volunteers like him.”
“Paulie is fun and we have a lot of laughs,” said Henry
Camire, commissioner for the Spanish Lakes softball league.
“He takes a good joke and we love throwing parties for him.
And he has to make it to 105 so we can buy him a matching
pair of Yankees pants.” E
Port St. Lucie Magazine 53