I do come from maternal grandparents who were from West Virginia. But they were extraordinarily healthy and long lived. My mom is 82 and in better health than I am, though she has suffered all her life with lung problems.

I was born and raised (as was my mom) in what was once called (with pride) the chemical capital of the south. Often the very air was yellow and acrid. What I have is a compromised immune system due to that exposure and probably a cocktail of drugs army doctors fed my mom when she was pregnant with me.