[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 3] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page 3843] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]HONORING ARBELLA PERKINS EWING ______ HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of texas in the house of representatives Tuesday, March 11, 2008 Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Arbella Perkins Ewing in celebration of her 114th birthday on Thursday, March 13, 2008. As the third-oldest living person in the world and the second-oldest living American, Ms. Ewing is a fixture of the Dallas community. Born in 1894 on a farm in Freestone County, Mississippi, as one of 12 children and the great-granddaughter of Mississippi slaves, Ms. Ewing endured continual racial problems that eventually led to her move to Dallas. In 1936, she and her husband Frank settled into a house in South Dallas, where she lived until she was 106. As a wife and a mother to one daughter, Ms. Ewing not only made sure to keep a clean house for her own family, but extended her charity beyond her own home, often cooking for her sick neighbors. Known as a God-fearing woman, her faith has greatly contributed to her way of life. I am reminded of a quote by the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., ``The quality, not the longevity, of one's life is what is important.'' I can truly say that the quality of Ms. Ewing's life extends past even her longevity. Her reputation for ``good living'' includes not smoking or drinking, eating healthily, and not staying out late. She serves as an example for all of us to honor our bodies and cherish our health. After her husband and daughter passed away in the 1970s, Ms. Ewing lived an independent and self-sufficient life until a fall that broke her hip in 2007 at the age of 113. Ms. Ewing's strength and resolve has seen her though this rough time of surgery into recovery much as it saw her through the years of the Great Depression, Jim Crow segregation and the Civil Rights Era. Ms. Ewing stands as a beacon of will and determination. She makes us all mindful that a life well spent is a life worth living. Madam Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in honoring Arbella Perkins Ewing on reaching the monumental age of 114. I wish her continued life, good health and strength. ____________________