Great Neck, New York — At 102, George Strausman is remarkably spry. “I’m feeling good,” he told CBS News. He still works four days a week at his family’s construction business, but on his day off he pursues something different: pottery.
For the past 10 years Strausman has taken a class through the Great Neck Free Union School District’s Community Education Program. “I’ve always worked with my hands,” he said. “It’s an interesting thing to do. And it’s challenging to do well.”
His teacher, Rosalie Dornstein, admires his dedication. “And that’s wonderful that, at 102, he still wants to get better,” she said.
Strausman treats creating as a compulsion of the spirit — a search for deeper meaning and greater beauty with no end. His wife, Nancy, says he brings home another piece every week that he doesn’t like. Today, hundreds of rejects fill wood cabinets and cardboard boxes, each a testament to his relentless determination and optimism.
“Maybe someday I’ll get good enough to be happy with it,” Strausman said. “I’m still not happy with what I do.”
Asked about the secret to a long and happy life, Strausman offered a wry observation: you can’t leave Earth until you’re finished. And when he finally makes something he thinks is beautiful, he said, it will “be a great feeling.”