The secret to a long life...

My phone rang while I was driving toward Izmir. I pressed hard on the brakes of my rental car to pull over to the right side of the road. A screeching sound came from the front right tire. While I was thinking that the brake pads were worn out, I was also trying to take my phone out of my pocket. As I wondered what that sound was, a vehicle passing on my left stopped in front of me and warned, 'Your brake lights aren't working.' Like every other sector in my country, car rental companies aren't working well either. In a matter of seconds, I felt the sense of a sloppy rental car system in my crumbling country.

'Hello... Hello...' The voice on the phone from Istanbul said, 'I am the daughter of Erdoğan from Turan Çöğmen. Professor, we are coming to Çöğmen and the neighboring villages to distribute books and bring our authors together with students. Can you join us?'

I went back to my childhood for a moment... It was the late 1950s, and I was in the 2nd or 3rd grade of primary school. With the pocket money my father gave me, I went to Osman Grocery, the only grocery store in those years. I handed over a 2.5-kurush coin with a hole in the middle. When the grocer took the halva to wrap it in newspaper, I said, 'Uncle Osman, cut a large piece of newspaper.' He asked, 'Why do you want a big one, son?' I replied, 'So I can read the writing.' Reading is like hunger. It must be satisfied. While I was recalling this memory at lightning speed, I was answering my fellow citizen on the phone: 'Just come to Göcek first. The rest is easy,' I said.

When we met at the Çöğmen Primary School campus on Monday, December 1st, the village headman Bilal Aydoğan, the school principal, villagers, and our teachers had prepared a rich breakfast with gözleme and katmer. Along with 7 authors, Darıyer-based author and teacher Idris Koç and our other authors Osman Çeviksoy, İsmail Zorba, Ali Can, and Çınaraltı Publishing General Publishing Director Fatih Demir unloaded the boxes of books into the school hall.  

After the first lesson, when the bell rang, Dalaman District Director of National Education Ersal Ersin Avcı and his team joined the event. The boxes were opened. With the children's books 'The Goat and the Crying Rock' by the late lawyer Turan Karakaş, whom we lost last week, the 'One Person, One Book' project suddenly turned into a 'One Person, One Bag of Books' project. Each student was gifted 3-4 books. The students met our authors in their classrooms. They chatted. I also joined the preschool class and gifted our books to our little students. 

The project lasted for two days in Dalaman. It was implemented in 5-6 rural schools. In the following days, it continued in Çanakkale and Istanbul. I offer my heartfelt love and respect to those who contributed and to those who do not forget their village. They are heroes to me.

***   

While I was chatting with our authors in the evening at Zeynebim Göcekiçi Restaurant in Göcek, Deniz Hanım, the assistant to Prof. Dr. Muammer Tuna, the founder and coordinator of the Muğla University Refreshment University Project, said, 'Professor, will you come and give a lecture for us? Your students have missed you. You choose the topic.' Without looking at my busy schedule, I said yes. Time is short, too. Actually, I had missed my friends as well. 

Starting in 2017, it has had more than 1,000 students to date. On the campuses of the Refreshment University, lifelong learning is facilitated through theoretical courses, while practical classes allow students to discover their talents. This program at the Refreshment University is maintained as a social responsibility project based on volunteerism. 

On Tuesday afternoon, December 2, we set off from Göcek with Buğra Kızılkara, a journalism graduate student. It was raining heavily, not just a little. It was so intense that you could barely see in front of you. As if to spite the droughts I had written about before, the windshield wipers couldn't keep up with the rain. 

With our car wearing down its brake pads, we arrived on time without any accidents or trouble. When we entered the classroom on the ground floor of the university's Faculty of Letters building, about 80 students over the age of 60-65 welcomed us with applause. We greeted each other. They hadn't let the rain stop them; they had come to listen to me. 

My dear friends, today I will talk to you about the topic of 'The role of minerals in our lives and health.' I began my lecture by saying, 'I will focus especially on the magnesium mineral, the secret to a long life.'

There are 5,562 types of minerals in our bodies. Each one has its own importance and function. However, the most important and vital one is 'Magnesium.' 

So, what does magnesium do?

It maintains blood sugar balance,

It regulates circulation and blood pressure.

It undertakes very important tasks in cellular energy production.

It ensures the calmness of the nervous system and deep sleep.

It strengthens the bones. 

It maintains the flexibility of muscles, joints, and ligaments.

It is a very important mineral in the prevention of many diseases or complaints such as constipation, reflux, cardiovascular diseases (protects against infarction), migraine, insomnia, depression, osteoporosis, menopausal symptoms, fibromyalgia, restless leg syndrome, premature aging syndrome, and fatigue. 

In short, we can say this: magnesium means life. 

It should be taken as a supplement in a complex form consisting of magnesium citrate, glycinate, and malate varieties, along with vitamin B6. 

Projects like "One Person, One Book" and "Lifelong Learning" are "as important in our lives as magnesium." To live a happy, long, and healthy life, we must prioritize magnesium supplementation in addition to participating in social and community projects.