PE OPLE who work with Donald Tapia at the United States Embassy in Kingston will tell you that he’s very active for a man his age.

The octogenarian, who will celebrate his 83rd birthday on January 12, 2021, is “high-energy and pursues the embassy’s projects with passion”, according to a member of the embassy staff.

Tapia, America’s top diplomat in Jamaica, is also an early riser and a voracious reader who, by the time he gets into office at 7:30 am, is fully aware of what is printed in the newspapers.

Last Wednesday, during his meeting with Jamaica Observer editors and reporters, Ambassador Tapia, on being asked the secret to his longevity, chuckled before saying: “There are certain things in life that you need, and there are certain things in life that you don’t need. I don’t eat well; I eat hamburgers, fries and fried chicken and eat the things that they tell me not to eat.

“I don’t do the exercise that they tell me that I should do, so maybe that’s the secret.”

After the laughter in the room subsided, he added: “I eat early and I eat with moderation, except when it comes to fried chicken — fried chicken is my favourite.”

Tapia, who took office in Kingston last year September, also professed a love for jerk chicken.

But even the Jamaican delicacy cannot supersede his love for fried chicken.

“Every Sunday my butler makes sure that I have fried chicken, corn on the cob and coleslaw — that’s my Sunday dinner,” Ambassador Tapia said.

He also identified worship as a factor in his many years on earth.

“Go to church, have faith. Think about that, it’s what keeps you going,” he said.