In life, there are negative people and there are positive people. And then there are people who are so positive, they make the positive people look negative.

And in these parts, we are luckier than most, because we have two amazing people who fall into that third category who also happen to be, believe it or not, 94 and 97 years old.

This Friday, July 12, from 7 to 9:30 pm, local life coach Shelley Hannah (who could also qualify for the third category) will host an installment in her “Inspiration Convention” speaker series at the Mad & Noisy Gallery, and the guests of honour will be the aforementioned beacons of positivity – 94-year-old Creemore resident Ken Thornton and 97-year-old Mulmur resident Ruth Durance.

Readers of the Creemore Echo will be familiar with some of Ken Thornton’s story – his habit of picking up a completely new hobby every five years, be it motorcycle touring, bagpiping, writing novels, playing the harp or ventriloquism, and his absolute refusal to stop learning new things and having new experiences. They might be less familiar with Ruth Durrance, but she too has a tale to tell, of a life of travel and the steadfast insistence that there are so many good things about life, you merely have to look for them.

Both Ken and Ruth are avid members of the Creemore branch of the Taoist Tai Chi Society, and can be seen keeping their bodies limber once a week at the Station on the Green.

As with past installments of the Inspiration Convention, Friday’s event will start with the two speakers talking about their life stories and the wisdom they’ve picked up along the way, and will end with a participatory discussion about how the lessons Ken and Ruth have learned can be applied to the lives of all of those present.

“This will be a celebration of two people who have lived life well,” said Hannah. “And hopefully we can glean something for our own lives.”

Admission to the event is by donation.