HAMBURG, N.Y. — These days, Melissa Balester's first language may not be music to your ears.
"You're going to be 112," she shouted.
"What? Cmon," said Catherine Abate.
However, to Abate, it's just the right note.
"(Catherine) has a little bit of a hard time of hearing, but we get that past that," Balester said.
Balester takes care of Abate, who is not a Buffalo native.
"My dad was here. He was an American and he married my mother in Italy so he brought us all over here," Abate said.
She now resides at Elderwood Assisted Living in Hamburg, where her friend is asking the community for a small favor.
"See if anyone would send her a birthday card. Our goal is 112 so we'll see," Balester said. "I just really wanted to be able to say this is how many people are thinking about you on your birthday."
Abate has no idea. She wasn't even sure why she was being interviewed by Channel 2.
"What're all the questions for," she asked 2 On Your Side's Danielle Church.
Yet Abate is already getting a few surprises ahead of her big day.
"My birthday is the 15," Abate said.
"So is mine," Balester said.
"That's good," Abate said."How old will are you?"
"Not 112," Balester said.
The two may be separated by more than a century.
"As long as I have a good life, that's all the matters," Abate said.
"Prior to COVID, Catherine would go out on all the activities," Balester said. "I learned that age it just a number. You don't have to slow down."
Yet Abate continues to show Balester life is all about carrying the right tune.
You can send cards to:
Elderwood Assisted Living At Hamburg
76 Buffalo Street
Hamburg, NY 14075
Attention: Birthday Girl 112