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You can still hear a bit of mischief in her voice when Anne Adams, soon to celebrate her 100th birthday, talks about learning to fly.
				She was 16 years old, excited about the idea of soaring above her home in Paterson, N.J., and, she seems to recall, a lesson in &ldquo;a little two-seater&rdquo; airplane cost her the princely sum of $5 back in the 1930s.
				Oh, yes, and &ldquo;no one knew I was doing it,&rdquo; she told a reporter in a telephone interview on Tuesday afternoon.
				&ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t take much to fly a two-seater,&rdquo; she said, brushing away any suggestion that flying was difficult. &ldquo;It was a matter of seeing where you were going.&rdquo;
				&ldquo;Did you once say you wanted to jump out of a plane for your 100th birthday?&rdquo; asked Tammy Audi, activities director at Highland Manor Senior Living in Wilkes-Barre Township, who assisted Adams during the interview.
				&ldquo;Oh, I don&rsquo;t think I could do that,&rdquo; Adams demurred.
				&ldquo;She always said she wishes she would have gotten a pilot&rsquo;s license,&rdquo; Adams&rsquo; nephew, Ron Voveris of Yatesville said later. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to get her a ride as a passenger for her 100th birthday. But she&rsquo;s frail and she&rsquo;d have to go up steps.&rdquo;
				Instead, the plan is for Adams to celebrate her birthday early Friday afternoon with balloons, a socially distant parade of well-wishers outside Highland Manor and perhaps a song or two from a staffer at the assisted living facility who has a pleasant singing voice.
				As she looked forward to her celebration, Adams said Tuesday that no reporters ever wanted to interview her until this week.
				&ldquo;No, why should they?&rdquo; she asked.
				Born Jan. 8, 1921, in Paterson, a daughter of the late Frank and Alice Boyd Baltuska, she attributes her long life to &ldquo;good heredity.&rdquo;
				She and her husband, the late John Adams from New York, moved to California decades ago for job opportunities &mdash; he as a tool designer and she as a teacher of business education at Sylmar High School in the San Fernando Valley.
				The couple had no children, but Adams enjoyed getting to know her sister Frances Voveris&rsquo; seven children: Ronald, Francis, Lt. Col. Bronis, Joan, Paulyna, Angela and Roberta and sharing their love for music.
				&ldquo;She liked anything you wanted to play,&rdquo; Ronald Voveris said, recalling how his aunt enjoyed listening to him play her piano when he spent some time in California. &ldquo;She wasn&rsquo;t picky.&rdquo;
				&ldquo;That nephew of mine can play anything you want to hear,&rdquo; Adams said.
				In addition to being a music fan whose favorite song is &ldquo;Amazing Grace,&rdquo; Adams said she used to enjoy playing the board game mah jongg, though she hasn&rsquo;t played it for a while.
				Nowadays she appreciates the treat of getting her nails done &mdash; usually with sparkles &mdash; and the patience of people who work at Highland Manor.
				&ldquo;It&rsquo;s difficult in a place like this,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s no pleasing some people.&rdquo;
				As for her nephew, he also recalls that his aunt was a dog lover whose Dobermann used to make him and his sister feel nervous. He also remembers that Adams and her late husband once enjoyed a safari to Africa; a trip Adams said Tuesday she does not remember herself.
				&ldquo;I wish she could (remember it),&rdquo; Voveris said. &ldquo;I have so many things I&rsquo;d like to ask her about.&rdquo;

Retired schoolteacher, would-be pilot, will celebrate a century