At 89 years old, actor Alan Alda isn’t letting Parkinson’s disease slow him down. Best known for his iconic role in “M*A*S*H”, Alda was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2015. In a recent interview with People magazine, he shared that managing the illness has become “almost a full-time job.”

“It used to be just a part-time job,” Alda said. “Now it’s a full-time job keeping track of all these little solutions. But it keeps me always looking for the funny side.”

Despite the challenges, Alda approaches each day with creativity and optimism. “Almost every day I’m finding a new way to do something,” he said. “It’s a little like a game. I’ve found whatever the little problem is—if I keep at it, I can eventually solve it. And then I feel like a million bucks.”

He even joked, “Making progress… I didn’t say in which direction!”

Alda also lives with face blindness, or prosopagnosia, which makes recognizing faces difficult. Still, he continues to act. Most recently, he made a cameo in Tina Fey’s Netflix adaptation of his 1981 film “The Four Seasons.” He plays a father who gives quirky marriage advice—something Alda knows a lot about.

He’s been married to his wife Arlene for 68 years. They met in college back in 1956 and bonded at a party when they were the only two people willing to eat rum cake off the floor. “That’s when I knew she was the one,” he said. “There’s something about flirting over food. And she laughed at my jokes—that meant a lot.”

Today, Alda leans on Arlene more than ever. “I don’t have dexterity with my fingers the way I used to, so sometimes she has to tear a package open for me,” he said. “She’s so good-natured about it. I’m always saying, ‘Thank you.’ I don’t get proud. I get glad that I can do something. Proud seems like a waste of time.”

He also shared her secret to a long marriage: “The secret to marriage is a short memory.” Alda added, “You can get used to somebody, no matter who it is. I’ve always thought if the Pope and Mother Teresa were a couple, after a few years, they’d have to work it out.”

Even as his health presents daily challenges, Alda remains focused on finding joy and staying present. His story is a powerful reminder that no matter what we face, we can still choose to see the good, hold on to gratitude, and even find a reason to laugh.

As Alda put it, “It’s a way to have a good time under poor circumstances.”