furtech: (Thenardier)
furtech ([personal profile] furtech) wrote2005-09-01 09:29 am

Worst World's Record?

There are some world's records that people work their whole lives for...but this has to top them all: World's Oldest Living Person. I saw this obituary about a Dutch woman who (according to the article) held the record for being the world's oldest living person; she held that record for fifteen months.

This has to be the worst record to hold: First, you don't get this record because of hard work-- you really inherit it because someone else died! Worse-- it totally sucks to "give up" this record! Besides-- when you're that old I imagine such things don't mean a heckuvalot to you: either your so wise that you've long-since realized the superficial nature of such things...or you're so out of it that you barely recognize jello as food.

Still, from the article she seemed a feisty old biddy and she had her wits to the end. Imagine someone who was old enough to have seen and remember the coming of the Twentieth and Twenty-first Centuries! Living through both world wars...seen the destruction and rebuilding (twice!) of Europe...watched the age of manufacturing change to the age of the computer chip. Amazing. I hope someone did extensive interviews with her!

And at least she was able to meet the queen and the star of the soccer team (which she'd followed for nearly a century! gad!)

Fine advice (especially that last bit):
Her personal advice on how to live a long life was to eat pickled herring, drink orange juice and "keep breathing."

[identity profile] purplecat.livejournal.com 2005-09-01 09:44 am (UTC)(link)
or you're so out of it that you barely recognize jello as food.

I'm not that old, but Jello as food is debatable. ;)

[identity profile] whiteyfawks.livejournal.com 2005-09-01 10:35 am (UTC)(link)
Breathing! Right, that's the one I keep forgetting....

*expires*

[identity profile] redstorm.livejournal.com 2005-09-01 03:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Heh, she onlt beat my great nan by 13 years.