World's oldest man dies at age 113, a fellow WWI UK chap...

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Just learned about this cool piece of WWI history of a fellow UK gentleman who was listed as the world's oldest man died at the ripe ol' age of 113:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009 ... clude=Juno

Hats off to him for doing the world a tremedous service and bravery during the infamous WWI era. War is hell any way you put it. It's not knowing if you are going to make it out alive on a given day...there is always hope for a better tomorrow. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Ed Oscuro]

I found out about him some time ago (following the last WWI vets is something of a hobby...) and was wondering if he'd actually become the world's oldest man. I see he made it. It's cool that he remained lucid and active (traveling even) up to the last.

He also had the best "secret to long life" of them all: "cigarettes, whisky and wild, wild women - and a good sense of humour"

[neorichieb1971]

On the radio yesterday that had him saying "I made it to this age by cigerettes, booze and wild wild women". Cracked me up!

Just imagine, he was 33 when WW2 started, thats almost as old as me now.

Geez, the mind boggles how he lasted so long. He practically lived and saw the car evolve, the motorcycle evolve, aeroplanes evolve.

I bet he didn't have a pot to piss in either.

[BIL]

"I want everyone to know," he told the Associated Press during an interview in November. "They died for us."

I saw him echo those exact sentiments on television in 2007. It was pretty moving, even at his age his sincerity was unmistakable. Also heard him give the "wild, wild women" comment equally convincingly!

[Lordstar]

He also had the best "secret to long life" of them all: "cigarettes, whisky and wild, wild women - and a good sense of humour"

I think we can all learn something from that.

[Ed Oscuro]

Now Harry Patch has followed all the others - he was the last British WWI veteran alive. The last veteran of trench warfare too.

[Acid King]

He also had the best "secret to long life" of them all: "cigarettes, whisky and wild, wild women - and a good sense of humour"

It seems like that's how a lot of these guys that make it to that age are. Just makes me think of a Lewis Black bit...

"I know that there are no general rules of health because there was a gentleman living in New York a few years ago who was one hundred and fifteen. He was the oldest man living in New York, and he was doing quite well. He lived on his own, got around with no trouble, and could deal with everything that came his way. People asked him, of course, 'What's your diet? What're you eating?' He said that from the ages of ninety to one hundred and fifteen, his diet consisted mostly of three gallons of Thunderbird wine a week, and bread fried in fatback. When they asked him why he didn't fry his bread in bacon, he said that bacon was TOO LEAN. Here's a man who knew exactly what his body needed, and he lived a rich, full life on what one would think is fucking rocket fuel. And if he'd gone to a doctor, the doctor would've been, 'What the fuck is the matter with you?! You're out of control, Goddammit! You know what? You're gonna have to start eating vegetables.' And he would've, and he'd have been dead in a week!"

[Ex-Cyber]

He also had the best "secret to long life" of them all: "cigarettes, whisky and wild, wild women - and a good sense of humour"

It seems like that's how a lot of these guys that make it to that age are.

Ambrose Bierce sort of touched on this in The Devil's Dictionary:

DAWN, n.
The time when men of reason go to bed. Certain old men prefer to rise at about that time, taking a cold bath and a long walk with an empty stomach, and otherwise mortifying the flesh. They then point with pride to these practices as the cause of their sturdy health and ripe years; the truth being that they are hearty and old, not because of their habits, but in spite of them. The reason we find only robust persons doing this thing is that it has killed all the others who have tried it.

[Ed Oscuro]

Oh man, I need to bookmark the Devil's Dictionary again. Had a good laugh at that one