World's Oldest Person Dies at 115

[david uk]

"A vegetarian, teetotaller, non-smoker, she had a lifelong weakness for rice pudding "

well I have a few points in common with her. Now I just have to start eating rice pudding.

I'd love to live to that age, provided I was in good health and happy- after all quality of life is more important than quantity.

"In her homeland of Portugal, she had lived through the 1910 revolution that deposed the monarchy, the 1926 military coup that installed the Salazar dictatorship and the 1974 "Carnation" coup that heralded democratic reform."

so she'd not lived through much then :p

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/maria-de-jesus-worlds-oldest-person-dies-at-the-age-of-115-1222853.html

[Sara]

I'd love to live to that age, provided I was in good health and happy- after all quality of life is more important than quantity.
Well put, David. Couldn't agree with you more.


"In her homeland of Portugal, she had lived through the 1910 revolution that deposed the monarchy, the 1926 military coup that installed the Salazar dictatorship and the 1974 "Carnation" coup that heralded democratic reform."
Interesting how, of all the possible benchmarks, life is measured by incidents of military violence. :(

[Bat]

Right on the mark, Sara...and that is why I always hated history until I found out that a lot more happened during those past years than the wars they were highlighted by...I guess that's why boys always liked history better than the girls did. I was not really into memorizing the date of the Pelopponesian war, or any of the others, either.

[david uk]

I guess you can read something positive in the dates in her life though- yes they are all dates of violent conflict, but the last date marked the start of democracy in Portugal, which filled the last 35 years of her life and continues today.

Also, those particular dates were chosen by the journalist who wrote the article, she may have chosen other dates to mark her life.

[Mary6906]

I ban Bat for using the word Pelopponesian!!! :D Oops sorry wrong thread!

It's too early in the morning for me to be reading big words like that!! My brain is still asleep.

[Judy]

One of the clearest memories of my grandmother is seeing her on a summer day standing on her front lawn. An airplane roared overhead and she looked up and watched until is disappeared. I remember looking at her and thinking about the incredible evolution of transportation she had seen over her 90 + years.

[Eva]

I don't think I would want to live that long. At about 80 I think it's enough for me. Like my 92 year old aunt used to say: "Getting old is great. Being old is terrible. But she fought untill her last breath.

Eva

[Bat]

As they said in the article, it doesn't matter really what you do as long as you choose your parents well...age is in the genes, and there's not too much you can do about that. Health is most important, and keeping one's wits, too. As long as you have those going for you, you can enjoy your life to the fullest for as long as it takes. I'm aiming for 92 or so...and I'm sure when I get there, if I'm still going strong I won't want to quit.:cool:
I can't wait to see what will be invented tomorrow!!!

[Amy in Vermont]

...age is in the genes,

My oldest pair of jeans is about 9 years....

...oh wait... GENES... hmmm... well.. there's my dad... who's name isn't Gene... but he's kicking 93 in the ass...

....mom is 83. Her mom died at 88, her sister at 86....

...unfortunately, the women all were/are quite demented.

To be truthful, given the current state of my body, I'll be lucky to see 75!

[Sara]

My oldest pair of jeans is about 9 years....Good one, Amy!



To be truthful, given the current state of my body, I'll be lucky to see 75!
So my question to all is this: If it were possible to know the date/time and manner of your own death, would you want to know ahead of time? :confused:

[dragonlady]

Definitely NOT!!!! In this case I'd want to blissfully ignorant and enjoy my life not worry about my last days.

-di

[Marcia Drummergal]

Good one, Amy!



So my question to all is this: If it were possible to know the date/time and manner of your own death, would you want to know ahead of time? :confused:


A big, fat NO!! Talk about paranoia. I wouldn't want to know either one. Then I would be trying to prevent it (and I guess you can't change the future...or CAN you)? And it would always be in the back of my mind, "I am going to die of ____ on _____ date. Yuk!

Marcia :eek:

[Eva]

Nae... let it be a surprise.

Eva

[TwinLori]

Interesting question, Sara... (by the way, how do you guys do the "Quote" thing on this message board?)...

"So my question to all is this: If it were possible to know the date/time and manner of your own death, would you want to know ahead of time?"

Guess I suppose it would make a difference if one just knew or if one could do something to change it! Or, even if you knew you were going to die at a young age then I'd think most people would live their lives differently up until that point.

In some ways it's like knowing what sex of child you're having before it's born...you can't change it, but you can prepare for it.

Think I'd like to live to about 85 years of age. My aunt who I take care of is 93 (almost 94) and can't see/hear much anymore. But, I know two 80 year olds who seem like they are in their 60s. If 60 is the new 40, then is 80 the new 60? :-)

[Oak Kitten]

The issue for me is to figure out the timing of checking out. My biggest fear is losing my mind (yes, I am well aware that many of you are of the opinion that that horse has long since left the barn). The track record on my mother's side of the family is not good in that regard. She and almost all her sisters succumbed to dementia and psychosis in their final years. Absolutely miserable way to end one's days. If you are familiar with the movie "Harold and Maude" I think the Ruth Gordon character had the right idea. Live life to the fullest and check out on your own terms. In her case, she chose her eightieth birthday, because "After 80 you are just marking time."

Oak

[hoops]

well my moms side of the family great grandma was 99 grandma was 83 mom was 66 great grand pa was 71 grand pa was 62
on dads side all lived into 80's.
i would not want to know the date and mode of my death and i do not want to live past 80
may this lovely woman rest in peace
peace
hoops

[DaveM]

Dang...non-smoker, non-drinker, celibate....could I have a chance at attaining such an age? That'd be another 70 years. I don't know that I even want to contemplate that....

I recall some years ago when the oldest person on earth died (a French woman who was around 120 and once sold paintbrushes to Vincent Van Gogh). If I recall correctly, when she hit 115 or so, so was asked how she had managed to live so long. She replied that to protect her health, she'd given up smoking cigars three years ago. To my knowledge, she never did give up her beloved brandy.

[Sara]

Interesting question, Sara... (by the way, how do you guys do the "Quote" thing on this message board?)...
Lori, instead of clicking on the blue "Post Reply" button at the end of the thread, simply click on the Quote button at the lower right of the post you want to quote. That will work fine to quote one person.

To quote multiple people, I leave a word processing page open and paste in the quote from Person A (after hitting the quote button for that post). Then I leave that, find the post for Person B, and hit the quote button and type my response. Then I can paste in the stuff for Person A (from my temporary word processing document) and respond.

You can also quote separate pieces from a single post, making sure that each piece begins with
quote=Person A
and ends with
/quote
You must also be sure to have brackets [ ] around what I've typed here in red. Hope I wasn't too confusing! :)

[Bat]

You can also 'copy' the quote you want, hit the right yellow rectangle at the top of the page you are replying on, click a cursor in the middle to insert, and 'paste'.

[Sara]

The issue for me is to figure out the timing of checking out. My biggest fear is losing my mind (yes, I am well aware that many of you are of the opinion that that horse has long since left the barn).If you don't mind my saying so, Oak, I'd say that horse is well ensconced in that barn. Your writing here is consistently of unusually high quality. Can't imagine you any other way! :)

[DaveM]

You mean some people around here get horses? I didn't even get a barn.

[hoops]

dave, as another non smoker, non drinker, non ANYTHING FUN lol. i think we are in for a shorter life span, as it seems all those who have longevity seem to enjoy one or more of the above. my great grandma who lived to be 99 and 1/2 enjoyed a good drink ( she was from the bailey clan)... she said"everything in moderation" she was born prematurely, her mother died in childbirth, great grandma weighed 1 1/2 obs when she was born back in the 1800's she had to have done something right.
come to think of it... i died at 39...hmm
peace
hoops

[Sara]

come to think of it... i died at 39...hmm
peace
hoops
Hoops, were you pronounced legally dead for a brief period? If so, can you describe your experience? (Or were you just kidding? Sorry for my ignorance.)

[hoops]

sara yes, i was pronounced legally dead 2 years ago. i can't describe the experience because i have no memory of that day or the days before and a couple weeks after. sorry
peace
hoops

[DaveM]

Hmmm....same experience, same result, though I was a bit younger. Strange thing was that I came out of it convinced that I had touched some sort of Higher Truth and spent two weeks madly trying to write all about it to everyone I knew. Since I never have been able to figure out how the idea came into my head (endorphin rush is my best guess), I never was able to explain any of it satisfactorily. Sure was weird, though.

Hoops, I think that those of us who have given up everything don't necessarily live longer, it just seems that way. Yeah, yeah, I know....ancient joke.