How to live until your 113- "cigarettes, whiskey and wild, wild women."

[masuki bance]

Let's hope this advice is included in any Health Reform package-

Sat Jul 18 LONDON – Only death could silence Henry Allingham.

He went to war as a teenager, helped keep flimsy aircraft flying, survived his wounds and came home from World War I to a long — very long — and fruitful life.

But only in his last years did he discover his true mission: to remind new generations of the sacrifices of the millions slaughtered in the trenches, killed in the air, or lost at sea in what Britons call the Great War.

Allingham, who was the world's oldest man when he died Saturday at 113, attributed his remarkable longevity to "cigarettes, whisky and wild, wild women."

Jokes aside, he was a modest man who served as Britain's conscience, reminding young people time and time again about the true cost of war.

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

He was the last surviving original member of the Royal Air Force, which was formed in 1918. He made it a personal crusade to talk about a conflict that wiped out much of a generation. Though nearly blind, he would take the outstretched hands of visitors in both of his, gaze into the eyes of children, veterans and journalists and deliver a message he wanted them all to remember about those left on the battlefield.

"I don't want to see them forgotten," he would say quietly. "We were pals."


...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090718/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_obit_oldest_man

edit because AP doesn't know how to proofread.

[wtbymark]

1. yea, ok, I'll go along with that.

:toast:

[Greyhound]

2. May we all honor him by emulating him and remembering that life is too short

for incessant worry over trivialities.
:kick: & R

[shadowknows69]

3. Yeah, doesn't work for everyone.

Ask the cemetary full of my dead friends.

[Mythsaje]

11. Ironically, most of my friends made it through quite well...

A couple alleged suicides, but no drug overdoses, fatal car crashes, or other things we were predicted to have happen. No, the vast majority of my friends are still kicking, though several could definitely use some "wild, wild women." Of all the possible choices, that's probably the most appealing and, hopefully, the least dangerous.

[shadowknows69]

14. Not if you count AIDS. Name a reason. I've probably buried someone under 40 for it.

[timeforpeace]

4. There's really no upside to being the world's oldest person.

[alittlelark]

12. Aside from the attention of possibly wild women and the world....

I guess not.:crazy:

[pleah]

5. K&R

:toast: :smoke: and wild wild men!:P

[liberaltrucker]

6. Two out of three ain't bad

Where all da wild women at?

:evilgrin:

[lumberjack_jeff]

7. We lack perspective.

Ever seen the Vietnam War Memorial? Great Britain lost 885,000 soldiers. Imagine a VWM, but a mile and-a-half long.

All told, 5.7 million soldiers died AND another 3.6 million civilians. A memorial which includes all their names would be 15 miles long. It would stretch from the Washington monument to Fairfax, VA.

[MetaTrope]

8. "I'm at the age now where just putting my cigar in its holder is a thrill"

[etherealtruth]

9. Does being a wild, wild woman count?

I can do the cigarettes and occasionally the alcohol ...

[Klukie]

10. A rendition courtesy of the Muppets....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVw96wzmZC8


My dad used to sing this to my siblings and me when we were little.

[Obamanaut]

13. Many years ago Johnny Carson asked a very old guest what was

her secret to her longevity. "Don't die, Johnny."