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by James - Insights (pr)offered intermittently

So much for clean living

Tuesday, 15. April 2008, 20:26:59

Suppose that you're 99 years old. Just suppose that you're bored enough to come out of retirement after, say, two years. You thereby become the oldest employed person in England. Then after a couple of years you decide that you'll, I don't know, run a marathon.

I suppose that you could do as much so long as you're sure to pace yourself. You should probably also take a break halfway through said marathon for a cigarette and a beer.

No, I'm not making this up. A 101 year old man (appropriately) named Buster did exactly that.



Check it out.

Okay, so how did this happen?A lot can happen in eight days

Comments

Peter James Batty 16. April 2008, 19:44

There is some dispute over his actual age however. Reports put him at 94, which is still pretty impressive nonetheless.

James 16. April 2008, 21:24

Yeah, like being 94 would make it easy.

I'm not sure that I could finish a marathon after a smoke a pint at the halfway point. :beer:

Michelle 19. April 2008, 13:07

ha ha! fantastic! so much for clean living indeed. i reckon it's more about happy living, but what do I know. three cheers for him and his complete disregard of medical advice! LOL. still maybe smoking and drinking are a new habit. i think if i got to 99 there'd be little reason to not indulge myself, huh? the blueprint for aging seems to reside in the DNA though..so maybe we have less to do with how we hold up than we think...

Michelle 19. April 2008, 13:08

he looks pretty good, don't you think?

James 19. April 2008, 22:03

That French woman - I can't remember her name - who lived to 120 years old. Her "secret" was to quit smoking.

So she was smoke-free for the last 30 years of her life, from age 90 on.

Michelle 20. April 2008, 13:17

ha ha lol but she made it to 90 smoking and some die at 30 from cancer-never smoked a day in their lives. bizarre.

James 20. April 2008, 17:14

Yeah, 'tis true, Michelle.

In fact, I can point to two people I've known that died of cancer in their thirties. Neither of them smoked nor drank a day in their lives.

The best any of us can do is to enjoy our time here as much as possible. Just that with that longevity thing, some get to have more fun than others.

Michelle 20. April 2008, 20:45

yes and maybe a few extra chances too :D or not. as they choose.

Peter James Batty 22. April 2008, 18:01

Agreed. Two certainties in life are knowing you will die, but not knowing when. Avoiding obvious risks like smoking and drinking too heavily will give you the best mileage in life.

Also, I think being slightly mad as I am, probably helps; I don't take life too seriously :wink:

James 22. April 2008, 18:05

You forgot one other certainty: taxes.

Peter James Batty 22. April 2008, 18:12

That all depends if you're domiciled or non-domiciled. Filthy rich people can get away without paying taxes in this country if they are not normally resident but still 'live' here. That's not the case in most parts of the world, but then we have soft policy on everything foreign :wink:

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