ZapRat
2008-04-08 14:55:03 UTC
She makes 114 look so easy
Healthy and content, Gertrude Baines, the world's third-oldest person,
celebrates her birthday at a Los Angeles nursing home.
By Maria L. La Ganga, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
April 7, 2008
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/medicine/la-me-baines7apr07,1,3056341.story
Loading Image...
EVERYONE SAY ...: Gertrude Baines, the worlds third-oldest person,
poses for Cynthia Thompson, her nurse of nine years, with nurses Kathy
Robinson, Marwa Marsh and Tina Ingram.
In the courtyard of a low-slung convalescent hospital west of USC,
Gertrude Baines was inaugurated Sunday into one of the world's most
exclusive sororities.
She turned 114 years old. There was cake. Singing. Proclamations.
Superlatives. Because only two other people in the world are 114.
There is no one older.
A former college maid with a fondness for hats, bacon and Scripture,
Baines is the third-oldest person on Earth, according to the
Gerontology Research Group, which validates claims of extreme old age.
A year ago she was No. 9. It's not hard to figure out what happened in
the interim.
Baines, the daughter of former slaves, is the oldest person of African
descent in the world, according to the group's website. The oldest
person in California. The second-oldest in the United States, after
Edna Parker of Indiana, who will turn 115 in two weeks. The
third-oldest in the world, after Parker and Maria de Jesus of
Portugal, who turned 114 in September.
So her pastor, the Rev. Warren J. Smith, wasn't much overstating the
case on this bright Sunday afternoon, as a light breeze whipped a
"Happy Birthday 114" balloon into Baines' face and beat her at blowing
out her three stubby number-shaped candles.
"A treasure is something really special, something irreplaceable,
something you wouldn't want to lose for anything," Smith told the
crowd of well-wishers -- none of them related to the guest of honor.
"Since this is your birthday, Mother, we want you to know how special
you are. . . . We hope you have your best days ahead in your life."
Baines has outlived every known relative -- the husband she divorced
decades ago, the daughter who died of typhoid at 18. Until Baines hit
107, she lived alone with the help of a caretaker. Today, home is
Western Convalescent Hospital.
That's where she exercises daily in her wheelchair, watches "The Price
Is Right" and -- like the 79 other validated super-centenarians who
have made it to 110 or older -- serves as the canvas upon which
observers paint their views of extreme longevity.
Those views do not differ all that much from what Baines thinks about
how she made it this far: "Ask the Lord," she said Sunday, resplendent
in a black hat with leopard trim and a bright red shawl. "I depend on
him."
To Smith, the message of Baines' 114 years is simple and cautionary:
"Every day with the Lord is a good day. Trust in the Lord and don't
worry about anything."
Her personal physician, Dr. Charles Witt, will not posit why Baines is
still alive, and his father, born the same year as his unique patient,
died of pancreatic cancer a few days short of his 76th birthday. Witt
is 79 and still practicing medicine, although he stopped doing major
surgery a few years back.
Baines, he figures, might teach scientists something. But then again,
maybe not. "They had the brain of Einstein dissected," he noted, "and
I'm not sure they learned much from that. . . . I would be interested
in what the pathologists think."
These days, Baines' heart is strong. Her lungs are clear. She's
healthy, except for some arthritis in her knees. Her main complaint?
That the bacon isn't crisp enough at breakfast.
"She's got all of her marbles," said Witt, who examined her Wednesday
and celebrated with her Sunday. "She knows where she is, what her
background is. . . . Maybe the Lord himself has something to do with
it, to preserve this lady for as long as she's been living. It's just
amazing."
Dr. Thomas T. Perls, head of the New England Supercentenarian Study at
Boston University, agrees that Baines is pretty amazing. Only one
person in 6 million makes it to 110, let alone living for four more
years.
But Perls says Baines and the rare women and men like her could hold
the key to why some people are predisposed to longevity and less
susceptible to the ravaging illnesses that can come with age.
His study has enrolled more than 100 super-centenarians and is
exploring the genetic and environmental factors that allow people to
attain extreme old age. The hope: to discover elusive "longevity
enabling genes," he said.
"Centenarians are the cream of the crop," Perls said.
"Super-centenarians are the crème de la crème. . . . If any particular
group out there is going to be able to help us find those genes, it
will be these super-centenarians."
Baines was born in a small town south of Atlanta in 1894. Grover
Cleveland was president. The American flag had 44 stars. There was no
penicillin.
The world had yet to hear the first extended radio broadcast of a
human voice. And it would be 34 years before Philo T. Farnsworth would
unveil his first television set -- the invention that beams into room
239-A on a regular basis.
Baines on daytime television: "I watch all of them. 'The Price Is
Right.' 'Jerry Springer.' All of them things. . . . I love it. All of
it."
She doesn't have too many rules to live by. She never drank and never
smoked. She still gets regular exercise, in the nursing home's dining
room. She goes to services every Sunday.
And as for food: "I eat bacon, toast -- I like all kinds of food. If
it tastes good, I eat it. If it doesn't taste good, I don't eat it."
Now, those are words to live by.
--
http://www.extirpirate.com/ is an archive of the Internet abuse and harassment
transmitted via scores of troll-variant and forged identities by John Wesley
Gilmer III, aka, "PirateJohn" or "PyrateJohn", while in the employ of Moffitt
Corporation, 1351 13th Avenue South, Suite 130, Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250
http://www.moffitthvac.com
On Wed, 2 Apr 2008 04:10:49 -0700 (PDT), in Message-ID:
<9cad00d8-4e46-4a24-8e72-***@d1g2000hsg.googlegroups.com>, John
Wesley Gilmer III stated via one of his 60+ TROLL-variant aliases: "EVERY POST
THAT... HAS THE DEROGATORY SIG LINE..." That apparently refers to Moffitt
Corporation <http://www.moffitthvac.com> finally being tired of his malicious
activities that are associated with them.
Healthy and content, Gertrude Baines, the world's third-oldest person,
celebrates her birthday at a Los Angeles nursing home.
By Maria L. La Ganga, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
April 7, 2008
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/medicine/la-me-baines7apr07,1,3056341.story
Loading Image...
EVERYONE SAY ...: Gertrude Baines, the worlds third-oldest person,
poses for Cynthia Thompson, her nurse of nine years, with nurses Kathy
Robinson, Marwa Marsh and Tina Ingram.
In the courtyard of a low-slung convalescent hospital west of USC,
Gertrude Baines was inaugurated Sunday into one of the world's most
exclusive sororities.
She turned 114 years old. There was cake. Singing. Proclamations.
Superlatives. Because only two other people in the world are 114.
There is no one older.
A former college maid with a fondness for hats, bacon and Scripture,
Baines is the third-oldest person on Earth, according to the
Gerontology Research Group, which validates claims of extreme old age.
A year ago she was No. 9. It's not hard to figure out what happened in
the interim.
Baines, the daughter of former slaves, is the oldest person of African
descent in the world, according to the group's website. The oldest
person in California. The second-oldest in the United States, after
Edna Parker of Indiana, who will turn 115 in two weeks. The
third-oldest in the world, after Parker and Maria de Jesus of
Portugal, who turned 114 in September.
So her pastor, the Rev. Warren J. Smith, wasn't much overstating the
case on this bright Sunday afternoon, as a light breeze whipped a
"Happy Birthday 114" balloon into Baines' face and beat her at blowing
out her three stubby number-shaped candles.
"A treasure is something really special, something irreplaceable,
something you wouldn't want to lose for anything," Smith told the
crowd of well-wishers -- none of them related to the guest of honor.
"Since this is your birthday, Mother, we want you to know how special
you are. . . . We hope you have your best days ahead in your life."
Baines has outlived every known relative -- the husband she divorced
decades ago, the daughter who died of typhoid at 18. Until Baines hit
107, she lived alone with the help of a caretaker. Today, home is
Western Convalescent Hospital.
That's where she exercises daily in her wheelchair, watches "The Price
Is Right" and -- like the 79 other validated super-centenarians who
have made it to 110 or older -- serves as the canvas upon which
observers paint their views of extreme longevity.
Those views do not differ all that much from what Baines thinks about
how she made it this far: "Ask the Lord," she said Sunday, resplendent
in a black hat with leopard trim and a bright red shawl. "I depend on
him."
To Smith, the message of Baines' 114 years is simple and cautionary:
"Every day with the Lord is a good day. Trust in the Lord and don't
worry about anything."
Her personal physician, Dr. Charles Witt, will not posit why Baines is
still alive, and his father, born the same year as his unique patient,
died of pancreatic cancer a few days short of his 76th birthday. Witt
is 79 and still practicing medicine, although he stopped doing major
surgery a few years back.
Baines, he figures, might teach scientists something. But then again,
maybe not. "They had the brain of Einstein dissected," he noted, "and
I'm not sure they learned much from that. . . . I would be interested
in what the pathologists think."
These days, Baines' heart is strong. Her lungs are clear. She's
healthy, except for some arthritis in her knees. Her main complaint?
That the bacon isn't crisp enough at breakfast.
"She's got all of her marbles," said Witt, who examined her Wednesday
and celebrated with her Sunday. "She knows where she is, what her
background is. . . . Maybe the Lord himself has something to do with
it, to preserve this lady for as long as she's been living. It's just
amazing."
Dr. Thomas T. Perls, head of the New England Supercentenarian Study at
Boston University, agrees that Baines is pretty amazing. Only one
person in 6 million makes it to 110, let alone living for four more
years.
But Perls says Baines and the rare women and men like her could hold
the key to why some people are predisposed to longevity and less
susceptible to the ravaging illnesses that can come with age.
His study has enrolled more than 100 super-centenarians and is
exploring the genetic and environmental factors that allow people to
attain extreme old age. The hope: to discover elusive "longevity
enabling genes," he said.
"Centenarians are the cream of the crop," Perls said.
"Super-centenarians are the crème de la crème. . . . If any particular
group out there is going to be able to help us find those genes, it
will be these super-centenarians."
Baines was born in a small town south of Atlanta in 1894. Grover
Cleveland was president. The American flag had 44 stars. There was no
penicillin.
The world had yet to hear the first extended radio broadcast of a
human voice. And it would be 34 years before Philo T. Farnsworth would
unveil his first television set -- the invention that beams into room
239-A on a regular basis.
Baines on daytime television: "I watch all of them. 'The Price Is
Right.' 'Jerry Springer.' All of them things. . . . I love it. All of
it."
She doesn't have too many rules to live by. She never drank and never
smoked. She still gets regular exercise, in the nursing home's dining
room. She goes to services every Sunday.
And as for food: "I eat bacon, toast -- I like all kinds of food. If
it tastes good, I eat it. If it doesn't taste good, I don't eat it."
Now, those are words to live by.
--
http://www.extirpirate.com/ is an archive of the Internet abuse and harassment
transmitted via scores of troll-variant and forged identities by John Wesley
Gilmer III, aka, "PirateJohn" or "PyrateJohn", while in the employ of Moffitt
Corporation, 1351 13th Avenue South, Suite 130, Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250
http://www.moffitthvac.com
On Wed, 2 Apr 2008 04:10:49 -0700 (PDT), in Message-ID:
<9cad00d8-4e46-4a24-8e72-***@d1g2000hsg.googlegroups.com>, John
Wesley Gilmer III stated via one of his 60+ TROLL-variant aliases: "EVERY POST
THAT... HAS THE DEROGATORY SIG LINE..." That apparently refers to Moffitt
Corporation <http://www.moffitthvac.com> finally being tired of his malicious
activities that are associated with them.