Oldest person alive changing more rapidly than top ranked 2008 Democratic presidential contenders ...

Yone Minegawa

Like staying on the top of the heap of Democrats running for the 2008 presidential nomination, being the oldest person alive in the world is about the quickest changing title around.

Just yesterday, the fourth "oldest person" since December took over the title. (Let's see, by comparison ... Hillary, Obama, Al-baby and John Edwards were all momentary phenoms, right?) Anyway, Yone Minagawa, now 114, has lived through the reigns of four Japanese emperors and now spends most of her time in bed at a nursing home in the south-western city of Fukuoka. She was recognised as the oldest person known to be alive, following the death yesterday of Emma Faust Tillman, who was six weeks older but only lasted four days in the position. Tillman lived somewhere near my brother in Connecticut, but was a lifelong non-drinker, non-smoker and ... oh yes, like most in the Guinness list for longevity, was a woman, of course.