OS ANGELES (AP) - Gertrude Baines has received a birthday gift
that very few people ever will: a proclamation from Guinness World
Records declaring her the oldest person on Earth. Baines turned 115
Monday.
Besides the proclamation, she was honored at the Western
Convalescent Hospital where she lives in Los Angeles with music,
two cakes and birthday greetings from the president.
Baines was born in 1894 in Shellman, Ga. Her father was likely a
slave and she says she never thought she'd live to see a black man
become president.
Her doctor says Baines has only two complaints: the arthritis in
her knees and limp bacon. She prefers it crisp.
Dr. Charles Witt Jr. also quotes her as saying she owes her long
life to the Lord and to the fact she never drank, smoked or fooled
around.
Guinness says the oldest person title is virtually a lock for
women. Men have held it for only 44 days in the last 23 years.
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