My dad's father was the youngest of 19 children. HIS parents lived to be in their upper 90s. They lived in that general area of Russia where many live into their hundreds but they starved to death in the 1930s. Other than that, longevity in my family doesn't exist. I've already outlived both of my grandfathers.
I can't imagine having 18 siblings, and then being the youngest. It reminds me though of something our pediatrician told pwrents of a newborn, who was the youngest of seven: "The only thing I can pretty much guarantee is that he'll know how to fight well."
I've heard about that part of Russia where extreme longevity is the norm. I wish we could bottle their secret. Was there a famine in the 30s that led to their starvation?
