Going through a quarter life crisis (mid life crisis for some of our readers)? We can guarantee that it pales in comparison with whatever 145-year-old Mbah Gotho is going through.
Mbah Gotho is quite famously known as the oldest living man in Indonesia. The super senior citizen from Sragen, Central Java, was recently interviewed by Liputan 6, during which time he said he’s been through it all and wouldn’t mind passing on.
“What I want is to die. My grandchildren are all independent,” he told Liputan 6 on Tuesday.
Suryanto, Mbah Gotho’s grandson, said his grandfather has been preparing for his death ever since he was 122.
“The gravestone there was made in 1992. That was 24 years ago,” he said.
In addition, Suryanto said Mbah Gotho’s family has already prepared a gravesite for him – near his children’s graves.
According to official Indonesian records, Mbah Gotho’s birthdate, which is specified in his KTP (Indonesian ID card), is December 31, 1870. That makes him significantly older than the verified oldest person in the world, a title that belongs to French woman Jeanne Calment, who lived to be 122.
However, Mbah Gotho’s early life records are deemed unverifiable by world record standards, meaning he isn’t listed as the world’s oldest person. In fact, there are two others without verifiable records who are purportedly older than Mbah Gotho – 171-year-old James Olofintuyi from Nigeria and 163-year-old Dhaqabo Ebba from Ethiopia.
Record or not, Mbah Gotho looks to have lived a full life. He has outlived all 10 of his siblings as well as his four wives, the last of whom died in 1988. All of his children have also died, and now he’s survived by his grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren.
These days, his grandchildren say Mbah Gotho mostly sits while listening to the radio because his eyesight is too poor to watch television. For the past three months, he has to be spoon fed and bathed as he has become increasingly frail.
When asked what his secret to longevity is, Mbah Gotho replied, “the recipe is just patience.”
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