New Zealand’s oldest man and former prisoner of war James “Jim” Easton has celebrated another lap around the sun, hitting the grand old age of 108 this week.
When asked what he enjoyed most about his Army service, Easton replied: “Trying to get out!”
Many of Easton’s friends suffered terrible nightmares, but he managed to develop a clever technique to prevent them.
“Whenever I felt one coming on I’d dream of nude women. That took it away immediately,” he told the Herald after his 106th birthday.
In 2022, Easton was believed to be the first New Zealander to receive a birthday card from two monarchs: one from King Charles III for his 106th, and one from Queen Elizabeth II for his 100th.
It must be weird being so old. I’d presume once you hit 80 you’d sort of stop planning for the long term. To still be around almost 30 years later…
I think at some point you would just be in a routine and expect that routine to stay for the rest of your life, whether that’s 3 or 30 years. Probably not a lot of planning to do at age 80, especially if you’ve already made it into a rest home, though someone will probably prove me wrong on that.