For this prompt I asked my participants to imagine themselves one day becoming the oldest living man on Earth. I was inspired by this prompt after hearing news that the world’s oldest living man, Alexander Imich, had recently passed away at 111. I thought it would be interesting to explore the loneliness that must accompany the title of oldest living man, while also taking a look at what makes life so valuable. Nobody wants to die, but it also becomes clear that past a certain point, life is a ride that must ultimately come to an end.
The participants wrote compelling pieces. Some ventured into science fiction territory and wrote about how advancements in technology aided their character to live well past 111. Mine turned out to be more comical than anything else. All in all this was quite an entertaining prompt with variable results all around.
Here is what I wrote:
The nurses are sweet and young and pretty as they wheel in my cake and sing happy birthday. Who the heck would of thought a 98 year old man would be the oldest man on Earth? I blow out my candles at the conclusion of their melody, while wisps of smoke waft around me.
“How does it feel to be the oldest man on Earth?” a reporter asks and holds out a padded microphone towards me. I peer past her shoulder at the camera man aiming his lens at me.
“Well,” I say as I furrow my brow. “It feels a lot like being a guy that stays at the party way past when he should have left.”
The reporter laughs nervously then turns to sign out with Channel 6 News. I’m sure that wasn’t the sound bite they were hoping for, but as I take a bite of my chocolate cake I remember that being this old means I don’t have to care anymore.
Another reporter walks in. This one, a young man with just a pad of paper to take some notes. “Can you tell me the secret to your longevity sir?” he asks, holding his pen carefully in anticipation of my answer.
“Well,” I say as I rack my brain. “I didn’t smoke, drink or do any drugs.” The reporter diligently copies down my words in his notes then looks back up at me with wide eyes.
“And now that you’ve become the oldest man on Earth, what are you gonna do now?”
I think his question over as I’m finishing that last bite of my cake. “Well,” I say and lick the chocolate off my lips. “I think I’ll go ahead and smoke, drink and maybe even do some drugs.”
