Reading Sunday's story about the death of Henry Allingham, the world's oldest man, I got to wondering about his successor.  Allingham, who died in England, was 113.

As an aside, I'm pretty skeptical about the authenticity of the claim.  There's an excellent chance that there's someone, in someplace like Tibet, who's older but whose birth records, if kept at all, aren't accessible through the database used to keep track of the "world's oldest person."

Still, what a tough break to be the official holder of such a distinction, knowing the only time it will be big news is after it's too late for you to bask in the attention. Who, I wondered Sunday morning, is the new world's oldest man.

Congratulations to Walt Breuning, 112, Great Falls, Mont.  An Associated Press  story posted today on spokesman.com identifies him as the current claimant to the title. I hope he enjoys it for a long time.

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