GOODBYE CHRISTOPH ALTENBURG, GOODBYE, GOODNIGHT AND GOOD LUCK                             HOW ABOUT THIS FOR A WORD,  SHUNAMITISM? A WORD TO REMEMBER, REMEMBER, REMEMBER.  Excuse me, Mr King... let's see if the two of us can't get you looking on the bright side of life.  Dear oh dear, what going's on are these, but?  Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat. Wherefore his servants said unto him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get heat. So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king. And the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him: but the king knew her not.        SO, THE ANSWER TO OUR QUESTION... Shunamitism is the practice of an old man sleeping with, but not necessarily having sex with, a young woman (e.g. virgin) to preserve his youth. The rationale was that the heat and moisture of the young woman would transfer to the old man and revitalize him.The term is based on the Biblical story of King David and Abishag, a young woman from Shunem. When King David was old and could not stay warm, his servants found Abishag to sleep with him. but the king knew her not.