Posted on 05/29/2019 5:57:42 AM PDT by SJackson
'You have to have a reason to stay alive': WWII veteran, 97, refuses to stop working and bags groceries at a New Jersey store twice a week
A 97-year-old New Jersey man's indomitable work ethic is earning him praise and admiration from peers in his town.
Second World War veteran Bartolomeo 'Bennie' Ficeto of Edison, New Jersey, has been working a regular job virtually his entire life and refuses to stop doing so now, even though he's nearing 100 years old.
Ficeto currently bags groceries at the Stop & Shop grocery store in his community, doing four-hour shifts two days a week.
He technically retired from his job as a cosmetics company warehouse supervisor back in the 1980s, but told CBS News he's been doing odd jobs ever since because he has always loved putting in a hard day's work.
'Bennie's a joy, he's full of life, he's happy,' store manager Sal Marconi told ABC 7 NY.
Stop & Shop assistant manager Mike Moss said he's tried to make 'Bennie' take his mandatory 15-minute break during shifts, but Ficeto just yells at his boss, saying 'I don't want to stop. Don't tell me how to work. See the light on? That's where I'm going.'
'I don't take no breaks,' Ficeto told CBS. 'Why would I take a break when I only get to work four hours?'
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Can you imagine current immigrants with the same attitude instead of the “gimmie dat” ones?
Yes, I can. I’ve met them. However, the ‘gimmie dat’ mindset is fully in place here in the states.
God bless him and he speaks the truth.
Could have stayed on SSDI for life after head injury 12 years ago.
Took 5 years to recover and though I couldn’t get back to Manhattan I found a full time job on Staten Island.
Wife makes good money and the SSDI was the highest one can get but that wasn’t the point.
I was 45 when I went back to work. WTH can one do at home for another 30 or 40 or 50 years??
Except try to break the record for most posts on FR :)
God bless this guy and I hope he keeps on keeping on.
Those WWII vets were/are tough as nails.
Many do, and are hard working, but my experience they’re mostly of the legal immigrant variety.
My grandmother lived to be 98. Up until her very last year she did a 30 minute morning walk, tended a small backyard garden, volunteered at her church soup kitchen 2x/week, and read books to little kids at the library. Every day had a purpose to wake up and be active. She had a TV. I only remember it being tuned in to Lawrence Welk and old westerns. She wasn’t one to sit around.
Respect. Reminds of my father, who, if still alive, would have been just a few years younger than this gentleman. Would always regale us with stories about how he would daily earn 5 cents before school as an 8 year-old carrying coal to neighbors houses. Worked two full-time jobs when his children were young to support our family.
Way back in 1965, enroute to Manila for my new job, I stopped to see my 90 year old grand father.
He suggested we go for a walk. He directed me down to the creek. He pointed to the other side and advised “that is my new orchard I planted last year”
At 90, he was looking into an unknown future optimistically.
“Yes, I can. I’ve met them.”
Same here, most work their butts out. There are many more “gimme that” born here than imported.
And it is we who are born here that create both types of “gimme thats” by giving them that.
Could you imagine current segments of the population with the same attitude of this guy? We'd be unstoppable as a country.
Thats how ya’ do it folks! Not a big secret . Get up open your heart for “the helper” to guide you through the day and get some work done! Not only are you an example to others but you keep the parts and mind moving along with socializing and hopefully getting a laugh in once in a while. I will (God willing) work until I drop.
Contrast that with the attitude of a certain demographic that says the only ones who work are a mule and a fool.
From his name, he appears to be an American of Italian descent. They’re some of the most patriotic and hard-working people in our country.
My mom’s 95, and she’s still kicking ass and taking names. Her vocation, aside from being a minister’s wife, has been as a piano teacher. She still teaches.
I once had a conversation with a gentleman in his 80’s. I asked if he were retired.
“Oh, I’m supposed to be,” he said. “But there’s always something that needs doing, someone that needs help with something. Why, if I just sat around in my rocking chair, in two weeks’ time, I’d be an old man!”
Over the years I’ve seen how right he was. I now work with a Medicare population. Most are “retirement” age. The people who thrive are the people who have a purpose in life, whether it’s a paid job, volunteer work, their Senior Citizens group, their golf of tennis, their hobbies, or their families. People who sit at home and worry or focus on their problems don’t do nearly so well.
I met another man a few years ago, a retired executive. He did something I’ve never seen anyone else do. When he retired from his job, he decided to retire from life. He sold his boat and his RV, quit his volunteer work, and sat home all day except for a short walk every day. His wife told me that he was convinced he was developing dementia because his memory wasn’t as good as it had been. She said he’d been seen by three different doctors and all three told him he did not have dementia. (I agreed). She said “I can tell you what his problem is; he retired and turned his brain off!”
I concluded that she was absolutely right. His physical health was still quite good.
I don’t know what has happened to him since then but I hope he somehow found some purpose in life and got himself “restarted.”
Everybody needs a reason to get up in the morning!
Exactly.
“Could you imagine current segments of the population with the same attitude of this guy? We’d be unstoppable as a country. “
Bump.
On a side note, he looked a bit like Andy Garcia to me.
My Mom is 96. Lives across the street. She drove til this past year. She still cooks and cleans her whole house and does laundry. Sharp as a tack.
He looks great!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.