LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — It’s not every day someone turns 104 years old. That’s why Friday’s gathering was extra special for the members of this weekly breakfast club.
“I told him, whatever he’s drinking to save some of it for me,” joked George Alexander.
Mr. Alexander is 81 and doing pretty well for himself, but he’s amazed by his friend, the-now-104-year-old, Tommy Dade.
“God has been good to me,” Mr. Dade said before Friday’s birthday celebration breakfast.
Dade moves around pretty well with the help of his walker. His hearing appears to be just fine – no one had to repeat anything for him, and George said Tommy’s memory is still excellent. He certainly had no trouble recalling what happened in that Greyhound Bus Station where he worked as a janitor about 80 years ago.
“I was cleaning the water fountain,” Dade explained. “I took a little drink and the manager saw it and fought me right there on the spot. ‘You know you’re not supposed to drink from that one?’” Dade recalled the manager saying. “That’s how bad it was in those days,” he continued.
Dade had taken a sip from the drinking fountain that was reserved for white people only. He’s obviously seen a lot of change during his 104 years.
“Integration would be,” he said of what’s been the biggest change during his time on earth.
Dade still lives on his own, and his kids come to visit. George picks him up to make sure he gets to and from these breakfast gatherings.
“Whatever he needs I try to be there for him. Hopefully, if I live to be 100, someone would do that for me,” Alexander said. “He’s an inspiration to me,” he added while noting that Tommy has been like a father for the 19 years since George lost his own dad.
Dade said his secret to longevity is simple.
“Doing right. Treating people right. Treat your brother the way you want to be treated,” he said.
On Friday morning, they all treated him to a special birthday celebration.
