Bennie Johnson celebrated his 102nd birthday on Jan. 7 with family and friends.

Johnson, who now lives in Cedar Hill, was born in Brownsboro where he spent all of his childhood and the majority of his adult life where he drove buses for various schools in Henderson County.

“I try to make people happy, and when things come up that seem a little discouraging, I always try to find a light or something that will help them overcome it,” Johnson said when asked what his secret for enjoying life is.

He is a chipper 102 years of age who can be tough to get a hold of; often he’s moving around on his power wheel-chair and holding court with anyone willing to listen, smashing stereotypes of what old age looks like.

“If you have peace of mind early in life, everything will work out to your advantage,” he said. “There’s an old saying that if you have one friend, you’re a millionaire. I’m worth more than the national debt. And if you have a desire and you have the determination, there’s not any limit to where you can go.”

Growing up in the country, he ate “good old wholesome food,” Johnson said of his diet. “It was all you had. I ate what I wanted but I didn’t over-eat. Today, I eat three times a day. I ask for (don’t always get it) two eggs, honey on one side of a biscuit and gravy and sausage and juice. That’s my breakfast almost every morning, the most important meal.”

Johnson credits his parents as key to his outlook on his life.

“I had the best parents in the world,” he said. “We were poor people, but they always said, ‘We’re as good as anybody. You look everyone in the eye, and you treat everyone the way you want to be treated.’”

He retired from bus driving 40 years ago when his doctor said he had to stop working because of eye sight and mandatory retirement age for bus drivers.”

Johnson said when it came to hobbies, he was never a big fisherman, and that he enjoyed hunting until his eyesight began to diminish.

“I used to enjoy farming,” he said. “That gave me a lot of pleasure. Now, I’m doing the best I can with what I got. I can’t see as well as I used to. I go out on the front porch of the (Cedar Hill Healthcare Center) and enjoy the conversation with the people coming and going.”