Age is just a number suggests that one’s chronological age does not limit one’s potential, experiences, or abilities. Granted, aging does occur. The phrase encourages living life to the fullest. It shuns imposing limits based on age.
The Muse saw a segment on the PBS NewsHour featuring 66-year-old Kent Broussard, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who upon retirement, enrolled in Louisiana State University (LSU) as a freshman, and tries out for the LSU Marching Band. Its such a heart warming and inspiring story.
Kent Broussard1 recently retired as a successful accountant. He also had career stints in parish government and an executive in the beverage industry. According to the LSU.edu blog, Kent held onto a vivid memory- standing near the LSU Tiger Band as a child in Tiger Stadium and loving it. Already retired with multiple college degrees, Kent applied to LSU as an undergraduate with hopes of trying out for the Tiger Band. Kent Broussard at age 66 was going to become a student again, attend class, do homework, take tests, and musically prepare for his endeavor.
Kent relearned how to read music. He began to lift weights and wear a weighted vest. His beloved sousaphone, was a large instrument that weighs 30-pounds. Kent trained in the neighborhood, auditioned as a freshman, and made the Tiger Band roster. Thirty returning band members began hollering and screaming in support, when they saw Kent’s name on the list. Kent says that the most fulfilling part is about the teamwork. That teamwork is what makes the 325-member band so successful.
Who else falls into this category that age is just a number? The Muse considered sports figures, entertainers, and cultural figures for starters. The list came together quickly. Here goes:
Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt (106)2 Sister Jean, a catholic nun turned 106 years old this August. She has served as campus minister and chaplain of the Loyola Chicago Ramblers Men’s Basketball team beginning in 1991. She was noted for her spitfire energy. According to the school, amid health concerns, Loyola’s Sister Jean is retiring from her role on Loyola’s campus. “Let your dreams become a reality,” Schmidt imparted to students this Fall.
Warren Buffett (95)3 investor and philanthropist, who runs his Berkshire Hathaway company as Chairman and CEO since 1990. He is the fifth richest person in the world with a net worth of $160 billion. Buffett asked the board to replace him as CEO at this year’s end.
Jacques Pepin (89)4 is a chef, author, culinary educator, television personality, and artist. His professional life began at age 13. He was French President Charles de Gaulle’s personal chef in 1958. He has authored more than 30 cookbooks. Pepin is still filming “Cooking at Home” for release on YouTube. He turns 90 this December and is celebrating with 90 Chefs and 90 Dinners this year.
Mick Jagger (82) and Keith Richards (81)5 of the Rolling Stones. The band is from London, England with 28 studio albums has been playing since the 1960s and touring through 2024. They are planning to secure tour dates for 2026.
Kathy Bates (77)6 is an actress starring in the hit series Matlock. She has been acting since 1969 and now portrays an older attorney on the television show Matlock.
Bruce Springsteen (76)7 and the E Street Band are tremendous rockers and live performers since the early 1970s. There are 21 studio albums. Concerts can last up to 4-hours. They just completed a tour in Europe and North America grossing $727.7 million.
Geno Auriemma (71)8 is the head coach of the UCONN Women’s Basketball team and the winningest NCAA college coach -men or women. Entering his 41st year, he has 12 National Championships. No inkling of retirement.
Miss Basketball Muse (67) able to run 5K on most days. Dabbles in a sports/cultural blog. Remains current with information technology. Adequate with hand-tools and modest manual labor.
Melissa Etheridge (64)9 a female Bruce Springsteen performing since the early 1980s. High energy live concerts with a new album forthcoming in 2026.
The Coldplay Couple (50 and 52)10 he is rich, good-looking and a CEO. She is older and the Top HR/People Person at the same firm. They were both married, not to each other, and outed on the jumbotron as a romantic couple embracing at a concert. He is choosing an older woman. Wow!
Rich Hill (45)11 is a left-handed starting pitcher for the Kansas City Royals in 2025. He has been on 14 teams from 2005-2025. Currently he is the oldest active MLB pitcher in 2024 and 2025. Debuted in 2005 for the Chicago Cubs. Statistically, Rich Hill is 90-76, has a 4.02 ERA, and 1,432- strikeouts.
LeBron James (40)12 NBA basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers. James has 4 NBA titles. He is in his 23rd year in the league. Presently he is the oldest active player and tied for the most seasons played. James came into the league as an 18-year old and skipped college. He holds a plethora of individual basketball achievements at the professional level.
DeWanna Bonner (38)13 WNBA player for the Phoenix Mercury. In her 16th season with 2 WNBA championships. Was drafted by the Mercury and now playing in Phoenix again in 2025 with stops in Connecticut and Indiana.
Jonah Tong (22)14 baby-faced, New York Met right-handed pitcher from Canada. He began the season in Double AA as a Binghamton Rumble Pony. He is now in the Mets starting rotation with an overpowering fast ball and tremendously high upside.
How do these people do it?
The Muse also reflected upon how it is not done. This is from a recent exchange with a neighbor, who shared his health maladies. Of note, he is odd and eccentric. He lives alone. Physically, he fits the descriptors of the main character, Ignatius J. Reilly in John Kennedy Toole’s (1980) book, “Confederacy of Dunces.” He is rotund, and unconcerned with appearances, his own nor his domicile. He is the same age as the Muse, and refers to me as “Neighbor,” as in “Hey Neighbor.” He does not know my name.
Slowly walking the street with a three-prong cane, the neighbor engages me and shares that he is recuperating from congestive heart failure and a pulmonary embolism. Both have stricken him over the last four weeks. He has already lost 25-pounds. He used to smoke, but, now only smokes cigars on occasion. Did I know how much sodium was in a can of soup, he asked. The neighbor explained how he would routinely have two cans for lunch, and an entire half-gallon container of ice cream for dinner. The Muse nodded acknowledging his news and rehabilitation. Remaining upbeat and positive, I wished him well on his new health journey. More recently, he lost his parents, both well into their 90s.
The Neighbor exchange featured the salient points in Michael Greger’s book “How Not to Age (2023),” Flatiron Books, New York, 628 pages. Its all there. The greatest killers of a healthy life are poor diet and cigarette smoking. Social isolation and the feeling of loneliness are also associated with an increased risk of premature death.
If age is just a number, how do the above people do it? Greger entitles the section, Master of Your Own Destiny. Diet is considered the most modifiable lifestyle factor, when it comes to aging, healthspan, and lifespan. What we eat is the number one determinant of how long we live. Longevity experts consider nutrition as the most important factor in the prevention of age-associated chronic diseases.
That’s it! Be the master of your own destiny. That is how age is just a number. Engage a personal approach that emphasizes enthusiasm and zest. There are no restrictions on passions or pursuits. Its a positive mindset unencumbered by chronological age. What an inspiration are the above listed people. Because age is just a number.
Jacques Pepin – from the New York Social Diary
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