Over-drive

Retirement is a choice. For Jim Oppegard of Minnesota, USA, 20 years of working as a city bus driver were not enough when he retired at 65. Soon, Oppegard came out of his boring retirement and resumed driving. Now, at age 94, he works for Northstar Bus Lines, driving a school bus for children with special educational needs.

The Guinness World Records (GWR) recognizes Oppegard as the oldest bus driver on the planet. The great-grandfather of three said he enjoys his job because it keeps him busy and allows him to continue sending money to the Christian ministry his daughter established in Africa, according to GWR.

Old men don’t have a monopoly on employment longevity. Helen Antenucci of Boston was named in June as the world’s oldest train operator by GWR. Antenucci started working for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority at the age of 53 in 1995. Now 81, she still drives Blue Line trains.

“It was a way to get me out of the house and get some peace and quiet,” the octogenarian told GWR, UPI reports.

In Metro Manila, amid the crackdown on traditional jeepneys, old drivers still ply their routes, including Normina Macatiag.

Macatiag drives from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., carrying passengers on the Moñumento to Malinta route. She told “State of the Nation” that she learned to drive a jeepney in 1997 and began working as a driver the following year.

The 75-year-old “Tsuper Lola” said her job helps cover family expenses. As long as her body can do it, Macatiag said she will continue to drive, according to SOTN.