EDISON, New Jersey (WABC) -- While many people look forward to retiring, a 97-year-old man from New Jersey looks forward to working and proves that age is just a number.Bartolomeo Ficeto, a World War II veteran, still works twice a week bagging groceries at a Stop and Shop in Edison.He is very proud of his years and doesn't even like to take the 15-minute breaks he is entitled to. To him, his age is a fact -- not a factor.Ficeto has been a part of the Stop and Shop family for nearly 10 years."Bennie's a joy, he's full of life, he's happy," manager Sal Marconi said.A newspaper recently wrote a story about him that made him a bit of a local star."People are so nice, it makes you feel proud," Ficeto said. "They put my write up over there."And he gets even more love when folks learn he was a gunner on a fighter plane during WWII. He put his life on the line each mission."I was scared every time I had to get into the plane," he said. "But the Lord took me back."Ficeto shared another reason why he cherishes his long life."The day I didn't fly, they shot my plane down," Ficeto said. "And I don't know where they went down."Ficeto says he isn't that old and he still has all his senses -- and has no plans to stop using them.He said he plans to keep working until he drops dead.----------