Occupation: I’m retired from the New Haven Register and the Post Telegram in Bridgeport. At the Register I was assistant retail advertising manager and at the Post I was an ad salesman. I started at the Register in 1937 in the mailroom earning $3.65 a week. That was a long time ago. I retired in the 1970s and I’m 90 years old now.

Family: My wife, Doris, and I have been married for 56 years. We have the greatest daughter in the world, Laura McLaughlin. She’s the director of the public library in Kent. I have one sister and three brothers in the New Haven/Branford area. My assistant, Cathy, from Visiting Angels, visits me once a week and we go shopping. She’s a doll. Doris has a gal by the name of Frances, a very nice lady who comes by on Mondays to help with the household chores if we want and visit. They’re our family, too.

Pets: No pets now, but we used to have a dog, Lancelot. He was a chocolate brown poodle and he was our old buddy.

How long have you lived in Newtown? We have lived here for two years. We moved from New Milford.

What do you like to do in your free time? I’m limited because I’m legally blind, but I love to read. I have a reading machine so that I can read the newspapers. As far as other reading, the Library for the Blind provides me with books on tape. And I listen to the Yankees and Giant games, and I love the UConn Girls’ Basketball team. I wouldn’t miss a game if I could.

What book are you listening to now? Right now, I’m listening to a book called The Shining Land by Rosalind Baker. It’s about the Nazi invasion of Norway.

Do you have a favorite travel destination? We used to own a condo in Naples, Fla., and loved going down there every winter. I traveled a lot when I was in the service, of course, and Doris and I have traveled to Paris and Switzerland, to Italy to visit relatives, and to England. We’ve visited a lot of the United States, too. I liked Oregon the best. I spent about a year at Camp White there when I was in the service. You could see Mount Hood.

What is the best thing about Newtown? We get to see a lot of Newtown because on Thursday the Homesteads has a bus that takes us all around the area sightseeing. I still see well enough to enjoy the scenery and it is really beautiful here. I think all of Connecticut is beautiful. I’m a real Yankee.

If you could spend a day with an historical figure, whom would you choose? I’d like to spend a day with Thomas Jefferson. He was really an intellectual, a very fussy man. He was a wealthy man, but he died broke. I’d like to ask him what he thinks about today’s conditions.

Do you have a personal philosophy? My philosophy is “You live with what you’ve got.” For instance, some people in my condition with macular degeneration feel sorry for themselves, but I feel like I’ve got poor eyesight but I do what I can. I’m willing to ask for help when I need it and I still enjoy life. Make the most of what you’ve got.

What do you think is the most important lesson you have learned? Never burn the bridge behind you. Remember you might need the people you meet along the way. Keep the connections.