THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 6, 1996 TAG: 9603060002
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 31 lines
On Friday, U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., will turn 93 years and 94 days old and thus become the oldest member of Congress ever, beating the record held by Sen. Theodore Green, D-R.I.
Although reviled by many for his decades as a segregationist, he's highly regarded by some for the simple fact he keeps on ticking.
At age 66, he married a 22-year-old woman and they had four children.
It's widely thought that Thurmond will run for re-election again, though he'd face tough opposition. Conceivably Thurmond could be a U.S. senator in 2002.
The senator has cut his swimming from three days a week to one and no longer jogs, but he still does push-ups and sit-ups, rides a stationary bike and lifts weights.
Fellow senators watch Thurmond for tips on aging and aging and aging and aging.
The relatively youthful presidential candidate Bob Dole, 72, once quipped, ``When Strom eats a banana, I eat a banana.'' by CNB