Piano Man

Posted by Karen Keegan

He says it's the word puzzles, but I'm pretty sure 80 years of tickling and pounding the ivories at least once or twice a week might have something to do with Rollie Breault's apparent inability to age past 70.

"Everyone's amazed I'm still carrying on," the affable Breault said recently while preparing for an event many thought would never come: his final Nashua Rotary Club meeting at the piano.

Well, yes, but plenty of nonagenarians "carry on" these days. What separates the few like Breault from the pack, though, is a rare blend of stamina, agility and proficiency that may come from doing a lot of puzzles, but more likely, from a lifetime of sitting down and making people smile the minute his fingers hit the ivories.