# data[].attributes.body
Baby Button, as he was known at the time, was born in a hospital in Baltimore "as long ago as 1860" (Chapter 1). He had a normal birth except for the fact that he was born a 70-year-old man with all the faculties a normal 70-year-old would have.

# data[].attributes.body
As a child, Benjamin had a very hard time. His father seemed ashamed of him and forced him to do things that a boy his age would do, like shake a rattle and break things on "accident." At this time, it seemed the only thing he enjoyed doing was talking to his own grandfather.

# data[].attributes.body
After graduating from high school, Benjamin then attempted to apply to Yale. He completed the entrance exam and passed with flying colors; however, when he went to the admissions office, he was laughed out of Yale as he looked like a 50-year-old trying to pass as an 18-year old. Benjamin vowed that "He would show them! He would go to Harvard, and then they would regret these ill–considered taunts!" (Chapter 4)

# data[].attributes.body
While at the age of 20, he attended a ball with his father, whom he found that now that he was "older," he got along with him much better than he used to. While at the ball, Benjamin saw a wonderful-looking young woman named Hildegarde. They danced, and Benjamin lied about his real age, as Hildegarde said she does not like younger men as she does not believe that they can take care of her. Six months later, they were engaged and married.

# data[].attributes.body
After the engagement was announced, "the excitement in Baltimore society reached a feverish pitch" (Chapter 6). The almost-forgotten birth of Benjamin was remembered, and many rumors began to spread about him. However, many just found it disheartening that such a pretty girl was married to an old man.

# data[].attributes.body
It had been 15 years since Benjamin was married. During that time, Benjamin's father had retired and passed down the hardware store to him. Benjamin was an increditable owner and doubled the family's worth from the hardware store alone.

# data[].attributes.body
At the outbreak of the Spanish-American war, Benjamin's "home had for him so little charm that he decided to join the army" (Chapter 7). He became a lieutenant-colonel before the end of the war, but when it was time to come home, he missed the excitement of the war but had to attend to his business back home.

# data[].attributes.body
After 3 years away from home, Benjamin finally returns home to his family. However, all is not peaches and sunshine, as even while kissing his now-aging wife, he realizes that she has grown much older and himself much younger. Benjamin was very disheartened by this.

# data[].attributes.body
Growing distant from his now-aging wife, Benjamin finds that he enjoys the same things as his son, Roscoe. Benjamin would become known for his proceity at dancing and attending parties, "dancing with the prettiest of the young married women, chatting with the most popular of the debutantes" (Chapter 8).

# data[].attributes.body
Just like he stated all those years ago, Benjamin had gotten into Harvard. Even though he looked a bit older, he was an excellent student and an even better football player. He was feared by Yale's team, as during one game he sent 11 men off the field because they fell unconscious.

# data[].attributes.body
Although at first Benjamin was one of the best students at Harvard, he found that as he grew older and his deaging progressed, he was not only unable to keep up with the football team but with his studies as well. By his senior year, he was too small to play for the team, and upon his graduation in 1914, he walked home with his diploma in hand.

# data[].attributes.body
Upon returning home, Benjamin had to go and live with his son, as Hildegarde now lived in Italy. Roscoe, now a man of about 30, was unhappy about his teenage-looking father coming to live with them. When Benjamin asked his son to accompany him to St. Midas's school so that he could apply, however, Roscoe was very rude to his father and told him that he would not go with him so that he could apply to the school and ended the conversation by telling Benjamin to call him uncle when they are in public, as he does not want people to think that he is allowing a kid to call him by his first name.

# data[].attributes.body
Benjamin found himself in a strange state. Gone were his days of glory at Harvard, and he knows that his own son does not respect him. He begins to think about the war that America has joined and decides that it is time for him to come out of retirement and lead an army once again. Benjamin sets out for the tailor and asks for a tailored uniform. The tailor asked him if it was because he wanted "to play soldier, Sonny?" (Chapter 10), to which Benjamin became extremely flustered.

# data[].attributes.body
After Benjamin got his uniform and the general's insignia, he was off to Camp Mosby. Upon arriving, it was not the welcome he was expecting for a veteran of the Spanish-American War. However, undeterred, he demanded respect when a colonel appeared. Benjamin tried his best to explain his situation there too, but again, he was laughed out of camp, and Roscoe was forced to come and pick up his teenage father, much to his dismay.

# data[].attributes.body
In 1920, when Roscoe had his first child, Benjamin appeared to be about ten years old. Benjamin's press was tormenting Roscoe, who became known as an ill-tempered, red-faced man. When it was time, Benjamin would attend his first day of preschool, which he found very enjoyable now that he could understand the joy of crafts and learning the alphabet. Benjamin also found a new friend in the form of his grandson.

# data[].attributes.body
All stories must come to an end. As Benjamin's condition progressed, he found himself unable to get to preschool, as the crafts now seemed impossible and the older children scared him too much. In the final years of his life, Benjamin was taken care of by a nurse, who was basically his mother. She would feed him, bathe him, and clothe him. Things were becoming much simpler for Benjamin, and the memories of his past began to fade until all he could remember were the things right in front of him. However, this ended too, and eventually he could not remember anything at all. His final thoughts are the dim faces and aroma of warm milk fading away as he does so.