Retirement Talk
WHAT to do with the rest of your life? |
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Episode 175 Learning from Friends
Carl likes to fish for trout; all kinds
of trout. When he
retired that is exactly what he did. He bought magazines on fishing. He
shopped
for the best equipment. He tied beautiful flies. He explored many
countries and
continents for trout. And most importantly, he caught trout. His living
room
walls are decked out with stuffed fish. He has even carved and painted
fish. Carl
is color blind and the hand-painted fish are creatively done. At least
one of
Carl’s retirement dreams came true.
This is Retirement Talk. I’m Del
Lowery.
I don’t like to fish. I
don’t have the patients. But
something about Carl’s passion for fishing appeals to me. He
spends a lot of
time sitting on the couch and watching TV shows on fishing and other
stuff that
I can’t stand, but I admire him his passion for something.
Through fishing he
has traveled the world. His obsession for fishing has lately morphed
into
including golf. Perhaps he finds trout in some of those ponds on golf
courses that
drive most of us crazy.
We all compare ourselves and our lives
to others. Friends
offer the easiest access to comparison and contrast. There are some
things they
do that we would want no part of and then there are aspects of their
talents
and lives that we admire and sometimes emulate.
Two of my neighbors, Bob and Pat,
retired perhaps ten years
ago. They have now spent seven falls in the southern part of Germany.
They go
in the fall when it is easiest to rent there house here in the Pacific
Northwest to new professors that may be moving to town. They rent it
for a low
rate and thus people new to town love it and have time to look around
and find
more permanent quarters during the four month stay. Bob and Pat go to
the same
place in Black Forest every year. It now feels like a second home. They
stay in
the same rental unit every year. They have acquired a group of friends.
They
are known at the local post office. They reach out from their base to
Munich,
Berlin, Switzerland, Italy, France and other countries. For several years they took their dog. They
travel by train. They hike in the mountains and sample various
cultures.
My friend in South Carolina lifts
weights. He lifted in
college and then let it slide for nearly 40 years. Then one day he read
of a
weight lifter who was in his eighties. At age 64 my friend started
lifting
again: lifting competitively. He has a professional weight set in his
exercise
room. He travels to weight lifting competitions. He maintains a rock
hard body
and seems to be very healthy. He loves the focus. He always meets
people who
are older and serve as an inspiration for his passion. He has written a
few
books and now he says that writing anymore can wait until he finds
weight
lifting to be undoable.
Rube and Ellie live in Ruidoso, New
Mexico. They travel.
They travel light. They sold their home; sold their furniture;
liquidated all
investments in favor of cash in the bank; threw away everything they
didn’t
find necessary. They even threw away photos – any picture that
didn’t have a person
in it that they wanted to remember got tossed. They kept their van.
They kept
their camping gear. They kept their bikes. They rent a furnished house.
They
can move at a moments notice. They have traveled to all of the
continents and
biked in them all. They have biked all over USA. They have sailed and
biked on
many Caribbean cruises. He has taken up watercolors and has attended
workshops
in various parts of the world. They travel light and they travel often.
They
are close to eight years old and are not
slowing down. They still sleep in a tent although they have now
included small
collapsible cots as standard gear. They swim, walk, or bike on a daily
basis.
Slowing down, yes; stopping, not even close.
Retirement provides us with time to
reach out to the world
in a new direction. Some of us hunker down and are satisfied to smell
the
flowers. Others step out like Vasco de Gama. It helps to keep our eyes
and ears
open.
This is Retirement Talk.
A resource from a listener: Best Free Online Degrees for Seniors guide is designed to assist seniors who aspire to enhance their intellect or consider starting a new career path. It features an overview of the top online degrees for seniors, emphasizing their numerous advantages, and a broad range of subjects to choose from.
A friend's website: Terra Firma Designs: Fine Furniture, Stained Glass and woodworking workshops.
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