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Episode 390 (094) Retirement and A Work of Love
Twenty- seven years ago we retired. I was forty-four years old. I always thought that once I retired I would do exactly what I wanted, and that someday, I might not only do exactly what I wanted, but get paid for it as well. I would work at something I really did want to do on a daily basis and, at the same time, something that society would value; value enough to pay me for it. It never happened.
This is Retirement Talk. I’m Del Lowery.
It rarely happens; where you get paid for something you’d do for free. I know some people say they love their work. But I think it is the rare bird that continues to do it after the pay stops. I always said I loved my work. But, once I quit getting paid for it, I never went back. My mind went elsewhere, as well as my body. I recently made contact with an old friend of mine who has had the opposite experience. He retired and then did exactly what he wanted to do. Then lo and behold. Society did value it. And he does get paid. This is his story. And perhaps, just perhaps, you can pick up some hints that will make something similar happen to you.
My friend’s name is Lewis. I met him in Alaska on a cold, dark winter night in a small log cabin. It was at an organizational meeting for Amnesty International. It must have been about forty odd years ago. He and a friend had contacted Amnesty and decided to try to organize the first Amnesty group in Alaska. I went to the meeting. He and his friend were both lawyers and committed to Human Rights work. They were both public defenders for the State of Alaska and fresh out of law school – true idealist.
We worked together to help establish and maintain the local chapter. We held monthly meetings. We wrote letters to government officials around the world. We wrote letters to prisoners. Most of the letters went unanswered. We continued to write. We hosted educational and outreach events in Anchorage. We held a candlelight vigil every December 10th – Human Rights Day. It was always cold and dark and usually not many people came. I remember dragging everyone I knew to some of the vigils that were always held in subzero weather on a windy corner in downtown. One year I was discouraged and considered not putting a vigil together. I complained about it at the dinner table one night and said, “There just seems to be only people we know that go to it - some friends and a few students.” My daughter, who was probably ten or eleven years old then sat me straight by saying, “Well, how would it be if no one showed up? How would you like that?” We held the vigil and the tradition continues to this day. We worked with Amnesty all of our remaining days in Alaska.
Then we retired and left the state. A few years later, Lewis called from Seattle and asked if he and his wife, Becky, could stop by for a visit. He had just retired. And he wasn’t quite forty years old. He had beaten me by four years. They moved out of Alaska to Grass Valley, California and then to Salt Lake City, Utah. He continued his interest in Human Rights and his interest in protecting the environment. Besides Amnesty International, he had been very active in the Alaska Land Trust. His two causes were about to merge.
He created an organization entitled “The Environmental Defender Law Center”, EDLC. You can visit their website at www.edlc.org. He approaches large, established law firms and encourages them to do pro bono work on behalf of people in distant lands who are having their human rights denied because of some position they have taken because of environmental issues; thus the merging of human rights, the environment, and law.
Lewis use to tell me that he has probably changed from levies into a pinstriped suit in airport bathrooms more than anyone in the world. Lewis likes to wear the old blue denim levies. He traveled in them; all over the place. But work called for other attire. Thus the change into a suit in airports. Lewis is a Harvard Law School graduate. When he flies to the East Coast to recruit new firms into cooperate efforts on behalf of the oppressed today, I can only imagine the switch continues.
I recently got an email telling me that the ELDC had changed its webpage and email address. I contacted Lewis and found out a couple of things. They have now moved the office to Bozeman, Montana, where they can continue to ski and run in the mountains. He can continue to wear levies. And he is working full-time for full pay running the ELDC. Imagine. He’s one lucky guy. He has seen his dream retirement/job become a reality. He is doing good work at just exactly what he wants. He laughs as he tells me, “I work a full day, for a full day’s pay.” It’s work, but not work at the same time. We should all be so lucky, or capable.
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. Copyright 2010 RetirementTalk.org |
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