Old and done

Most of the co-workers that I've been acquainted in diverse work places have at least one thing in common, they are all counting down to retirement.  Yes, that's a rap, it's true.  I the meantime, I always wondered what could and would become the measure of a person giving to mankind if he/she wasn't so occupied with retiring from the battlefield of employment?

Well trying to maintain an unofficial dairy to keep an update on those who got their wish for either an early retirement or traditional retirement (according to Social Security standards), the report is sobering.

There is Bob who reminded each and every one of us about his plans to sail around the world in his personal boat, worry-free.  Last I heard his life has been docked at the local government subsidized convalescent home. He is being fed intravenously and must often utilize a bed pan to stop from wetting in the bed.  Bob only retired 6 months earlier before his wife found him bent over trying to untie the rope that was holding his private boat to land.  His wife says that he sustained a stroke that left him incapacitated to the point of his present state.

While many would point out that Bob's case is an aberration to what one can truly experience in retirement, I wouldn't be too quick to scratch the argument that many retirees may not be entirely incapacitated, but, incapacitated they are in different degrees where most fail to live up to their retirement fantasies.

Just received a card from John and Mary who are now enjoying a 7-day cruise across the Atlantic.  They say the food is great.  Actually I had received  the card posthumously after John and Mary had returned to the states and I was able to personally thank them for remembering me.  They seemed a  little stunned as if they didn't recalled sending any card. Of course they were coming out of a social services office.  I asked a passer-by what social services were being offered there.  They replied mostly food stamps.  It may be a bit cynical as I reflected on their boasting about  the great food (7 days only) onboard that cruise of theirs and later being short on food when they returned to dry land.

More an more, I'm seeing older people becoming disparaged by their dire circumstances--not all, but enough of them. I've seen and heard so many  dire situations for seniors that I've grown to believe that retirement is only a paranormal world to the world of those who remain gainfully employed or those needing employment.  Retirement has seems to have become simply a label or a fruitless benchmark for many who foolishly expect a life of infinite and worry-free bliss once leaving the dungeons of heartless work environments.  Not to say that one doesn't deserve the reprieve of many years of their dedication to hard work and service, but not many care to look at the bigger picture--the condition of the whole world.  And, not to say that many have no alternative but to retire because they are unable anymore to keep up with the daily grind demanded of the body and mind.  Maybe the real difference of the former and latter is the based on the words need vs. want.

One thing for sure is that as I continue to track the statuses of old acquaintances in the work-place, I'm learning that there is a growing consensus of many who have dared to ignore the traditional fantasies of retirement and are declaring that they would rather be old and done than old and confused.

Now kudoes should go out to those who seem to have made a smooth and yet rational transition.  The cruise ship and the sail boat are only a slight part of their  grand planning.  Realistically, those who are really continue to address life issues in retirement are no different than the those who are standing in life for employment opportunities--not forgetting that life will have challenges until life itself passe.