When I was still young in the company I would hear the old guys talking about how the cannot wait to retire. This always puzzled me as I could just not get my head around how someone would want to hurry up and retire. Well each year as I get older I start to understand this and boy it sure is time I won that lotto so I too can retire.
I would strongy advise that the word 'retire' be stricken from one's vocabulary, except for something along the lines of 'retire from the battlefield'. When my paternal grandfather was forced to 'retire' at the age of 83, due to his childrens' fear that he would be trampled by a cow, calf, or bull...or roll a tractor... I watched him decline rapidly, both physically and mentally. His very reason for existence had been forcibly removed from his psyche. He lasted two years.
I watched the same thing happen to one uncle who retired after working at the same job for nearly 45 years. Less than two years later, he had slowed down so much that he just 'stopped' one night.
Yet another elderly uncle, retired from his public service job at 75, and immediately started a consulting company comprised of himself and a handful of other seasoned veterans. They are ALL still going strong, and most of them are incredibly active physically. As this uncle told me, 'if the mind remains active, it can often pull the body right along with it'.
And that's my plan. I work until I die. I ride until I die. I shoot until I die. Rocking chairs are for mothers with little children that are croupy. I could qualify for disability from both SS and the VA. But screw that! I don't want to get into that quagmire that bogs me down and eats up my focus!
I'm going down kicking, biting, stabbing, scratching, punching and shooting! Once you can't find a new challenge in life, you're fate is sealed.
Not all of us are so lucky.
