Ray Dearstone #009 D1A (1999)
Skip Kelley #063 Offset Two Point (2017)
Arches #9 A Style (2005)
Bourgeois M5A (2022)
Hohner and Seydel Harmonicas (various keys)
"Heck, Jimmy Martin don't even believe in Santy Claus!"
When the wife retires in August we plan to get an RV and make a lot of the 'big' BG festivals next year. Telluride and the like.
Last year was at Merle fest and it started to rain at camp. Piled into someones fancy RV and picked til 3am. Awesome!
JimmyKittle, I talked to a friend today who told me the same thing - He said he is busier since retirement than he was working! LOL!!
My life is certainly fuller. Travel, grandchildren, active in a church group of sorts. Very regular exercise that includes jogging. Music shows, practice and playing for myself, family and friends. My last few years of work, it was work, sleep, eat. No variety. Did the same type of work for 38 years, possibly more. I could do it in my sleep. These days, if I dream about being at work at all, it is a full blown nightmare.
Ray Dearstone #009 D1A (1999)
Skip Kelley #063 Offset Two Point (2017)
Arches #9 A Style (2005)
Bourgeois M5A (2022)
Hohner and Seydel Harmonicas (various keys)
"Heck, Jimmy Martin don't even believe in Santy Claus!"
Imagine if Burgess Meredith's books were mandolins:
Be sure to have an extra pair of glasses in retirement!
"Music is the only noise for which one is obliged to pay." ~ Alexander Dumas
Jack Roberts made a good point in his post. I've known many employees at the Co. i worked for come up to retirement age & they simply loathed the prospect. These guys were all tops at their jobs,well respected & valued employees -so what was the sense of forcing them to leave ?. One senior engineer that retired was almost in tears - forget the ''almost'', he was in tears at the thought of leaving. He'd worked there for 50 years (as long as he could have ) & he'd worked his way up to his senior position. He retired & they had 2 of his juniors doing his job,which took them away from their own work = ridiculous. So - they asked him back as an ''advisor'' & paid him a ''consultancy'' fee. When he came back,his face nearly fell in half he was grinning so hard.
As we know with our music,if we're good at it,it's very addictive,& you want to do it more. It's the same with our work,it's very hard to leave something that you're expert at & something that gains you respect,especially if you've been doing it for a long time,
Ivan
Weber F-5 'Fern'.
Lebeda F-5 "Special".
Stelling Bellflower BANJO
Tokai - 'Tele-alike'.
Ellis DeLuxe "A" style.
In regards to finding something to do after retirement, does anyone think about sitting down to write their memoirs?
Good health is the number one essential in retirement. Without it, all plans are trashed.....
Some people think that their job makes them too important to retire. As the late French president Charles DeGaulle once said - "Our cemeteries are full of important people" - (although I think he probably said it in French!)
Those whose self identity is tied to work have the hardest time adjusting to retirement. That was never the case for me.
Silverangel A
Arches F style kit
1913 Gibson A-1
I retired three years ago and took the first year completely off. I found out that after a period of time that I missed the daily interactions with people of all backgrounds. So I found a completely different job and I'm mentally doing a lot better. If I could offer a bit of advice to someone in their thirties it would be to find an unrelated pastime to dip into in your youth but which you can completely immerse yourself in your sixties. I find myself so regretting that I didn't pick up a mandolin thirty years ago. As they say, youth is wasted on the young.
I'm much like Allen, retired after 35 years with the state in mental health work. Now a lot of pickin' with friends and as some retirement homes, memory units and rehab facilities. Lovin' it.
Retirement isn't all about health, a little money helps. I have been semi retired for 4 1/2 years, but S.S. does not pay enough to pay the bills let alone travel. I envy you guys that have actual retirement. I don't work as much, but still have to work. I do play a fair amount of music with friends and don't worry about daytime music. We play every week for a musician friend who was paralyzed in an accident. Group of friends getting together for a good cause and playing music. We do other musical get togethers too, but this one is special and helps me deal with still having to work and not affording to be able to travel like i would like to.
I raise a glass to all who are retired and living the good life.
THE WORLD IS A BETTER PLACE JUST FOR YOUR SMILE!
Retired veterinarian here, for a little over a year. Owned a hospital for over 30 years. I sure don't miss keeping entitled young employees happy, dog bites and cat scratches, "... you gotta save my precious, and by the way, I only have $25", and the emotional drain of frequent life ending illnesses. Play mando daily now, my guitar often, loooove playing in my acoustic Americana band and at weekly jams, mando lessons, RV travel, festivals, grandkids, etc. Not bored but not as challenged as I was in my former career, though not likely to master music any time soon. Sure glad to have music making as my avocation!!
DW retired almost 5 years ago. I'm still on the treadmill. Although, I've got 24 tons of seniority, so do many others. Although it's not hard work, still my time is not my own. I've always runs with folks older than myself. When everybody else seems to be retired but you, it's not a good feeling.
At first, you linger over that third cup of coffee reading sections of the New York Times that you’d had no idea existed. You take afternoon naps and praise their restorative power to your friends. You toy with the idea of a part-time job delivering flowers so that you might be able to afford an extravagance like the Marshall Mando Summit.
A few weeks later, finishing your second cup of coffee, you understand why those NYT articles had always been invisible. And because you are now getting more than your fair share of sleep at night, afternoon naps start to seem vaguely self-indulgent. And a part-time job is out of the question now that you’ve finally pulled out ye old bucket list.
Finally, midway through your first cup of coffee, you’re staring at your bucket list again, calculating how many years it took to draw up that roster of a 1,000-things-to-do-before-you-die. And if you are anything like me, you’ll ask yourself a question that, after decades of being on automatic pilot, you’ve never before considered: What is worth doing? Your education has begun.
Three years into retirement, my priorities look like this: sand and paint the house shutters (32 windows), strip-sand-seal the kitchen cabinets, catalog turn-of-the-century mandolin sheet music once-a-week as a volunteer, attend Grey Fox and CMSA, and, not least, learn to tremolo. Tremolo in the morning, tremolo in the evening, tremolo at supper time. Oh yes! And the dogs. Did I mention the dogs? And Proust …
From RayT - "Some people think that their job makes them too important to retire.". In the case of the guy i mentioned,he was exactly that. A senior systems engineer with 50 years of experience. However,it wasn't ''self importance'' as you imply,it was importance to the company. I would say that he knew his own value though - only fools dont.
From Jim Hudson - " Retired veterinarian here...". You have my personal respect there Jim. My local vet worked wonders on one of our cats recently. He had really severe cystitis,& anybody who's had it knows how incredibly painful that can be - 2 days & he was fine after some intensive hands-on treatment by the vet herself,
Ivan
Weber F-5 'Fern'.
Lebeda F-5 "Special".
Stelling Bellflower BANJO
Tokai - 'Tele-alike'.
Ellis DeLuxe "A" style.
Right there with you, Chris. I enjoy working, and I work hard. But at the end of the day, if I wasn't working, I'd surely still be busy. The list of things I'd do if I just had the time... Nevermind the stuff I do already! Making albums, playing in bands, hiking, camping, cooking, reading, practicing instruments, going to karate a few nights a week. I can't wait for the day I'm not cramming all that in after 5 PM.
I did this very portion of my list during a weird spot of underemployment a few years ago. At the time, I hadn't gone to college, didn't have much of a job, and had just moved somewhere I didn't really know anybody. So I read Proust in 40 days.
I recommend it. I'll change you.
In the book, there is a quote, and I often recommend reading Proust in the way a particular topic in that novel was discussed: "often, but a little at a time."
"Nothing shows you the straight line from here to death like a list." (Chuck Palahniuk)
Couldn't agree more. If you're reading this, you're probably into mandolins. There are lots of things: golf, amateur radio, coaching little league, etc.
I've known of two police officers who paid the price because of boredom. Policing was the only thing they knew. There were no outside interests. Both retired (at different times), and even though apparently in good health, both were dead within 6 months. Both families said they went downhill immediately after retirement. They were depressed and became loners.
David Hopkins
2001 Gibson F-5L mandolin
Breedlove Legacy FF mandolin; Breedlove Quartz FF mandolin
Gibson F-4 mandolin (1916); Blevins f-style Octave mandolin, 2018
McCormick Oval Sound Hole "Reinhardt" Mandolin
McCormick Solid Body F-Style Electric Mandolin; Slingerland Songster Guitar (c. 1939)
The older I get, the less tolerant I am of political correctness, incompetence and stupidity.
Thankfully,for most of us,our social passions begin at an early(ish) age & we carry them forward to enjoy them even more in our retirement. It doesn't really matter what the activity is,it keeps our minds active. It's when we're doing nothing that we start to stagnate,as in the case of the 2 police officers mentioned by DHopkins.
As musicians of whatever age / ability / genre - it's one of the finest activities for keeping our minds active. That was THE absolute reason why,at reaching age 60,i decided to take up mandolin,an instrument i'd love the sound of since 1964. I should have bought one 40 years ago,
Ivan
Weber F-5 'Fern'.
Lebeda F-5 "Special".
Stelling Bellflower BANJO
Tokai - 'Tele-alike'.
Ellis DeLuxe "A" style.
The downside to retirement is I lost one of my main excuses for not playing better. At least I still have "I should have started when I was 3 years old"
I was under the impression that when I retired, I would have a LOT of time to practice playing my Eastman. So far (three months), catching up on all the maintenance on our 74 year old house cuts in to my practice time a lot. Bored? No time for that!
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