encore performances...9

encore performances...9 

                                                                

  There are so many activities POS (People over 60) seek out once they begin their post-working career lives.  Interviews with perhaps 80 people over the course of the last 18 months reveal handball, tennis, pickleball, hiking, walking, and bicycle riding as just some of their favorite physical activities.  Swimming was mentioned often too.  One man in his mid 70s told me he skateboards.  He appeared to be fit enough to be successful at it.  A husband and wife who appeared to be in their 60s said they go mountain climbing twice a year. 

  However, when it comes to things to do excluding physical activity, domestic and overseas traveling is far and away the leader of all choices.  Starting an Encore Performance or already involved in a second career or part-time job is the second-most mentioned desire (See below for an almost unanimous wish).  

  HUH?  What's up with that? 

  This is just an observation, but there seems to be a rather large gap among those who travel who worked for someone else compared to those who were self-employed.  Those who were self-employed for a long period of time seem to have traveled much more.  Two exceptions to that would be educators and professionals, such as engineers, architects, chemists, etc. who retired with full company benefits.  If I had kept score, that group would probably be the largest group of travelers.    

  There have been just as many comments about visiting the Grand Canyon, Hawaii, and California as there have been from retirees who want to tour Europe.  Favorite destinations across the pond seem to be France, England, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy (One gentleman said he and his wife have been to Greenland, in his words...a half dozen times).

  The foremost reason given by interviewees when asked why they didn't travel extensively before retiring?  Most said they were busy raising a family and funding college educations.  In other words, Life Intervened.  

  But, that's not the case with Mary Smith, a 75 year old retiree whose Encore Performance since the mid 1980's has been nursing her friends back to good health.

  I never married and I don't have any kids, she said.  

  You were able to retire at a young age.

  Yes, I was very fortunate, she smiled.  Not many people can call it quits when they are 37 or 38 years old.  

  Tell me about that.  What did you do and when did you retire?

  I was a registered nurse, she replied.  I had practiced for about 15 years when circumstances allowed me to step away from it in 1985.  

  You told me you nurse your friends back to good health.  What does that mean?

  Well, it seems all my friends are at the age where they have hip and knee replacements and even shoulder replacements, she answered.   I'm the one in the group who doesn't have major responsibilities, so I travel from one place to another and take care of them while they heal.  I've been doing that for the past 10 or 15 years. 

  Where do you go?  Do you travel far? 

  It's been kind of a circuit the last couple years, she said.  I go to Kentucky, Virginia, Indiana, Maryland and Florida.

  What do you do once you get to your patient's house? 

  I take care of them with whatever they have on hand, she responded.  Some have had eye surgery and all kinds of other operations.  They know they can just call me and I'll be there to take care of them.  

  I'd say your friends have a pretty good friend.

  I try to be, she laughed.  It's a good thing to make people comfortable and happy.  I live in Longwood, Florida outside Orlando.  I'm up here (Kentucky) now to nurse a friend who recently had a knee replacement, so I'll be here about a month.  

  When you go back to Longwood and your home, will the electricity still be turned on?

  Oh, sure, she chuckled.  All my bills are on automatic pay, so I don't have any reason not to go and help.  I can leave anytime.  No husband, no children, no pets, no obligations.  I enjoy my life tremendously.  

  What about when you aren't nursing someone back to good health.  How do you spend your time?

  I travel.  I've been all over the world, she said.

  Do you have a favorite place you've spent time?

  Definitely Alaska and Italy, Mary said.  They are my very favorite places to visit.  

  Anything particular on your Bucket List? 

  Not really.  I just want to stay active and stay happy, she said with pride.  

  Some people are more fortunate than others when it comes to taking care of the high costs associated with travel.  People like Chief Warrant Officer Rick Patton who joined the navy 46 years ago. 

  I traveled the world and saw places I only read about in school, he said proudly.

  What is your number one place you've been to?

  Phillipines, he answered quickly.  Because the cost of living is so cheap compared to other places.  I've been to Romania, Italy, Germany, Japan, Korea, Australia, Tasmania, islands I can't even pronounce and six or seven other smaller countries.   

  How long have you been out of the navy?

  I retired in 2000 with 26 years of service, he said. I ran the food service on seven ships and six shore stations. 

  Are you a good cook?

  He laughed, then said, Only if you're in a big group.

  What about your private life.  Do you have a family? 

  Sure do, he answered.  I married a woman from the Philippines.  Her name is MiLu.  We have two kids and two grandkids.  We have a house there and one here.  

  Did you look for an Encore Performance when you left the navy?  Another career?  You were still a young man.  

  As a matter of fact, I did, he said.  I went to work for the post office and I've been there going on 22 years.  

  You might need MiLu to help you carry those retirement checks every month.  

  It's going to be sweet when I do retire, he replied.  I've gotten a navy check for over 22 years and I'll get one from the postal service in about nine months.  

  Can you think of anything that stands out on your Bucket List? 

  A priority for me is to be healthy.  So many of my friends have had a tough time and I just want to be in good health for as long as possible, he said hopefully.  

  Rick isn't alone in his wish for good health.  It was almost unanimous.  Just about all of the 80 people I've talked with expressed the same desire.  

 Coming up:  Meet Wayne in A World Without Wayne; hear from more POS, and; meet a 92 year old designer still on the job.

  And, finally...A friend was feeling lethargic and very apathetic, so he decided to take a trip to the Bahamas.  That didn't help him out of his funk either.  He spent every day on the beach for hours with just a bottle of rum. On his last day, he's sitting on the beach in his favorite beach lounge chair when a storm rolled in.  It was at that point that he knew he was in a tropical depression. 

  Huh?  What's up with that?