encore performances #11...

 encore performances #11...

                                                             

  Part of the exhilaration of being retired is you don't have to call it quits entirely unless you want to do so.  There are lots of opportunities to be a star on a new path.   

  In the Encore Performance series, I have talked with many part-time and full-time workers.  There is one commonality shared by lots of these great people:  each one retired from decades of employment, then for one reason or another, chose to rejoin the work force in some capacity. 

 HUH?  What's up with that?  

  Some Encore Performances allow skilled workers to be an even bigger star than he or she was before claiming their monthly check from the Flying Eagle.   

  A 30 year veteran police officer said he retired and because of the shortage of officers was called back to work and given a choice of assignments.  He now receives a full pension and the same salary he was making when he stepped down at the age of 52.  

  Along the same lines, Kentucky (and other states) has offered retired teachers full pay (plus their pension) if they will return to the classroom to assist in a critical shortage of teachers.  

  Of course, not every returning worker enjoys such a glamorous return to the work force.  Many have found working just a few hours a week preferable to staying at home 24/7 and they too are stars following their own renewed light.  

  Such is the case with Skip Pittsenberger.  When I first met him, I thought he could have passed as the Coca Cola Santa Claus.  That's how similar he paralleled the billboard representation of the iconic figure.  

  I've heard that several times, he said.  People even ask me if that's my picture on the billboards.   

  Did you set out to mimic Santa?  You are about the right size, you've got the hair and beard going, the glasses and you're even wearing a red shirt.  

  Well, not really, he admitted.  I've had this beard since the '70s and it's just gotten whiter and whiter as the years go by. 

  You could make a lot of money playing the role at a mall.  I read where a record amount was paid last year to men in that role.  

  I was Santa for the Humane Society up until about six years ago, he countered. 

  What happened that made you give it up?

  People started bringing in snakes and reptiles, he shuddered.  It wasn't my cup of tea, so, I quit.

  You just told them, These Santa boots were made for walking?

  I did, he laughed, and I couldn't get out soon enough.  I hated to leave, but, I didn't have a choice.  

  What did you do for a living prior to retirement?

  I drove a semi all my life, he smiled.  

  Any particular reason you chose to step down?

  It became difficult to drive cross country, he lamented.  I was in all 48 states at least twice and Canada too many times to count.  I guess I just got tired of sleeping in my truck. 

  Did you find something to keep you busy?  

  Yes, I did, he said.  I drive locally a couple days a week.  I don't have a wife or kids, so, staying home was not up for grabs for me.  

  Do you have anything on your bucket list?

  Yep, he grinned.  I want to go to Australia and drive a road train.  

  (According to, smart-trucking.com....because the Outback is very barren and huge, most freight travels by road and the Australian road trains are designed as the best way to move freight.  These trains are huge long trucks, consisting of multiple trailers and they are hooked up by what’s called converter dollies. There are many forms of combinations, the most common being the three trailer or two trailer combination.)

  Skip, best of luck.  Plan that trip to Australia.  If not now, when? 

  Thanks a lot, he said.  

  As these stories have unfolded, I have met many people who have retired from more than one Encore Performance only to put themselves right back in the workforce.  Louis Mitchell is an example.

  I was in the Marine Corps. for eight and a half years, and the Army for 18 1/2, he recanted.  

  With over 26 years in the military, did you leave work behind when you left the Army?

  Not quite, he smiled.  After I left the Army, I went to work for the post office and I'll have a retirement check from them too.  

  Take me back to the beginning.  How did you begin your career? 

  Well, I got out of high school, I signed up for the Marines, he recalled.  I was 17.   I left the Marine Corp. when Clinton was president.  From there, I joined the Army.  

  Do you have a family?

  I do, he replied.  My wife is Stacy and we have an adopted daughter from China.  

  So, can I say you are now officially retired?

  Oh, no, he grinned.  I work for the VA now.  

  You don't ever plan on not working, do you?

  Not as long as I'm healthy, he responded.  

  Since you are so active, I'll bet you've got a lot of hobbies.

  I guess so, he laughed, at least my wife says I do.  I play golf, hunt, fish, I love it all.  

  When you were in the service, did you have any favorite place you had visited?  

  Sure did, he said.  I loved Okinawa, Japan and a couple places here in the U.S., Yuma, Arizona and Twenty Nine Palms, California.  

  How about a bucket list?  Does one exist for you?

  You know, I can't really say there is anything special, he said thoughtfully.  I've done so much in the past 50 years.  

  Don't hurt yourself picking up all those retirement checks. 

  I'll be careful, Louis laughed.  

  Coming up:  another job$ somebody's gotta do; more POS Encore Performances; another oddities, observations, and ?'s, and; the George Brothers have lunch together.  

  And, finally.   According to ziprecruiter.com.....As of Nov 16, 2022, the average annual pay for a Santa in the United States is $61,639 a year.

  Just in case you need a calculator, that works out to be approximately $29.63 an hour. This is the equivalent of $1,185/week or $5,136/month.  

  So, that mall Santa is probably making close to or a little above $5,000 for the month he works.  

  HUH?  What's up with that?