I am getting to a point in my life where I am thinking a lot about what I am doing, why am I doing it, and how am I going about doing what I do. For example, if I look at my schedule for the next month, I am in France, Brazil, Mexico, Eastern and Western Canada, the United States and Argentina. I love the work I am doing, and this kind of travel regimen didn’t used to bother me too much. I have my travel routines down pretty well and rarely have problems—although it still takes about 3 extra
Tag Archives: retirement
Growing Older—A Team Sport
Tom Brokaw in a recent AARP op-ed piece pointed to the obvious fact that as the Boomers retire they’re going to change our social and economic reality in profound ways. Lots of others are predicting the coming crunch associated with questions of how to pay astronomical healthcare and Social Security costs with a shrinking workforce and tax base. Consider that about 4 or 5 of us have supported
Explainers Anonymous™ – II
By Charles E. Smith |Bio
=&0=& is for people who can’t help explaining they are dedicated victims of circumstance.Explaining,
like taking a drink, need not be not a problem. Telling a story to
entertain or teach is wonderful. Sometimes explanations are really
useful (such as in telling the doctor why your hand is bleeding) or
when they warn you of something (such as in looking both ways before
crossing the street because you might get killed). Sometimes they are
useful as long as everyone understands it’s an explanation—and only one
out of a hundred thousand possibilities.
It’s
Zoomers
I got an advertisement in an enewsletter the other day. It proclaimed the ‘Zoomer’ as a person who has the body of a 65-year-old, the mind of a 45-year-old, the libido of a 25-year-old and the heart of a teenager. Bottom line is that a Zoomer is a Boomer with zip!
Well, I pass the first hurdle. My body is definitely 65 years old, although I am not sure how that is measured. I am certainly in better shape than many (and not as fit as many others) so it seems to me that the body’s age is relative.
Octogenarian Entrepreneurs
Inc.com recently recognized "8 over 80" entrepreneurs for staying in the game well past traditional retirement age. From Andrew Weil, the oldest entrepreneur in America at 106, to Lisa Gable, inventor of the Strap-Mate, these men and women have embarked on second careers and made running a company their ‘new’ retirement. Find out why 80 is the new 30, and watch the 8 over 80 videos and slideshows of early Boomers who are still calling the shots.
Explainers Anonymous™
By Charles E. Smith
Bio
Explainers Anonymous™
is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to help people addicted
to explaining everything. My name is Charlie. I started it.
It began in 1997 a few months after I retired. I woke one morning and said to myself:
"I
now have no work, no place to go, no future source of earned income,
no people telling other people about me. The phone doesn’t ring and too
many of my e-mails are ads. I diet until 6 o’clock and then
Facts of Life
I saw a show on the BBC recently about aging in the UK. There were several very interesting aspects to the story. First, the population in nursing homes has changed dramatically in the past 20 years: previously, most residents were in their 70s and today most are in their 90s. And most are women—not surprising given World War II and life expectancy trends.
The consensus of experts here is that a combination of healthier habits and lifestyles, better medical technologies, and increasing access
Coming Home
Idleness
Darlene and I have spent a couple of lovely days in Seville. I am learning about Spanish history—which is pretty bloody over all, but also has produced some incredible art and architecture. It is always amazing to me how we require a few days ‘off’ before we begin to unwind, relax and really ‘be’ on vacation. Having the Internet is a bit like cheating, but I am beginning to let go of other commitments for a bit and just take each day in stride.
We were having a conversation this afternoon
Out of Town
Perspective really is everything. When Barb and Jim tell friends they’re ‘out of town’, they’re not necessarily where you might expect them to be. They may actually be just down the street or in a neighbouring community in the cosmopolitan city in which they live. To this retired couple, being ‘away from home’ translates into days or weeks spent in someone else’s home, soaking up the ambience of the neighbourhood, re-creating days spent in foreign cities, immersing themselves in