Sunday, June 12, 2005

I'd be Free Now

Man's sitting at the kitchen table, reading the paper. Wife says to him 'Do you realize? This is our thirtieth anniversary!" He doesn't respond. She tugs the paper down to find tears running from the man's eyes. Whats wrong? she asks. Sobbing, he says, I was just thinking about the night we got married. Your father said we either got married or I was going to jail for thirty years. The woman said, yes, so? Well, the man wailed, I'd have been out by now!

Thirty years is a long time. Its about the amount of time I'd have to live from when I retired, if I do it when I am thinking of doing it, and assuming I live to the average. Thats a lot of long walks, good meals, pleasant reading. But its a lot of what-the-hell-do-I-do-today time, too. Thirty years can be a life sentence, if you don't know what you want to do with it. For every one person who has plans for a post-work future, I'd bet a dozen haven't even a clue. To paraphrase something I heard once: Many people want to retire early who don't know what to do with themselves on a rainy afternoon.

Shuffleboard, anyone?

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