At a retirement ceremony the boss lauded the retiree: "Today we would like to thank our colleague for his service to our company. He is someone who does not know the meaning of an impossible task, and he also does not know the meaning of lunch break, and cannot grasp the meaning of the word no. Because of this we have all pooled our resources and would like to now present him with a dictionary." (copied)

Okay. Here's the situation. It's Thursday, February 11, 2016, and I appreciate our little time here together to get the day going. I do get input from time to time from those who try to keep up with my sharing. One dear lady had a pretty astute observation. She said it appeared to her that my run ins and near misses with wildlife and other happenings might be greatly reduced if I wasn't running up and down the roads at 3:30 a.m. each day. She may not have said it exactly like that but that's what I got from what she said. How can I argue with that analysis? In many ways I'm probably encroaching into their domain, so to speak. I'll certainly keep that in mind as I continue to approach the door marked 70 but I'm not sure when I will be ready adjust my current schedule. The wife and I have been talking some about it and I think we will just have to see how things unfold. She thinks she is ready for me to be around all day every day but as we all know, that remains to be seen. I did receive a note the other day from a fellow who pretty much has a consistent view that the idea behind a leisure based concept of formal retirement is mostly a modern invention. We do know clearly that we never retire from the work, ministry, and calling God has for us, that is, until we make our final journey home. In the meantime, couldn't I just keep a little more decent schedule? In a nutshell, the one I follow works for me. There's a lot to think and pray about. Until further notice the critters I encounter, (both animal and human), and I will just have to figure out how to do our best to stay out of each others way.

There's a lot of advice out there for folks thinking about retirement. One recommended that you take a week off and do nothing but watch daytime television before making your decision. They do have those retirement calculators that attempt to tell you when it's the best time for you to retire. One fellow said he put in all his information and was told he could survive on his retirement income but only until tomorrow evening. Another retiree lamented how that when he left the Company he served for so many years, when he was anticipating his future where time would no longer be important to him, well, they gave him a gold watch to mark the occasion. A word of warning came from one experienced source: If you are ready to retire and you look forward to getting old, doctor visits, medical tests, and all that goes with it, well, congratulations. Another discovered two new best friends, Bed and Couch. He said he spent a whole lot of his time hanging out with them. Often those who sacrificed their health to earn enough money to retire find themselves in retirement spending all the money they have trying to maintain their health. Some are able to leave behind in the workplace a lot of tension, however, that typically has been found to be connected to the size of their pension. Some of these anecdotes are humorus. Some not so much. But, they do point out the transition challenges involved. That's why I am still thinking about thinking about it. Later. Of course.

Since I've mostly talked about retirement here's a little story that I thought was pretty funny. That would be me. Not you. Me. But, someone might think so also. ~  A priest was being honored at his retirement dinner after 25 years in the parish. A leading local politician, who was also a member of the congregation, was chosen to make the presentation and give a little speech at the dinner. He was delayed so the priest decided to say his own few words while they waited. "I got my first impression of the parish from the first confession I heard here. I thought I had been assigned to a terrible place. The very first person who entered my confessional told me he had stolen a television set, and, when stopped by the police, had almost murdered the officer. He had stolen money from his parents, embezzled from his place of business, had an affair with his boss's wife, taken illegal drugs. I was appalled. But as the days went on I knew that my people were not all like that and I had, indeed, come to a fine parish full of good and loving people." Just as the priest finished his talk the politician arrived full of apologies at being late. He immediately began to make the presentation and give his speech. "I'll never forget the first day our parish priest arrived," said the politician. "In fact, I had the honor of being the first one to go to him in confession." ~ Oh my. Have a wonderful rest of the day and I will see what comes up for our next topic of conversation. Until then, may God bless us all. Amen. .....More later.