About not being a retired old fart
Thank you for dropping by. I’d like to give you an idea of where I stand, and what this website is all about. First of all, I never imagined I’d reach old age with the possibility of becoming a retired old fart. The concept of retiring and receiving a pension was always foreign to me. My belief was that old age will not touch me…not me, no way. Growing old, retiring, and getting a pension was only for those who are older than I am.
I was more than certain I was pleasantly destined NOT to grow old. After all, I had the rest of my life to live and aging wasn’t part of the equation.
OLD…me? As if!
NEVER!
Yet, it happened to me too. As of recent, I’ve joined the ranks of the retired and the pensioned. I’ve become a senior citizen, an old fogey, a senile old fool, or the worst of them all…a retired old fart. (H-E-L-P).
The good news is that I’m not a “Retired Old Fart”, not yet anyway.
The great thing is that I don’t fall in the ranks of the “Retired Old Farts”, or “Over The Hill”, not yet anyway, and not for a long time too.
Yet, my wife and I have conflicting views and opinions on this topic…
The ages fifteen through twenty-one were long ago in my past.
I should have grasped what was happening to me when my hair first started going grey.
At first, I was just aware of the odd grey hair, and I reasoned that it must have been an anomaly, a fluke. I quickly put it down to the dark-colored dye supply running out. Then, to my astonishment, a large number of grey hairs showed up all at once.
When my chest hair, mustache, and eyebrows all started turning that color, it sank in. It wasn’t the dye running out after all, and I realized with horror that it was time.
It was like walking the plank of life, and there were no sharks at the end of it…but only petrifying darkness prevailed. The dark waited for me to the sound of the seconds as they ticked by, and with each second that passed, the darkness became even darker.
With a wobbly sense of adventure, I decided to stop working
With a stale taste in my mouth and a shaking sense of adventure, I decided to throw in the towel on the world of forty hours a week or more of work.
Leaving my employment wasn’t the issue. I had stopped enjoying it a long time before, and almost everything related to it, save for a few real friends.
The worst part was realizing I was officially an old man and could look forward to a pension and retirement just like others my age.
The truth of the situation left me hopeless and sickened me to my stomach. It took some time and effort to convince myself of this, but eventually, I came around.
Sigh…
No one can stop time, including me
I guess there’s no such thing as halting time, and I include myself in that.
Let me get back to this website, and why it has come to be.
I’ll tell you about the highs and lows of my life, the joys, and sorrows, the triumphs and tragedies, that led me to this point of contented retirement.
What I’ll be doing here is sharing with you what I went through, and still am at times, so you won’t have to suffer so much.
I’ll help you find happiness and prevent despair
I’ll guide you on the path to contentment, and how to avoid falling down any bottomless pit of loneliness or desperation.
Here, you’ll find valid reasons why you should go on and never give up or miss out on things that are so precious…such as your time and happiness.
I’ll show you how to become productive in your free time doing all sorts of wild and wonderful things. As a bonus, I’ll teach you ways how you can also cash in on your years of experience and knowledge, teaching others the ropes you’re so good at.
You won’t have to have it as rough as I did, and I’m really looking forward to helping you out during this transition, and beyond.
James John
