[manaboutown]

As a child I developed a philosophy that considers the time I have to spend however I like during my life is my most valuable and cherished asset. I have always tried to get "the mostest from the leastest" as I used to phrase it. This basically translates to the highest yield on time spent "slaving away". In my early adult life I tended to view my work as what I needed to do to provide for my family and myself; later on my work evolved into something I also did for the sheer the joy of it as I would have engaged in it for free, even in preference to most recreational activities. I feel I have been lucky. Most of the time I have enjoyed my work.

Now all that being said I first retired at age 35. After a few months I found myself pretty bored. One Wednesday morning I ran into a high school girlfriend in the pro shop of the country club where the golf pro, another HS classmate, was fixing me up in a foursome with retired guys, 65 -75, to play a round as all my contemporaries were at work. She asked me what I was doing. I told her I was retired. She started laughing, and told me I was too young to retire. Anyway, I soon found myself making another deal. I tried retirement again at age 41 but had a great opportunity at 48 which I accepted. At 52 I semiretired and it took. Since then I have traveled to 79 countries and enjoyed many recreational activities. At age 77 I still enjoy my work and spend as little or as much time as I choose at it. I think I will hang in there until my health won't let me