Life can be funny. As I go through my life I learn so much that is not written in any textbook that I know of. I am beginning to understand more than I did before and yet I realize how much more there is to life that I do not know. When I was young and naive I thought I knew all the answers. Now I know I have precious few answers to a lot of things.
I had hoped to retire at 55. Somewhere along the way that dream went afoul with the changes that occurred living my life. Then when I was 60 I could see no way I could ever retire and dreaded thinking I would be working the same job until I was 75 or when the powers that be would run me off. Suddenly at 62 and completely out of the blue, big boss from California walked in the door of the factory and said, "we are closing the doors in 60 days." He didn't even say thanks for all the hard work you people have done, or he was sorry it had to be done or why it was being done. He then walked out the door, hopped on a plane and went back to California. He left some nice Human Resources woman to iron out all the details. Safe to say that all 200 of us were in a state of shock, some more than others. I was certainly surprised because not long before we were assured there were jobs and contracts that would carry us on for many years. The closing brought on all sorts of problems for people who had been at the plant for 20, 30 or even more years. Some had graduated from high school a mile down the street and never had another job. Almost all of them were in the (difficult to find work due to their age zone). Some were lucky and found jobs (not to their liking in the new jobs) and many struggled for 2 or more years without work. Most like me, went through the unemployment and searching for new jobs. The thing that made it rough was to get the unemployment insurance we had to look for jobs that were far different than anything we had done before. It sounded like a wacky rule to me, but that's what it was. I tried to get work in retail, but no one wanted an old man with no retail experience. I tried to get work at large corporations, but the job requirements were so high and the pay lower than anyone who met the requirements would work for that amount of money. So I faced a situation where just a couple of years back I thought I would never get to do. I officially retired.
I had set my original goals back in 1985 and planned for them. I accomplished most of them. Joyce and I planned for when we would have to retire and we thought we were rolling along really well, until 2001 when things out of our control put us into reverse. We are getting along at the moment, but if there's one thing I have learned in life comes from the Scottish poet Robert Burns, "the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry." We never know in life when the hammer will fall. My toes are not ready for a hammer to drop on them. The Lord has taken care of me thus far and I see no reason why He would not continue in the future.
I had hoped to retire at 55. Somewhere along the way that dream went afoul with the changes that occurred living my life. Then when I was 60 I could see no way I could ever retire and dreaded thinking I would be working the same job until I was 75 or when the powers that be would run me off. Suddenly at 62 and completely out of the blue, big boss from California walked in the door of the factory and said, "we are closing the doors in 60 days." He didn't even say thanks for all the hard work you people have done, or he was sorry it had to be done or why it was being done. He then walked out the door, hopped on a plane and went back to California. He left some nice Human Resources woman to iron out all the details. Safe to say that all 200 of us were in a state of shock, some more than others. I was certainly surprised because not long before we were assured there were jobs and contracts that would carry us on for many years. The closing brought on all sorts of problems for people who had been at the plant for 20, 30 or even more years. Some had graduated from high school a mile down the street and never had another job. Almost all of them were in the (difficult to find work due to their age zone). Some were lucky and found jobs (not to their liking in the new jobs) and many struggled for 2 or more years without work. Most like me, went through the unemployment and searching for new jobs. The thing that made it rough was to get the unemployment insurance we had to look for jobs that were far different than anything we had done before. It sounded like a wacky rule to me, but that's what it was. I tried to get work in retail, but no one wanted an old man with no retail experience. I tried to get work at large corporations, but the job requirements were so high and the pay lower than anyone who met the requirements would work for that amount of money. So I faced a situation where just a couple of years back I thought I would never get to do. I officially retired.
I had set my original goals back in 1985 and planned for them. I accomplished most of them. Joyce and I planned for when we would have to retire and we thought we were rolling along really well, until 2001 when things out of our control put us into reverse. We are getting along at the moment, but if there's one thing I have learned in life comes from the Scottish poet Robert Burns, "the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry." We never know in life when the hammer will fall. My toes are not ready for a hammer to drop on them. The Lord has taken care of me thus far and I see no reason why He would not continue in the future.
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