Anniversary Date
I just sat down to put a long overdue entry into my blog and realized this is a very important anniversary date for me.I got out of the Army on January 20, 1969. I had spent 2 years, 10 months, and 7 days in the Army during the Vietnam era and luckily never was sent to Vietnam. I spent my time in Germany. This was during the Cold War period between the USA and the USSR (i.e. "Godless Commies"). The US forces in Germany were meant to act as a deterrent force. In case the "balloon went up", the US forces were supposed to be able to hold the advancing Soviet forces at bay for 48 hours until nuclear bombings would take place and the Commies would be bombed back to the Stone Age. Of course, this did not take place and the world remained safe due to my diligence in Germany! I accept your thanks and gratitude with my usual humbleness.
The weathercasters on television had been talking about the very warm winter we had been having until a week ago. The temperatures are now in the high 30’s during the day and dipping to the low 20’s at night. This is January, guys, it is supposed to be cold. They are acting like it is bitterly cold and those snowstorms in Colorado are unusual. I have to admit that snow in Los Angeles is unusual but is that global warming? Talk to me about global warming when the outdoor temperature is 98 degrees and I might listen – unless it is August.
I really have been enjoying my retirement since leaving my last contract job with DC Government. Mrs. Ex-Fed and I took a great cruise on the Celebrity Constellation to the southern Caribbean for 12 nights in December and extended that trip for another week at our timeshare in Palm Beach. We did a day of rainforest trekking in Panama at the Smithsonian Institution Tropical Research Center. Now that was interesting! It was also very hot and humid.
Am I ready to go back to contracting? I think I would like to work for another few months to build up some more Social Security quarters so I can double dip in another couple of years. I don’t need the money but since I have ¾ of the required quarters, I may as well go ahead and get the rest. However, being retired is wonderful. It is great to do whatever I want and to do it whenever I want. I love to read, I do the volunteer work, I enjoy the Judge Judy and "beverage-of-choice" time with Mrs. Ex-Fed in the late afternoon.
Once again, if you are still working and are near retirement age, just keep repeating the mantra, "Retirement is Great". I have one of my very good friends still working for the old Agency. She keeps telling me how screwed up the classification system is now at the headquarters level and that the field personnel have no faith in headquarters. Still, she continues to work even though she is financially able to retire.
I went to a funeral last week of a former co-worker from the old Agency. She was still a full-time employee of the Agency at 82 years old. She had 63 years of Federal service and 58 years of those were at the same agency.
Everyone should strive to retire with a good pension and to do it soon enough in order to live the good life they have earned through the many years of work.
posted by Ex-Fed @ 9:04 AM
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