Old Age is the Time to Rage
 ~ by James Banzer

   If you're not there already, and if you stay in reasonably good health, there will come a time when it's the day to retire. Face up to it. If the Grim Reaper doesn't get us first, we will all hit that magical arbitrary age.
   Not everybody wants to retire though. Some prefer to think of how they can make their so-called retirement years their most productive years. Those brave souls are to be admired.
   Retirement can indeed be a dirty word. It can force a person who still has a keen mind and reasonably able body to give it all up in favor of sitting around doing nothing. Some would just as soon avoid that
kind of sentence. Have you ever noticed the numbers of people who pass on a year or two after taking retirement?
   Working past the normal age of retirement is an option for some. It's not for all of us, but it's something to be considered by those who are excited about life and about how they can continue to contribute to society.
   If you think that being productive is only for the young, you're dead wrong. It's for whenever you decide to get your butt in gear and be as good or better than ever before.
   Colonel Harland Sanders was 62 years old when he started the Kentucky Fried Chicken chain of restaurants. When most people his age were preparing to hang up the work clothes and lie back to take
things easy, he was just getting started.
   Ronald Reagan was 69 when he became president of the United States in 1981. He was just getting started at the most productive time of his life, and by golly he turned out to be one of America's most popular presidents, holding the office for eight years. He was 77 when he went back home to California.
   A good number of people have just refused to quit the career upon which they built their success. Paul Harvey is a good example. Born in 1918, he hasn't stopped yet. As of this writing, he is 85 and still going strong. When he nearly lost his voice a short time back, he was determined enough to keep up his good radio work that he sought surgery for needed vocal repairs.
   Also 85 at this time is Mike Wallace. He has been on television since the early days of that medium. He talked a number of times about calling it quits, and now is saying again that he will do so. As long as he's able to walk and talk, it wouldn't be too surprising if we will continue to hear from him from time to time, even if he does submit to the "R" word.
   At 86, Walter Cronkite isn't doing news broadcasts any longer, but he keeps busy with public radio and television projects. "And that's the way it is."
   Most people just prefer to take it easy. If it's best for them and it makes them happy, there's nothing wrong with that. Sadly though, there are others who would like to be a Reagan, Sanders, Harvey, Wallace, or Cronkite, but the system hands them the gold watch and says they have to go. So, the trick is how to beat the system. The above examples show that it can be done.
   It's a throw-away society. There's a feeling that sixty-five is the time to toss out Jack and Jill in favor of a younger whippersnapper who just completed a 4-year degree and is considered proficient at what it
took Joe a lifetime to learn and achieve.
   What many employers don't realize is that Jack and Jill can be valuable assets. Those who have spent lifetimes acquiring knowledge and skills should be utilized.
   Continued employment is certainly not the answer in every case. Some who can't or don't want to work opt instead for community projects. Some of the finest charitable work is done by those who just want to help other people. It's a wonderful time for taking time to give cancer patients rides to the doctor's office, or helping prepare meals for the homeless at the downtown rescue shelter, or helping with gardening in the local park.
   For those who would rather work in old age, the time is coming when that won't just be an option. It will be a necessity. The age for collection of social security is going up in increments, because social
security will soon be a huge financial security threat to the young. That's a whole other story, and it's one that is going to have to receive much more serious attention. The politicians haven't yet faced that task as seriously as they should.
   Putting that aside, now is the time for thinking about what you want to do when you are sixty-five. Do you want to throw in the towel and call it quits, or do you want to start thinking positively about how you
can be of benefit to society?
   Have you ever noticed how busy older people are happier than those who have given it all up? With the exceptions of those who can't be busy because of health reasons or other concerns, there is no reason why post sixty-fivers should not still be giving it all they have.
   "Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light."
--Dylan Thomas

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   James Banzer has enjoyed a long career in broadcast news and is now writing on his observations about the world around us. He is currently residing in Louisville, Kentucky. You may send an e-mail to him at jamesbanzer@yahoo.com .

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