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**gaweidert** · 05-01-2016, 07:02 AM - **4 Likes**

I hit 65 in late March. This past Friday my company vehicle was picked up and my boss stopped by to pick up my laptop, company phone, and various other proprietary items needed to do my job. We had a nice talk and that was that.

Never got any allowance as my parents were never that well off and there were five kids to raise. If we wanted money we had to earn it. Great lesson from my parents. Chores around the house were simply expected as everyone had to pitch in to get things done. No use arguing about it as my father would simply say no and that was that.

Been working earning money since I was 8 years old. I started with paper routes. Did a few years in college. Worked renting trucks. Ran a gas station and car rental for a guy by the time I was 21. Had a pretty good career at Kodak starting on the factory floor testing commercial color printers, moved into a test lab where I was involved in all sorts of testing on everything from microfilmers/ retrieval devices, commercial and professional film and paper processors and even blood analyzers. Did two years in supervision, three as a Quality Assurance Engineer and 10 as a Service Engineer. Plus a few detours along the way.

Got laid off after 24 years went to work at an awesome company called Creo out of Vancouver, BC doing field service support on high end laser imaging systems in the printing industry. 5 years later Kodak purchased them and I was back did the same for them these last 12 years. Got to see a bit of Europe, Central America and Asia along the way too. All in all a pretty good experience. Supported the family. Raise 4 boys with my wife. Time to rest a bit.

Tomorrow is going to be weird. Monday mornings are going to be different from now on because they are not going to be any different at all.

Immediate plans are to tend to a few things around the house and then, later in May to head to Bismarck, ND to tend to a few things. After that Yellowstone and maybe even look up CSA and wtlwdwgn for a visit if they so desire. Dinner on me. Unfortunately my wife will have to work for a few more years to keep her health insurance. But she is all in on me extending the trip a bit. She even got me a Sigma 300mm f2.8 lens to play with while out there. Says I earned it or something like that.

Well that's it for old fart stories. You youngin's with the glassed over eyes can go outside and play now

**csa** · 05-01-2016, 07:08 AM

Originally posted by gaweidert

After that Yellowstone and maybe even look up CSA and wtlwdwgn for a visit if they so desire. Dinner on me.

I would look forward to meeting a fellow CN'r that's officially "old" like me!

lesmore49 · 05-01-2016, 07:25 AM

Sounds good. I've been retired for about 8 years, thoroughly enjoy it. Keep busy is my advice. Don't sit in front TV, on the couch.
When you go to Bismarck, ND, make sure you set aside a day (you have the time now, remember) and visit Fort Abraham Lincoln ...where General Custer set off to Little Big Horn, his Waterloo. Also check out the adjoining to the fort, Mandan Indian Village re-creation.

Both are wonderful historical sites. Bring your wide angle to these places.

We went to Yellowstone last year. Nice, but can be very busy with tourists and be prepared for traffic jams, usually buffalo or tourists...stopping in the middle of the road.

We stayed at Cody, Wyoming,not too far from Yellowstone. We hit the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody, great place, which I enjoyed.

Congrats.

**Kerrowdown** · 05-01-2016, 07:30 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by gaweidert

I am officially retired!!!!!!!!!!!

You've worked hard, now enjoy that time you have for your Pentax photography.

**gaweidert** · 05-01-2016, 08:01 AM

Originally posted by lesmore49

Sounds good. I've been retired for about 8 years, thoroughly enjoy it. Keep busy is my advice. Don't sit in front TV, on the couch.
When you go to Bismarck, ND, make sure you set aside a day (you have the time now, remember) and visit Fort Abraham Lincoln ...where General Custer set off to Little Big Horn, his Waterloo. Also check out the adjoining to the fort, Mandan Indian Village re-creation.

Both are wonderful historical sites. Bring your wide angle to these places.

We went to Yellowstone last year. Nice, but can be very busy with tourists and be prepared for traffic jams, usually buffalo or tourists...stopping in the middle of the road.

We stayed at Cody, Wyoming,not too far from Yellowstone. We hit the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody, great place, which I enjoyed.

Congrats.

I have been to Yellowstone several times so I know what I am in for. That is why I hit the park at 05:00 when I am out there. After dinner is a good time too. Nights are an awesome experience too. I have been to the Mandan village a few times. One of my sons is enrolled at Bismarck State College. Haven't been to Fort Abraham Lincoln yet. We went to the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody in 1991. The Little Bighorn battlefield is a sad place for me. In the end even the winners lost it all. As for lenses, I am pretty well covered from 12 to 450 mm.

**lmd91343** · 05-01-2016, 01:40 PM

Congratulations! Enjoy Yellowstone.

**RichardS** · 05-01-2016, 02:23 PM

Congratulations. I retired last year and have come to the conclusion that retirement is strange. Lots to do, but for most things is doesn't really matter if they don't get done immediately.

gavinhw · 05-01-2016, 03:51 PM

Congrats. I am not quite there yet. A few more years.

Lucky in that you have more time to take pictures now.

BTW, I work with an ex-Creo person here in Richmond BC.

**clackers** · 05-01-2016, 04:17 PM

Originally posted by gaweidert

Well that's it for old fart stories. You youngin's with the glassed over eyes can go outside and play now

Well done, mate, as I understand it a challenge in retirement is to have enough things to do in the day lest the first beer gets consumed at 10am ... with photography, that need not happen!

jeffreybehr · 05-01-2016, 11:08 PM

Congratulations, ga. I was blessed to be able to retire at age 54 years, 1-1/2 months, and I've loved all 18 years of it. After about a month, I wondered how I ever had time to go to work!

I hope you enjoy your many years.

**savoche** · 05-02-2016, 12:32 AM

Originally posted by gaweidert

Well that's it for old fart stories. You youngin's with the glassed over eyes can go outside and play now

Congrats! A well deserved "vacation". I still have twenty-some years to go before I get to own my own time.

noelpolar · 05-02-2016, 12:43 AM

I left the working grind some 6 years ago (at 48) ...... work basically got in the way of my natural state for about 3 decades. All is good now. Enjoy!

Maybe we need a "Retirees thread"

The drive home these days.....

The drive home by Noel Leahy, on Flickr

jimr-pdx · 05-02-2016, 01:20 AM

Congrats on several jobs well done! I did my 32 years & retired 6/2013, I don't do math any more

but that's been a while. Once my wife shakes off her neurological mysteries we'll see North America and some of Europe at least. Hopefully the IRA access can restore Pentax to its proper place in my collection..

reeftool · 05-02-2016, 08:51 AM

Congrats on making it to retirement! I'm a couple of years into my retirement or more accurately, semi-retirement as I still work part time. I've been traveling more, fishing more and spending a lot of time behind the camera. My wife has a couple of years to go also so I'm not taking all my bucket list trips yet. When you get to Yellowstone, make sure to get the senior National Park Lifetime Pass. $10 bucks and it's good at all National Parks and Recreation Areas. It's available to anyone over the age of 62.

Enjoy life! You earned it!

**gaweidert** · 05-02-2016, 10:27 AM

Originally posted by reeftool

When you get to Yellowstone, make sure to get the senior National Park Lifetime Pass. $10 bucks and it's good at all National Parks and Recreation Areas. It's available to anyone over the age of 62.

Enjoy life! You earned it!

I already have one. I got it a few years ago at Antietam Battlefield. When we were taking family trips some years ago I always got a Golden Eagle pass. It saved me a lot of money, Another way to save money is to get an annual membership in your local museum. There is a membership association that will get you into a ton of museums across the country for free if they are members of it. I always leave money in the donations box, but if you are strapped for cash it is a great deal.

The one thing I want to do but the wife won't let me is to sell the house and get an RV. The savings in property taxes alone would pay for gas for a year. So now I am working on getting her to move to Idaho Falls. This plan got a lot more complicated when one of my sons moved back to NY with his wife and kids. Grandkids are a pretty big trump card.

05-01-2016, 07:02 AM - 4 Likes	#1
gaweidert Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Rochester, NY Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,327	I am officially retired!!!!!!!!!!! I hit 65 in late March. This past Friday my company vehicle was picked up and my boss stopped by to pick up my laptop, company phone, and various other proprietary items needed to do my job. We had a nice talk and that was that. Never got any allowance as my parents were never that well off and there were five kids to raise. If we wanted money we had to earn it. Great lesson from my parents. Chores around the house were simply expected as everyone had to pitch in to get things done. No use arguing about it as my father would simply say no and that was that. Been working earning money since I was 8 years old. I started with paper routes. Did a few years in college. Worked renting trucks. Ran a gas station and car rental for a guy by the time I was 21. Had a pretty good career at Kodak starting on the factory floor testing commercial color printers, moved into a test lab where I was involved in all sorts of testing on everything from microfilmers/ retrieval devices, commercial and professional film and paper processors and even blood analyzers. Did two years in supervision, three as a Quality Assurance Engineer and 10 as a Service Engineer. Plus a few detours along the way. Got laid off after 24 years went to work at an awesome company called Creo out of Vancouver, BC doing field service support on high end laser imaging systems in the printing industry. 5 years later Kodak purchased them and I was back did the same for them these last 12 years. Got to see a bit of Europe, Central America and Asia along the way too. All in all a pretty good experience. Supported the family. Raise 4 boys with my wife. Time to rest a bit. Tomorrow is going to be weird. Monday mornings are going to be different from now on because they are not going to be any different at all. Immediate plans are to tend to a few things around the house and then, later in May to head to Bismarck, ND to tend to a few things. After that Yellowstone and maybe even look up CSA and wtlwdwgn for a visit if they so desire. Dinner on me. Unfortunately my wife will have to work for a few more years to keep her health insurance. But she is all in on me extending the trip a bit. She even got me a Sigma 300mm f2.8 lens to play with while out there. Says I earned it or something like that. Well that's it for old fart stories. You youngin's with the glassed over eyes can go outside and play now

05-02-2016, 12:43 AM	#12
noelpolar Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Goolwa, SA Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,310	I left the working grind some 6 years ago (at 48) ...... work basically got in the way of my natural state for about 3 decades. All is good now. Enjoy! Maybe we need a "Retirees thread" The drive home these days..... The drive home by Noel Leahy, on Flickr Last edited by noelpolar; 05-02-2016 at 12:54 AM.

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05-01-2016, 07:08 AM	#2
csa Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Montana mountains Posts: 10,133	Originally posted by gaweidert After that Yellowstone and maybe even look up CSA and wtlwdwgn for a visit if they so desire. Dinner on me. I would look forward to meeting a fellow CN'r that's officially "old" like me!

05-01-2016, 07:25 AM	#3
lesmore49 Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Western Canada Posts: 12,350	Sounds good. I've been retired for about 8 years, thoroughly enjoy it. Keep busy is my advice. Don't sit in front TV, on the couch. When you go to Bismarck, ND, make sure you set aside a day (you have the time now, remember) and visit Fort Abraham Lincoln ...where General Custer set off to Little Big Horn, his Waterloo. Also check out the adjoining to the fort, Mandan Indian Village re-creation. Both are wonderful historical sites. Bring your wide angle to these places. We went to Yellowstone last year. Nice, but can be very busy with tourists and be prepared for traffic jams, usually buffalo or tourists...stopping in the middle of the road. We stayed at Cody, Wyoming,not too far from Yellowstone. We hit the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody, great place, which I enjoyed. Congrats.

05-01-2016, 07:30 AM - 1 Like	#4
Kerrowdown PEG Moderator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Highlands of Scotland... "Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand" - William Blake Photos: Gallery Posts: 57,864	Originally posted by gaweidert I am officially retired!!!!!!!!!!! You've worked hard, now enjoy that time you have for your Pentax photography.

05-01-2016, 08:01 AM	#5
gaweidert Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Rochester, NY Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,327 Original Poster	Originally posted by lesmore49 Sounds good. I've been retired for about 8 years, thoroughly enjoy it. Keep busy is my advice. Don't sit in front TV, on the couch. When you go to Bismarck, ND, make sure you set aside a day (you have the time now, remember) and visit Fort Abraham Lincoln ...where General Custer set off to Little Big Horn, his Waterloo. Also check out the adjoining to the fort, Mandan Indian Village re-creation. Both are wonderful historical sites. Bring your wide angle to these places. We went to Yellowstone last year. Nice, but can be very busy with tourists and be prepared for traffic jams, usually buffalo or tourists...stopping in the middle of the road. We stayed at Cody, Wyoming,not too far from Yellowstone. We hit the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody, great place, which I enjoyed. Congrats. I have been to Yellowstone several times so I know what I am in for. That is why I hit the park at 05:00 when I am out there. After dinner is a good time too. Nights are an awesome experience too. I have been to the Mandan village a few times. One of my sons is enrolled at Bismarck State College. Haven't been to Fort Abraham Lincoln yet. We went to the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody in 1991. The Little Bighorn battlefield is a sad place for me. In the end even the winners lost it all. As for lenses, I am pretty well covered from 12 to 450 mm.

05-01-2016, 01:40 PM	#6
lmd91343 Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Los Angeles, CA USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,027	Congratulations! Enjoy Yellowstone.

05-01-2016, 02:23 PM	#7
RichardS Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Nelson Bay, NSW, Australia Posts: 2,418	Congratulations. I retired last year and have come to the conclusion that retirement is strange. Lots to do, but for most things is doesn't really matter if they don't get done immediately.

05-01-2016, 03:51 PM	#8
gavinhw Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 145	Congrats. I am not quite there yet. A few more years. Lucky in that you have more time to take pictures now. BTW, I work with an ex-Creo person here in Richmond BC.

05-01-2016, 04:17 PM	#9
clackers Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Melbourne Photos: Albums Posts: 16,397	Originally posted by gaweidert Well that's it for old fart stories. You youngin's with the glassed over eyes can go outside and play now Well done, mate, as I understand it a challenge in retirement is to have enough things to do in the day lest the first beer gets consumed at 10am ... with photography, that need not happen!

05-01-2016, 11:08 PM	#10
jeffreybehr Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Phoenix, Arizona USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 66	Congratulations, ga. I was blessed to be able to retire at age 54 years, 1-1/2 months, and I've loved all 18 years of it. After about a month, I wondered how I ever had time to go to work! I hope you enjoy your many years.

05-02-2016, 12:32 AM	#11
savoche Master of the obvious Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Lowlands of Norway Posts: 18,311	Originally posted by gaweidert Well that's it for old fart stories. You youngin's with the glassed over eyes can go outside and play now Congrats! A well deserved "vacation". I still have twenty-some years to go before I get to own my own time.

05-02-2016, 01:20 AM	#13
jimr-pdx Pentaxian Join Date: May 2010 Location: now 1 hour north of PDX Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,897	Congrats on several jobs well done! I did my 32 years & retired 6/2013, I don't do math any more but that's been a while. Once my wife shakes off her neurological mysteries we'll see North America and some of Europe at least. Hopefully the IRA access can restore Pentax to its proper place in my collection..

05-02-2016, 08:51 AM	#14
reeftool Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Upstate New York Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,555	Congrats on making it to retirement! I'm a couple of years into my retirement or more accurately, semi-retirement as I still work part time. I've been traveling more, fishing more and spending a lot of time behind the camera. My wife has a couple of years to go also so I'm not taking all my bucket list trips yet. When you get to Yellowstone, make sure to get the senior National Park Lifetime Pass. $10 bucks and it's good at all National Parks and Recreation Areas. It's available to anyone over the age of 62. Enjoy life! You earned it!

05-02-2016, 10:27 AM	#15
gaweidert Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Rochester, NY Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,327 Original Poster	Originally posted by reeftool When you get to Yellowstone, make sure to get the senior National Park Lifetime Pass. $10 bucks and it's good at all National Parks and Recreation Areas. It's available to anyone over the age of 62. Enjoy life! You earned it! I already have one. I got it a few years ago at Antietam Battlefield. When we were taking family trips some years ago I always got a Golden Eagle pass. It saved me a lot of money, Another way to save money is to get an annual membership in your local museum. There is a membership association that will get you into a ton of museums across the country for free if they are members of it. I always leave money in the donations box, but if you are strapped for cash it is a great deal. The one thing I want to do but the wife won't let me is to sell the house and get an RV. The savings in property taxes alone would pay for gas for a year. So now I am working on getting her to move to Idaho Falls. This plan got a lot more complicated when one of my sons moved back to NY with his wife and kids. Grandkids are a pretty big trump card.