Ray’s Daily
February 15, 2022
Retired is being twice tired, I’ve thought
First tired of working,
Then tired of not.
Richard Armour
~~~
Ray’s Daily first published on February 15, 2006
I have been provided the opportunity to participate in the development of a program to help seniors and those who will become seniors see the choices they can make that will enhance their golden years. Unfortunately there are too many of us who spend our working lives fantasizing about the day when we will retire and be totally free only to find that is is not all we thought it would be. Many of us immediately clean up everything on our things to do list, jump into a hobby or two, order all the magazines that we never had time to read in the past, travel until all we have left is to return home and wonder what happened to the life we dreamed about.
Sadly we find that that all the things we know and have done do not provide the rewards we thought they would. We miss the friends we made in our working life, and we find we miss the structure that allowed us to differentiate between the workweek and the weekend. It is when this happens we make choices that lead us to either stagnation or rejuvenation, a life on the couch or the adventure that awaits us if we step out into a world we never knew. Some of us get a part time job, learn to dance or paint, volunteer, and see the world. Others renew old friendships, spend time at the theatre, and see the sights around them that they have so often overlooked in the past. The options are almost unlimited.
Way too many of our generation excuse themselves from living a fuller life by saying they are too tired or too old to try anything new. I suspect if the truth be known they are not as much tired as they are bored and that their age is just an easy excuse for inaction. If that is what they want, fine, but they need to know that it was their choice and there really is no one to blame for the life they live but themselves.
Some of the most alive and adventurous people I have met need a walker to get from here to there; they have learned that the barriers are only the limits we place upon ourselves. Even the bedridden read, write, imagine, and chose to make the best of life instead of life besting them.
I am hoping that my friends proposed programs will provide people like us the opportunity to open our minds and discover the possible; a life as good or better than the one we left behind.
If you chose to remain on the dock, I’ll see you; I still have heels to kick up and more things to do than I ever thought possible.
~~~
Don’t simply retire from something; have something to retire to.
Harry Emerson Fosdick
~~~
An English teacher asked her 8th grade class to write an essay on what they would do if they had a million dollars. Morris handed in a blank sheet of paper.
“Morris!” yelled the teacher, “you’ve done absolutely nothing. Why?”
“Because if I had a million dollars, that’s exactly what I would do!”
~~~
“Most people would rather be certain they’re miserable than risk being happy.”
Robert Anthony
~~~
Bambi, a young blonde sidled up to a guest at the party. She had heard him addressed as doctor and now she said diffidently, “doctor, may I ask a question?”
“Certainly,” he said.
“Lately,” said Bambi, “I have been having a funny pain right here under the heart…”
The guest interrupted uncomfortably and said, “I’m terribly sorry, Bambi, but the truth is, I’m a doctor of philosophy.”
“Oh,” said the blonde, “I’m sorry!” She turned away, but then overcome with curiosity, she turned back. “Just one more question, doctor. Tell me, what kind of disease is philosophy?”
~~~
“I’ve wrestled with reality for 35 years, Doctor, and I’m happy to state I finally won out over it.”
Mary Chase
~~~
Renee was passing an office building late one night and saw a sign that said, “Press bell for night watchman.”
She did so, and after several minutes she heard the watchman clomping down the stairs. The uniformed men proceeded to unlock first one gate, then another, shut down the alarm system, and finally made his way through the revolving door.
“Well,” he snarled at her, “what do you want?”
“I just wanted to know why you can’t ring the bell yourself?”
~~~
“There is so much good in the worst of us, and so much bad in the best of us, that it ill behooves any of us to find fault with the rest of us.”
James Truslow Adams
~~~
Are You A Golf Nut? Here are 20 ways to tell:
1. Your idea of a good time is staying home and watching the British Open on a Saturday night.
2. You curse the game only to play it the next day.
3. You haven’t puked from seeing the same faces regularly for four and half hours.
4. You see your drive ahead of everyone else and talk about it for a week.
5. You secretly wish evil on your flightmates.
6. A golf store has a magnetic effect on your walk.
7. You cringe when your better half asks you if you have anything to do on Sunday.
8. Your golf attire becomes your everyday wear.
9. Your toilet seat gets covered with a stack of golf books and magazines.
10. You make small practice swings inside the church while hearing mass.
11. You get burned by the sun and you’re proud of it.
12. You can open a video store with the number of golf tapes you own.
13. Ten inches of rain has no effect on your decision to play.
14. When your caddy says he sees lightning, your reply is “what lightning?”
15. You go to the practice range and tries to give golf tips to the person on the next stall.
16. Your bumper sticker reads: MY OTHER CAR IS A GOLF CART.
17. People in your family gets their supply of suntan lotion from you when they go swimming.
18. A day at the beach means you hit too many sand traps.
19. Your spouse complains because you try to bring your clubs to bed, (to keep them warm, dry, and safe, of course) demanding that you choose between them and the clubs….And you hesitate before answering.
20. You took the time to read this.
~~~
“I was so naive as a kid I used to sneak behind the barn and do nothing.”
Johnny Carson
~~~
“So, what’s the matter? I thought you just got back from a nice relaxing fishing trip with your husband.”
“Oh, everything went wrong: First he said I talked so loud I would scare the fish. Then he said I was using the wrong bait; and then that I was reeling in too soon.
“All that might have been all right; but then, to make matters worse, I ended up catching the most fish!”
~~~
A little girl was watching her parents dress for a party. When she saw her dad donning his tuxedo, she warned, “Daddy, you shouldn’t wear that suit.”
“And why not, darling?”
“You know that it always gives you a headache the next morning.”
~~~
“We are not the same persons this year as last; nor are those we love.
It is a happy chance if we, changing, continue to love a changed person.”
Maugham
~~~
Management is not responsible for duplicates from previous dailies. The editor is somewhat senile.
Ray’s Daily has been sent for more than twenty years to people who want to start their day on an upbeat. If you have system overload because of our daily clutter, let me know and I will send you the information via mental telepathy. If you have not been getting our daily you can request to be added by e-mailing me at raykiwsp@comcast.net. Back issues are posted at http://rays-daily,com/ currently there are hundreds of readers from around the world.
Ray's Daily 
Comments on: "Happy Retirement" (1)
you have the right approach!