Reply to the prior posts here. First retirement pay is great. When you are three score plus in age, your family obligation usually shrinks. Hopefully you have some savings, 401K money, pension money, social security money, and paid off home mortgages. Years ago the big expenses were your kid's college tuition. Now your big expense is your next pipe. Hopefully you enjoy good health and have good health insurance.
Like my friend Airborne it took a bit of work to get three kids raised homes and cars and tuition bills paid. Let's see...
I was administrator of a 800 kid co-op summer day camp while a full time college student. This job was full time year round.
Then I graduated with a BBA and immediately completed an MBA in Health Care Administration. The next 10 years was spent as a Hospital Administrator. Married, house, first son and two cars later I was Director of the Earth and Space Science Center at the State University of New York at Stony Brook full time for several years during which time son #2 arrived. Next fulll time job, Director of Administrative Services for the William Floyd Union Free School District on Long Island. Then full time Director of the Community Residence Progam for United Cerebral Palsy of Suffolk County here on Long Island. Then I self incorporated as M.J. Tannen Associates Inc., and for about 25 years during which time son #3 arrived, I ran a slew of large and small medical practices in every specialty primarily women's health....including radiology, spine surgery, and reproductive endocrinology. This was all full time work, however, in addition on a part time basis during these 25 years I held second jobs evenings and weekends. For twelve years I was the director of the Long Island Branch Campus of the New School University in New York. I ran an evening graduate program in Health Care Administration and taught 3 classes each academic year. To keep sane, I "shot some breeze" with men serving as a county auxiliary police officer one evening each week. Yep, that was me in uniform armed, in the radio car responding throughout the police district and serving with the Suffolk County Highway Patrol on the Long Island Expressway. The Highway leathers and high boots made me a real scary looking cop for sure. Many good pipes and some fine cigars were enjoyed and passed among our group of guys before our radios heated up each night. The training and equipment I became proficient with enabled side jobs as armed security officer, armed ATM repair agent, armed intrusion alarm response agent, armored carrier and vault agent. I drove an ambulette and I worked one christmas as an armed store security agent for Toys R Us.
If you ever saw the show "In Living Color" on TV years ago you might remember the skit and the refrain " Hey man, get a job"...well I had them all. I finished my career last July 5th with the Internal Revenue Service. I was one of many guys who told people they owe our Uncle Sam some bucks. Now I'm retired and happier about it than a yard full of pigs in shit. Retirement rocks but it is a trip on a rocky road to arrive at.
