Retirement And Lifes Changing Priorities

I am a regular visitor to another retirees blog Ralph Carlson who writes some serious posts on retirement lifestyle. Reading one of Ralph’s recent posts got me thinking about how our priorities change over the years.

At 65, the state retirement age in the UK, (although the government have now moved the goalposts on this), I find it interesting to look back at what my expectations and priorities were at different stages of my life and what they are now. How 50 years of endeavour and experience can change your way of thinking.

My favourite jazz band of all time is the Count Basie Orchestra. Formed in Kansas City in 1935 by Bill ‘Count’ Basie, it featured in it’s life span of nearly 50 years some of the best jazz musicians that ever played. The orchestra were considered the very best of the swing bands which dominated the music charts in the 40′s.

Although I am a great fan of the orchestra in full flow some of the best music came from the small combo of Basie on piano and his rhythm section of Joe Jones on drums, Walter Page on bass and Freddie Green on guitar.

The teacher graded it and the child brought it home. She returned to school the next day with the following note:

Dear Ms. Davis,

I want to be perfectly clear on my child’s homework illustration. It is NOT of me on a dance pole on a stage in a strip joint surrounded by male customers with money.

I work at Home Depot and had commented to my daughter how much money we made in the recent snowstorm. This drawing is of me selling a shovel.

Ian Rutherford Plimer (born 12 February 1946) is an Australian geologist, academic and businessman, and professor of mining geology at the University of Adelaide . You may well appreciate his take on climate change (aka: global warming). He certainly expresses how I feel about this bogus nonsense in one gem of a nice concise little piece. You may of course choose to disagree, but do keep an open mind on the subject.

Okay, here’s the bombshell. The volcanic eruption in Iceland , since its first spewing of volcanic ash has, in just FOUR DAYS, NEGATED EVERY SINGLE EFFORT you have made in the past five years to control CO2 emissions on our planet – all of you.

Does This Behaviour Look Familiar To You?

I just had to post this one, it’s hilarious.